We have seen an increased presence of activity from fascists this year. From the casual white-supremacist Trump supporter to neo-Nazi rallies where several antifascists have been stabbed and beaten. The fascists no doubt have been emboldened by the right-populist presidential campaign of Donald Trump, who has gained support due to the socioeconomic imperialist crisis the US has stumbled into. Fascists have been brazenly organizing rallies to assert their presence and gain traction among the white working class. It is our duty as antifascists to confront them and beat them back whenever they rear their ugly heads and attempt to impose their garbage ideology on the masses. This is why we must call upon our comrades and the masses for heightened antifascist work to be carried out through the end of the year.
Here in Austin
Austin is struggling against fascism on three main fronts: the neighborhood front, the university front, and the judicial front. These three trenches of combat must be organized and step in unison, each supporting the other with actions and not being allowed to fracture into independent efforts.
On the neighborhood front our comrades have been faced with an onslaught of fascist online attacks, by neo-Nazis, Trump supporters, and InfoWars fanatics. These scumbags have rushed to the defense of gentrification, understanding it correctly as the march of white power into the black and brown territory of the east side. The petty bourgeois gentrifying business that is targeted by comrades has both accepted the fascists’ money and extended support and thanks to them. The fascists have been emboldened and have begun to organize in plain sight; they have increased the output of racist graffiti targeting day labor centers on the southeast side. This front is the most crucial, and all efforts should be made to defend our neighborhoods from increasing fascist presence. White supremacists have called for a demonstration at the state capital on November 19, which must be frustrated, humiliated, and beaten back with the force of the people.
On the university front our comrades have been leading an antifascist campaign against propaganda from Identity Evropa, other white supremacists, and Nazis. An anti–affirmative action bake sale was targeted by antifascists (who disrupted the event and expropriated the baked goods) and 300 student protestors. When the university refused to remove white supremacist neo-Nazi graffiti for over 8 months (another example of UT’s deeply rooted racism), students removed the graffiti themselves and left a clear message to the administration that such filth will not be allowed to stand. After these actions three activists who are not students were arrested as scapegoats on felony vandalism charges. Comrades wasted no time in coming together to condemn this arrest by organizing a phone jam and a demonstration outside of the jail; efforts begin immediately to raise money for the arrested comrades’ legal defense.
On the judicial front the UT ANTIFA 3 have a long fight ahead of them that could take months if not longer; it is crucial that we see the court as a key trench of combat where we will cede no ground to fascism. The comrades must be victorious and have all charges dropped. Actions have already been planned on campus (November 17) and in the streets to show solidarity with these comrades who took one for the people. We will accept no concession from the state, and anything other than complete exoneration would be a slap in the face. All three comrades are united in solidarity with one another and are not handling their case as individuals but as dedicated and disciplined communist fighters. We owe them no less than our complete respect and solidarity—not only have they stood up to the fascists in the ideological realm on campus but are now standing up to it in the repressive realm of the courts.
We must take this antifascist work seriously and be far-sighted in our work. We call upon our comrades to become true partisans in the antifascist struggle and to send a clear message that fascists and their sympathizers are not welcome or safe in our streets or at our universities. Fascists wish to drag society back in time, but we will forever persevere forward to a future of true equality and internationalism. For the right-wing forces who wish to stand in our way, may they be crushed and their ideology stamped out by the might of the people.
This is an open call to all who will hear it: get involved! take action and get organized!
“It is up to us to organize the people. As for the reactionaries, it is up to us to organize the people to overthrow them. Everything reactionary is the same; if you do not hit it, it will not fall. This is also like sweeping the floor; as a rule, where the broom does not reach, the dust will not vanish of itself.”—Mao Zedong
Red Guards Austin 