I'm taken by many of the sentiments in Joel Blau's post, included below for
reference. However, I think most of us involved in the anti-fascist protest
against Yahoo already know, and agree, with many of the points he raised.
Here's what we published on our web site concerning this exact issue.
"Fascism on the internet
"Let's have no delusions: fascism will not be stopped on the internet. If
every user opposed it and did nothing in the real world, fascism would
conquer tomorrow.
"The war against fascism can only be won in the streets.
"But the internet has become the major instrument for the distribution of
fascist propaganda for off-the-net action. It has also become a separate
battlefield in itself.
"anti-fascism.org is meant to be a action-oriented counter to this. It is
not meant to replace or substitute for other net-based forces opposing
bigotry and intolerance. Nor is it meant to replace real-world organizations."
However, the "small left" becomes a "larger left" only through the process
of a series of "small struggles."
The "psychological payoff" to which Blau refers is also important. But I am
more interested in the demoralizing effect defeats have on fascists than
any type of feel-good motivation for anti-fascists.
-- tallpaul
<http://www.anti-fascism.org>
I don't have much faith in the bourgeois state either. But since the only
way to protect left "speech" is to develop a mass left movement, I
seriously doubt that "fighting fascists" on the Web is the way to go about
it. The notion of a small left engaged in glorious combat with small
right may be more thrilling than the day--to-day grind of organizing, and
I'm sure it has a bigger psychological payoff, but it is also largely
removed from the lived experience of most Americans, whose gravitation to
the left--most likely as a result other economic and cultural issues--is
the only "protection" we can ever really have.
>
>Joel Blau
