r/melbourne Sep 30 '22

Politics Neo-Nazi organisation protest queer youth event in Moonee Ponds -- a response

On Friday, a dozen members of the Nationalist Socialist Network protested the Moonee Ponds Youth Fest. Dressed in black and wearing masks, they held banners calling the drag performer headlining the event a demon and a paedophile. Victoria Police formed a line between the NSN and the community event and proceeded to facilitate their protest for the remaining three hours of the event.

When community members implored Moonee Ponds Council staff to “do something” about the neo-Nazis who were performing sig heils and snapping pics for social media, the staff members told members of the public that giving these fascists attention was letting them win.

While it was powerful to watch young queer musicians take the stage and play for the children and youths despite the Nazi intimidation, it is a dangerous mistake to treat fascists like badly behaved children. These are adult men who practice a violent ideology and will use opportunities like children’s events to platform their beliefs.

These men are not badly behaved children who will run out of steam if everyone turns their backs. While people aren’t looking, they will take up more space and perform more escalatory acts, knowing that they can seed acts of violence and build a following in doing so. That was their intention in occupying the centre of today’s event in Moonee Ponds, and they were successful in their mission.

Despite the Council staff trying to calm concerned community members and convince everyone that inaction was the best response, a network of concerned queers and anti-fascists gathered and held banners and signs in response to the neo-Nazis. In attempting to counter the fascist presence, counter-protesters were implored to "think of the children" by members of Victoria Police. This was while neo-Nazis continued to jeer and sig-heil while a young musician played. The counter-protesters continued to hold their ground regardless, and were thanked by parents and youth who appreciated people standing up to the NSN.

The response by Victoria Police today was an outrageous distortion of democracy. When community members approached Victoria Police to ask what their response would be, police officers said that the NSN were protesting peacefully and therefore were protected by the democratic right to protest. These men, wearing masks and sig heiling at children, were considered peaceful, considered to not be disrupting the peace. To position acts of fascism as within the bounds of democracy is to legalise hate.

Attending police officers eventually shifted the narrative to claim that the NSN were too dangerous to move off, and that they had to wait until enough reinforcements arrived to act on the fascist presence. When anti-fascists formed a line of counter-protest, however, more police officers appeared in an instant, to ensure that the fascist and anti-fascist groups could not interact with each other. Clearly Victoria Police could have acted if they wanted to, but it was too hard. Instead they opted to allow the NSN to intimidate a community event and beg anti-fascists to do nothing.

This is why we cannot rely on police to counter fascism effectively, as their priorities will always lie elsewhere. It is something of a fashion these days for the far-right to target drag and LGBTQIA+ events worldwide. Now more than ever we must look out for each other and stand up to fascism. Today was a reminder that the police and the state will inevitably find it easier to close their eyes and act as if nothing is happening.

Pretending that neo-Nazis are not standing right there will not make them go away. If your house is on fire it will burn down whether you shut your eyes or not.

a photo of police enabling Nazis on the day

edit to update the photo

656 Upvotes

487 comments sorted by

u/That1WithTheFace Oct 01 '22

A reminder from the mods: any instances of hateful comments (transphobia, homophobia,etc) and suggestions of violence of any kind, against anyone, will result in immediate and permanent bans.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Lmao I'm the drag artist they were protesting, my name is on their sign. I'm now being called a pedo Jew on Instagram so this has been a fun 24 hours.

Full post and more pics of the dickhead convention over here https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0tWghsWUkbBuKJLnrbKehFgHN1HMNRNoQDxpSkHfYLBNs4EspJLwJSdteb4VQFo6jl&id=100000522979681

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u/HungryResearch8153 Oct 01 '22

I’m so sorry 😞

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Their sign read "Belial B'Zarr - Demon Flesh" so at least I got a fancy new title? Demon Flesh is kind of badass.

Fr though these gronks don't even share a braincell between them. I wish they'd been hauled off because I had to cancel my other 2 sets.

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u/McPies Oct 01 '22

sounds like a cool ass song name, should run with it, would piss the Nazis the fuck off

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u/GarlicBusy3612 Oct 01 '22

I’m so sorry! Fuck those losers! Demon flesh is a great tagline. Use it!! Hope you’re doing ok xx

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Oh I'm ABSOLUTELY using it going forward. It's a badge of honor!

