Letters of September 12

Bay Area Experiences at anti-Nazi Rallies

Passive Counter-Protesters is Concerning
Going into a city known for its “radical” atmosphere, sometimes called the “People’s Republic of Berkeley”, I was expecting a friendly environment. What I quickly realized was that this image was created and maintained by the staunchly liberal leaders mainly to make its residents feel better about themselves.
Their beliefs did not evoke action, and indeed the atmosphere was incredibly restrictive to harness the true power of the thousands of people that came to kick Nazis out of their city. The crowd was mostly observant, speculative, and self-interested.
There were a large group of these counter-protesters that desired more radical action and change, but were largely unsupported by the liberal majority of the crowd. To take up space is important, but the degree that passive Berkeley supporters were unsupportive of action was definitely scary to see.
As both leftist and fascist movements continue to grow, I am concerned that the unwillingness to listen and act on our side will be a dangerous trend for us all.

No Nazis in Sight
I headed to San Francisco on Saturday ready to confront some neo nazis. It was my first time and I was a bit nervous. But knowing my comrades were there with me made me feel better. A friend even texted me this morning asking if I was going to the protest, so I invited her to the group and was so glad when they showed up.
My confidence was boosted by making a sign saying “GOOD NIGHT ALT-RIGHT”, with a fist punching a swastika. Up until we headed out, we kept getting updates about the nazis’ location, so I felt increasingly unsure of their actual plans. I suspected that they would be at Crissy Field anyways, since most counterprotesters would have been diverted to Alamo Square, but nobody knew for sure so I had to trust our team.
When we got to Alamo square, we was immediately swarmed by counterprotesters marching down the street with no nazis in sight. I was relieved, but disappointed.
We spent three hours in a growing counterprotest leading chants and marching.
Our group’s energy was high and I was proud our chants were catching on. I had fun with a comrade making up some new chants too.
When we got back to have some pizza and debrief, we were interrupted by news that some nazis had gathered at Crissy Field and were outnumbering some counterprotesters that some people in our group personally knew. It was clear we had to go there and mobilise others to go as well, but I was stressed because I had to be home half an hour ago.
I debated this conflict between obeying my parents and doing what I knew had to be done. After several stressful minutes, I decided to join my comrades in going back to Crissy Field.
The drive there was much more solemn. We all were aware of the potential danger of the situation. As we trekked down the shoreline, clouded and grey, I found comfort in walking by my friends and knowing that they were in it with me.
I still felt unprepared and unarmed. We reached the given address of the nazis after 20 minutes of walking, only to find nobody there. A few confusing minutes passed we finally confirmed that the nazis left. All the built-up anger in me suddenly dissipated. I was furious that the nazis had led us on this chase, baiting us, and ended up unscathed. They escaped the massive crowd at Alamo Square and they escaped again at Crissy Field.
But in some ways, they were defeated; the Nazis were too scared to show up in front of the counterprotesters. Some older comrades who were driving said that this showed the power of direct action. Hate is driven out by confronting it and making nazis afraid, not by any centrist idea of peacefully protesting in a different part of the city.
I left San Francisco knowing I can’t leave any hate unchallenged, and will bring this experience with me when I continue to organise in the future.

Is Protesting Enough?
I’m feeling very emotionally and spiritually drained after the events that transpired this weekend, and I am still attempting to figure out how I fit into all of this and how, if at all, my actions made any progress. We have a huge fascist movement in the country, spear-headed by Trump and other racist groups across the country and world (neo-nazis, KKK, and other faccists.)
We have a duty to unite as oppressed and working members of this society from all backgrounds, and to raise our voices and act to halt these racist and oppressive ideologies. This weekend’s events were at once beautiful and flawed. On one hand, the shear number of counter-protestors that attended the march against racism came armed with liberal ideas. There were many organized and unorganized groups who said no to this kind of hatred. Many people were warm, beautiful, and loving.
On the other hand, marching with the PLP was a different kind of experience. I believe we were there not just to show up for racial justice and counter fascism, but also to fight for that racial justice. Many antiracist speakers told stories about love defeating hate, or sharing a poem or spoken word. For me, I was frustrated because rather than marching with militant force, the march was pacifist.
Thus my reflection on this weekend is trying to understand and balance those two facts—knowing our numbers scared off these racists but also that the protests didn’t succeed in “winning” the larger battle at hand. At the Berkeley protest in particular, I found myself angry a lot—at the lack of militancy, the large police presence. I am still trying to understand that anger and use it in a productive way to create tangible change. I am still wondering if protesting is enough.

Call It What It Is: Racism
San Francisco’s radio show “Your Call”, usually a great program, was reporting on the fascist rallies this weekend. I was driving and couldn’t stop to call in, but I was struck that in this hour-long program on Nazis and Klan and Klan-like groups occupying areas of San Francisco and Berkeley, the word “racism” was uttered only twice, and only in passing.
Why are we avoiding this word? Quick calculations show that racist pay differentials alone give corporations hundreds of billions of dollars in profits. It’s even more if you consider the billions they save from providing almost zero services and benefits to Black, Latin, Native, and immigrant workers. And white workers’ wages are hugely reduced by racism too. That’s why industry moved to the South, where racism is most strong and overt. In other words, the upstream cause of racism is capitalism, not white people in general. The theories of “white privilege” or “white supremacy” obscure this fact.
White workers must see and fight racism for the survival of all workers as well as themselves. Being oppressed and exploited less, even significantly less, is not a privilege. And the vast, vast majority of white workers are not supreme in any stretch of the imagination. It’s the ruling class that’s supreme and that’s who we need to fight—united. Smash racism!