March 4 Rallies for Fascism—and Righteous Opposition
March 6, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Ohio State House, Columbus, Ohio, March 4. (AP photo)
On Saturday, March 4, diverse groups of people small and large came out in many state capitals and cities around the country to counter and oppose pro-fascist rallies, called “March 4 Trump.” The website that called for these pro-regime rallies complained about the “seditious fringe” that opposes the Trump/Pence regime.
From news reports so far, the pro-regime forces brought out from dozens to a few hundred people in each of 20+ cities and towns. To give a flavor of some of this, an organizer in Oregon was quoted in the news saying: “It was fabulous...we got to say the Pledge of Allegiance, we got to sing, we said the Lord's Prayer. This couldn't have been any better.” In Olympia, Washington some Trumpites showed up with guns. In Berkeley some Trumpites showed up with body padding, shields and sticks.
This display of ignorance and support for the assaults this regime has been carrying out—and promises more of—against immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQIA people, women, and the world, was met with righteous opposition and outrage in over 15 cities. In Berkeley, CA, a crowd of about 300 confronted about 200 Trumpites, with news reports of confrontations and arrests. In Lake Oswego, Oregon, news reports say about 700 people protested about 200 Trumpites. And at the rally at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, people chanted “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA” over the Trumpites’ “U-S-A” chants.
It matters a great deal that people opposed these fascist rallies. Fascism must not be allowed to become “normal”! And the urgent task: In the name of humanity, we must drive this regime from power.
In the wake of these counter-protests, a wave of reactionary social media claims the anti-fascist movement violated their free speech by counter protesting, and glorifies the Trumpite who has been charged for beating anti-trump protesters with a stick in Berkeley. No one should allow confusion on this. It is absolutely legitimate to refuse to accept a fascist America. In fact humanity depends on what we do. After the righteous shutdown of the fascist Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley, there was the same kind of whining. What revcom.us posted then is worth reading again: “Three Points on the Righteous Shutdown of Fascist Milo Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley.”
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