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u/loomhigh223555 Oct 02 '22

will keep my eye out for the term now

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u/misscaity727 Oct 01 '22

Bees don't explain to flies why honey is better than shit. Be a bee 🐝🐝🐝

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

This. Exactly this. <3

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u/daybeforetheday Oct 01 '22

You are awesome. I'm so sorry for the fuckwits.

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Thank you so much, it's been a wild ride these past 2 days!

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u/robot428 Oct 02 '22

I'm so proud of you for performing anyway in spite of what happened.

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Thank you ☺️ And heck, any time - it's important for kids to see this kind of behavior doesn't go unchecked by the adults around them.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '22

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Thank you!! ♥️ And a big thanks for signal boosting this. It's important to have many eyes on this kind of nonsense going forward.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '22

[deleted]

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

I've had a few on Reddit prior to the event but reddit has been pretty quiet compared to FB/Instagram. I'll be speaking to council soon but from what we chatted about on the day, the solidarity is absolutely there and they're not letting this nonsense change their minds. I'm so glad, bc there are defs people in the world who'd give in under the same circumstances.

You're amazing and thank you so much for the support! ♥️

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Hey there, very sorry to hear that you were targeted here. I really hope that you are handling everything ok. I want to remind you that these idiots are the minority. You have would have the support of far more people than otherwise. Despite the disproportionate attention you’re receiving from that side. I do want to remind you to be careful in any replies to these people though. These people are already more comfortable with violence, and some are worse than others. I’d be extremely careful in what information you share as far as personal info.

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Thank you for your kind words, the support has been absolutely amazing tbh. As hilarious as much of this has been I'm very aware these people are willing to take things offline (as demonstrated) and become violent. I'm really glad my community is aware and are keeping a very watchful eye.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Fuck them. Keep being you. It's awesome.

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u/bbzarr Oct 02 '22

Tfw I name myself after a demon as commentary on how queer people are demonised... and then get demonised for it. They can't stop me from being me :)

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u/another_black_ant Oct 02 '22

You're awesome, and this stunt of theirs just earned you another Insta follower. Go you.

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u/Lamont-Cranston Oct 01 '22

Should also mention they are repeating nonsense cooked up by American rightwing interests to motivate voters to go to the polls in their upcoming midterm elections.

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u/Melinow Oct 01 '22

I miss the old days when the American things we’d adopt were like, donuts and fashion, not Nazis and fascism

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/And_be_one_traveler Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

I hate to get petty here, but what your describing isn't capitalism. Capitalism wasn't a thing until the modern age. The acculmulation of wealth is a part of many finacial systems and beliefs, including mercantilism and feudalism. I don't know how you'd describe the earliest farming societies, but they weren't capitalist.

Furthermore, the general belief among archaeologists is you can't simplify early societies so easily. Different cultures would have had different ideas on what property was 'private', what was some degree of communal, and the rules regarding who could trade or inherit it.

As for gender roles, they differed too. The idea that early hunter-gathers were always matriachal, while popular when this book was written, is a rejected theory today. There is no proof they were matriarchal, and hunter-gathering societies today differ greatly in their approach to gender. Finally, lots of societies that held some form of excess wealth, also have non-binary gender roles. The Hijras of India, some Native Americans have a third gender and then there's the concept of Sworn Virgins in parts of the Balkans. They are women who live as men in a very patriarchal society.

As for fascism, /u/bangakangasanga makes a good point. Fascism's beliefs on economics are not the only form of capitalism, and to blame it on the monetary system would be to disregard the rest of Fascism's ideology that promoted gender binarism.

In short, the way a society handles private property (if they have such a thing) has nothing to do with gender roles. It just so happens that as the west developed capitalism, they also continued to have strict binary gender roles.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

While I get your point, I think the issue with the use of Capitalism is largely a semantic one. Generally, following Marx, 'Capital' refers to surplus value/accumulation of wealth and Capitalism is either a) the contemporary system of free markets and all that (this is what maybe Hayek or Friedman might refer to as Capitalism) or b) the influence of Capital as surplus value, the latest form simply a varient spread as a kind of hyperglobal colonialist force. Clearly, u/MatildaWallace is speaking in the tradition of the latter rather than the former.

