Gothenburg vs Nazis

[luzula]

Okay, I have got to write this up while I'm still euphoric.

Background: a neo-nazi group was going to march through central Gothenburg today, and of course there was a counter-protest. They are actual neo-nazis who think citizenship should be decided through gene-tests to see if you are aryan enough.

I'd only been involved peripherally with the preparations--I went to a planning meeting as representative for my union, and also I was a functionary during the counter-protest rally (which only means I answered questions and told people where the toilets were, etc). Oh, and also I'd put up a tree-top banner about the rally a couple of days before.

Numbers:
Nazis: about 400 (they'd hoped to be a thousand).
Police: maybe 2 000.
Counter-protesters: around 10 000, though it's hard to estimate.

It was great to stand and welcome people and just see how many were pouring in! We really filled that huge square. The nazis were going to march past our rally and I knew people had plans to block the nazi march from going past. I was a bit nervous about this. But in the event it wasn't necessary, because the nazis fucked up their march all on their own. : D

We stood and waited; there was a great samba drum band keeping the mood up. No nazis. And then suddenly most of the police mini-buses just left in a hurry. Turned out the nazis were unhappy about not getting the march route that they wanted (a court had ruled a few days earlier that they could not march past the synagogue; thank you, court) and were trying to break out of the police lines. And then they got kettled.

So that meant our rally was left to its own devices and people just poured out on the street the way the nazis were supposed to have come. I have never felt such energy in a march! It was euphoric--we just OWNED the streets. There were all types of people there, and we all were shouting slogans and cheering. : D

The nazis meanwhile were stuck and continuing their futile violence against the cops. Apparently there was some violence from counter-protesters who I think were disappointed that the police were not transporting the nazis away on busses right away, or maybe they just wanted to get to them (which of course is being blown up in the media; I wish they hadn't given them the excuse). [ETA: It has now been revealed that at least one of the stone-throwing "antifascists" was actually a fascist provocateur.] But overall I have to say great job from the more militant antifa crowd, who were not in a separate black block or anything, but were mixed in the crowd ready to defend the rally if needed, looking like ordinary protesters.

So yeah, well done Gothenburg. : D

Comments

[luzula]

I mean it was not just one group, there were people there from all sorts of groups, mainly on the left but it was a mixed crowd. And yeah, they are a small sectarian fringe group, but there's a larger radical right which is a danger. So I'm very glad so many people got to have this positive experience of getting out on the streets like this.