Smash The Fash!

February 2021 Issue

A newsletter by and for all comrades, produced by your friendly anti-fascists in NoVa

A Note from Smash The Fash

Hello comrades! We’re five weeks into the new year and it certainly has been quite the ride. With the storming of the capitol, neo-nazi marches in DC, and a new president in the white house, we have a lot to get through. You may notice this is a different platform than what was used for our first edition, we are lucky enough to have been given access to the legendary Cutting Class blog. Bear with us as we slowly figure out how formatting and such, hopefully you find this platform more accessible!

Switching to our favorite topic, community care, we want to emphasize self care and mutual aid in this edition of the newsletter. Many of us are hitting the so-called ‘pandemic wall’, feeling burnt out, depressed, and hopeless. When we march through the streets shouting “we keep us safe”, we must apply that to all other aspects of life, including mental health and self care. With that being said, if you are in need of self care resources we highly recommend ‘Mindful Occupation‘, a resource-heavy zine written during the Occupy movement. The zine shares self care information for radical activists.

In love and solidarity, Smash The Fash

We keep us safe. 

Part 1.

The Future of Anti-Fascism in Biden’s America

I’m writing this two days after the inauguration of Joe Biden and reflecting on the nature of fascism and anti-fascism activism in this country. I, like most of the readers, are probably seeing a bunch of posts from liberals to the effect that “racism is over” or “we did it.” These posts and this conversation tell me our work is only going to be harder in the next four years than it was in the last.

Liberals have been conditioned to believe voting is the sum total of political activism, with the potential exception of campaigning for bourgeois politicians. Liberals view anti-fascist activism as being in opposition to liberal values. It is in this manner that liberals enable the rise of fascism. By seeking order over progress, room is made for the party that promises order, regardless of the strength of that claim.

As anti-fascists we need to remain focused on where the main enemy is: the fascists. Our efforts regarding their liberal enablers should be to minimize their impact on the movement. This means we must now fight on two fronts.

Regarding fighting fascists, I add very little. There are very fine people doing the real work. Regarding talking to liberals, we need to exercise patience. This is a major weakness of mine, but it is the only way it will work.

We cannot let the liberals go back to brunch. We cannot let them go back to sleep. It is our job to make sure liberals see the flaws in our society have not died just because of an election. It is our job to keep liberals engaged in the fight.

This will be difficult. It will be frustrating. It will probably not work very well.

The next president will more than likely be a more competent, more fascist version of Trump. This is the drum we must beat daily.

Bourgeois electoralism is not the path to the future, but it is the system we have. We must learn to use it until we have the organization to overcome it. In the end I am hopeful for our future, and I want you to be hopeful as well.

Be vigilant comrades. Be ready. Steel yourselves for the fight ahead. It will not be easy, but it is just.

Who protects us? We protect us!

@gdthfcb George (he/him)

Part 2.

Community Updates and Debriefs 

Well, friends. It certainly has been A Month. Where do we even start?

On January 6th, white supremacists stormed the capitol in an attempt to stop the Senate’s certification of the presidential election and secure Trump’s win for a 2nd term. This is not something that, as the DC police claimed, we had no way of predicting. In fact, in our newsletter which was published five days before the siege we warned that right-wing violence was imminent. It’s not as if fascistic violence had never occurred in DC before. On the November 14th and December 12th Proud Boys and other white supremacists attacked and stabbed local Black Lives Matter activists. We tried to warn the public that these events signs of the violence to come, but no one listened. As always, the liberals who flocked to BLM Plaza after Biden’s victory chose to bury their heads in the sand, only to act shocked when white supremacy rears its ugly head.

Other notable events include Trump’s 2nd impeachment, the inauguration, and Marjorie Taylor Greene touting anti-semitic conspiracy theories with no backlash from the GOP.

As leftists, we recognize that Biden’s presidency won’t mean much in terms of justice and progress. So instead of highlighting all the fanfare that happened on the 20th, we’re going to focus on the efforts of local activists.

DC-based groups such as Good Trouble Co-Op and Total Liberation Collective hosted mutual aid during and after the inauguration on January 20th. Hot meals and other goods were distributed. While liberals celebrated, revolutionaries and leftists continued practicing community work and care.

Here in NoVa, there are a few victories worth mentioning. Fairfax County will no longer voluntarily work with ICE, and there is finally a movement on the state level to abolish the death penalty. After a long and traumatizing month, any positive news is a welcome change of pace.

 Part 3.

Looking To The Future 

It is no secret that this winter has been hard on us all. Our community of protesters has been repeatedly traumatized and brutalized by a new threat – white supremacists. In addition, COVID-19 is ravaging communities, and vaccine distribution is slower than what many had been promised. However, the spring season is almost upon us – and with that comes new life, new hope, and new energy. Smash The Fash has exciting updates that we hope to share with you all in the spring. But until then, you can follow us on twitter and instagram, and stay tuned for sticker + zine drops!

See you all in March!

In love and solidarity, 

Smash The Fash