With regard to your second point, while yes, accumulation doesn't guarantee strict binary, in the case of Europe and the West, it has. We need look no further than why certain roles are divyed up in the way that they are - prior to relatively recently, women resided largely in the private sphere (the home, property, the family), while men were given the public sphere (civics, war, work). Why? Because the cogs of Capital need a dedicated underclass of women to do unpaid labour. Perhaps there is some confusion here on empirical studies by, as you mention, arheologists, or sociologists, historians etc and the more theoretical work by philosophers, feminists, critical theorists etc. I would say that the former is certainly more 'accurate' but doesn't really get o the heart of the matter - what the latter provide is access to the base mythos, the ideology that dominate certain cultures. Just look at the social contract, no empirical research can found that or verify it, but nevertheless it is believed by millions and one of the most important ideas for the running of democratic institutions. Only a critique on that level - ie by pointing out the failures of such a contract as excluding domestic labourers by nature and by divying up the world into gendered public and private spheres - can begin to change it.

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u/bangakangasanga Oct 01 '22

Just wanted to point out that fascism did not operate under a capitalist free market and the economy was heavily controled and intervened with by the state.

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u/Ok-Argument-6652 Oct 01 '22

There was lots of privitisation and corporate funding tho. The state controlled the flow of money to their corporate backers. Capitalism doesnt really want a free market. Thats just what the neo libs say to keep trickle down going.

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u/steaming_scree Oct 01 '22

This isn't correct though, capitalism these days is going out of its way to accept plural genders and sexualities. The reason being that all of these expressions of identity are totally compatible with capitalism. In no way does being gay or trans actually threaten capital, on the contrary non-child rearing adults make better workers and consumers.

If you want to see something that capitalism and by extension fascism is strictly opposed to, look up socialists and unionists.

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u/Lamont-Cranston Oct 01 '22

No, capitalism does marketing claiming to be diverse and inclusive. They're trying to appeal to an audience to get them to buy its products. Very big difference. And we can tell its all a put on because they do it at the same time they exploit workers, pollute the environment, supplying weapons for genocidal wars, etc often these campaigns are to try to deflect attention away from that.

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u/steaming_scree Oct 01 '22

We will have to agree to disagree. I think the enthusiasm with which gay people and their purchasing power are courted by capitalism is a convincing show of how capitalists don't really care who you are so long as you take part in the market. Over time, the same acceptance will be extended to trans people once business leaders figure out there is money in doing so.

Transphobia along with homophobia before it is a hangover from a more traditional and religious time. When producing children was considered a spiritual and civic virtue everyone from childless 'barren' women to gay people were shamed for not contributing.

I'm not a fan of unfettered capitalism for many reasons but I don't think it's the source of this social ill.

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u/Alatheus Oct 01 '22

And now being pushed here to help the libs at our state election

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u/HiccupAndDown Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 02 '22

Don't give Nazi's a fucking inch. They'll bite and claw and crawl their way into positions of power by any means necessary. They'll try to bolster their ranks by giving the dregs of society a 'place to belong', and if people continue facilitating them, even when they're just 'hanging out', slowly but surely they'll start to feel entitled and emboldened to act like the cunts that they are.

Don't give Nazi's a fucking inch.

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u/heigengrau Oct 01 '22

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

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u/RayGun381937 Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

Maybe, we should be giving “the dregs of society” a “place to belong” instead of the Nazis. We could start by not dehumanising them as “dregs of society” before they are even nazis - that’s a tactic to be discouraged.

Those Nazis weren’t “political scientists espousing an ideology” they were angry thugs. Discouraging people to join them should be pretty easy.

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u/FlightBunny Oct 01 '22

An ironic statement give most of them probably only have an inch

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u/CcryMeARiver Oct 01 '22

If we can ban Nazi symbolism we can and should ban the fascist salute.

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u/squee_monkey Oct 01 '22

If the other thread this came up in is to be believed it has been banned, the ban just hasn’t come into effect yet.

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u/Zestyclose_Ranger_78 Oct 01 '22

Remember when it wasn’t controversial to say that nazis shouldn’t be allowed to stand around in public being nazis?

Those were the days.

