Across the US, Black Lives Matter protesters are under violent attack by the police and the national guard. Far-right white supremacists are also visible. But people can only take so much, and if attacked, protesters have a moral right to defend themselves.
State violence
The assaults on protesters by police and the national guard have been widespread.
For example, in Chicago:
https://twitter.com/MartinGoold/status/1269208204728324097?s=20
In Louisville, police shot at cars:
To see how the police are inciting & starting violence with protesters in the USA follow this guy https://t.co/NSkr1qtoHm
— Garrioch (@GarrickBad) June 4, 2020
In a Minneapolis suburb, national guards in Humvees fired rubber bullets at residents in their homes:
This from #Minneapolis City suburb, Nat. Guard Humvee leads off, then pedantic Storm Trooper thugs start firing rubber bullets at resident who are standing on their porches. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not a 'race' issue, it's a Fascist #PoliceState issue. Incredible… #Riots pic.twitter.com/vxEpeJ2Sx3
— Patrick Henningsen (@21WIRE) May 31, 2020
In Buffalo, New York, police callously knocked down an elderly gentleman who could easily have died:
https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1268716877355810818?s=20
All across the USA
All across the US, police let loose:
And there’s more:
https://twitter.com/lukedunlop_/status/1268304448478052352?s=20
Philadelphia attack
On 5 June, police officers with batons confronted a small group of Black Lives Matter protesters and viciously assaulted them. A police inspector was subsequently charged with aggravated assault.
A biker gang brutally beat these protesters in Philly today. pic.twitter.com/r1TzXrOpNW
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) June 5, 2020
The day before, a group of men in riot gear appeared near the White House in a ‘uniform’ but without identification badges, insignia, or name tags. Their presence presumably was to intimidate Black Lives Matter protesters:
Completely unmarked officers in riot gear holding protesters blocks away from the White House. No badges. No insignias. No name tags. Nothing. Refused to tell us who they’re with. #DCprotest #DCprotests pic.twitter.com/c4lFFCsX48
— Ben Davis (@bdaviskc) June 4, 2020
Boogaloo Bois
There are also well-established far-right militias, such as the Boogaloo Bois, who appear to be exploiting the crisis. Three men associated with the Boogaloo Bois were arrested earlier this month in Las Vegas, accused of conspiring to incite violence. In particular, conspiracy to “damage and destroy by fire and explosive, and possession of unregistered firearms”. The three had been on their way to a George Floyd protest while possessing Molotov cocktails.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), the Boogaloo started as a meme that:
emerged concurrently in antigovernment and white power online spaces in the early 2010s. In both of these communities, “boogaloo” was frequently associated with racist violence and, in many cases, was an explicit call for race war. Today the term is regularly deployed by white nationalists and neo-Nazis who want to see society descend into chaos so that they can come to power and build a new fascist state.
SPLC adds how Boogaloo:
posters use terms such as “the day of the rope world revolution boogaloo,” a reference to a day when “race traitors” are lynched in the racist novel “The Turner Diaries.”
Fake Antifa
There was also a report that Identity Evropa (IE), a US-based white nationalist group, had created a fake Antifa (anti-fascist) group and called for violence. In a tweet, later removed by Twitter, the group, posting as @ANTIFA_US, tweeted:
Tonight’s the night, Comrades… Tonight we say ‘F— The City’ and we move into the residential areas… the white hoods…. and we take what’s ours …”
IE’s chat channel, called Nice Respectable People Group, was leaked to Unicorn Riot and its raw racist and fascist ideologies exposed. IE is apparently now morphing into a new guise, the American Identity Movement (AIM)
Meanwhile, SPLC has identified more than 500 far-right so-called ‘anti-government’ groups across the US, of which just under 200 can be described as militias.
Fight back
The demonstrations in the US and elsewhere are not just about the horrific murder of George Floyd, but about wider inequalities and failure of governments.
It’s fight back time. Indeed, after the August 2017 attack by the far-right on peaceful protesters Charlottesville, UK journalist Paul Mason commented:
We should have stopped this long ago. Charlottesville is the wake-up call to progressives everywhere. …
If someone is waging a culture war against you, at some point you have to fight back.
This is how the fight back is done in Greece:
And for inspiration closer to home, Americans need look no further than the Zapatista revolution in Chiapas, Mexico, where thousands now live peacefully, without government, politicians, or big business.
Featured image via Youtube