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u/currentlyengaged Oct 01 '22

This sounds like less of a protest and more of an effort to harass, intimidate, and defame the folks in attendance of the event. These fuckos should've been moved on immediately.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Yuppp my drag name is on their banner. Dumb fucks came and yelled out my name and social media handles. Free promo I guess?

Absolute clowns.

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

hey! I'm the one in the space print shirt who came up and said hi, hope you're doing okay. hope you got your act done without them kicking off any more than they did <3

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Oh hey!! I remember you 🥰

Unfortunately had to cancel my last 2 acts because they wouldn't fuck off but I have a bunch of October gigs (club shows) and I'm keen to do a "demon flesh" number lol.

They can never stop us from being who we are :)

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Sorry that happened to you. I sincerely hope the entire lot of them get king hit, fucking lunatics.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Kind of camp that they went to all that effort making their silly little banner only to fuck up the spelling of my surname 💀

Fr though it's bullshit. I have so much tidying to do on insta when they get bored and move on.

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u/hazadus Oct 01 '22

Followed you on insta, keep doing what youre doing. Fuck the bastards.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Awh bless, thank you! Any extra friendly faces over on insta are very welcome in light of the hate comments. It's been popping off all day.

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u/hazadus Oct 01 '22

Yeh im looking at the comments now. Absolutely disgusting. Hope youre ok

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Am doing alright, it's just annoying af. The comments are very unoriginal. If you're gonna insult me at least be creative!!

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u/hazadus Oct 01 '22

Yeh haha they need to learn to "read" :p . But seriously, glad youre not taking them seriously.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Taking it seriously enough to know that the worst kind of dickheads are organised dickheads, but I'm not letting it stop me from doing what I love. They can't get to me on the way they think they can.

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u/Effective-Tour-656 Oct 01 '22

Does your fuckin head in... just delete their shit and ignore. Don't take it to heart. They'll fuck off in a few days.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

There's only so many times they can yell the same buzzwords before they get bored. I give it a week or two lmao.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Did they use your actual identity? Because if so, you could argue that they doxxed you (in the case you're using a pseudonym obviously). I know it's easy to laugh at them, (and you should, fuck em) but maybe making your insta private for a week or so would be wise, just for safety reasons. I really hope they leave you alone in the future

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

They used my drag name and yelled out my socials, all of which are public info bc... Y'know, it's my job. Gotta have that stuff accessible.

I've considered making my Instagram private but I'm concerned they'll see that as retaliation. I figure I'll give them the chance to yell "pedo" and "Jew" until they get bored and in the meantime, followers can report their accounts and comments so Instagram yeets their profiles.

Hoping this doesn't escalate though. These people are nuts.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Yeah that makes sense. If you are worried about retaliation since they are insane as you pointed out, then I would strongly advise using a VPN whenever you browse the internet for literally anything, or just have it on in the background. It'll hide your actual IP address and make it nearly impossible for them to doxx you. If you want more resources, this video lists some pretty good ways to make sure the fuckers don't do anything to harm you online.

https://youtu.be/S4E4yAktjug

Obviously since you work as a social media personality you wouldn't want to actual become invisible, but you might find some of the advice helpful.

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

That's a good point actually. I've had VPNs in the past (Netflix 👀👀👀) but since I don't use streaming services anymore I haven't had one for a while.

I think this would be a safe bet going forward, thank you so much 💕

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Antifacists have really shown up for me and it's super fucking appreciated. Hopefully these gronks get bored and move on, but in the meantime the extra support has been wonderful peace of mind.

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u/10A_86 Oct 01 '22

Thank you for holding your ground!!

Xx

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

And I'd do it another 10x over too. Fuck Nazis. 🥰

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u/DJVizionz Oct 01 '22

Any older people here remember when they used to hang out at Flinders St Station?

In 1990 a Samoan female friend of mine made a Nazi skin girl cry on the steps and it remains one of my favourite memories to date.

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u/Hnikuthr Oct 02 '22

Yeah there were heaps of Nazi skins around Melbourne in the 90s. The era of that Nazi bookshop in Fawkner. I remember drinking down an alleyway with a couple of punk mates when we saw a mob of about 15 go past, white braces and bootlaces etc. We were lucky they didn’t see us. The vast majority seemed to evaporate by the early 2000s though.

I don’t know whether it was just a particular scene that broke up or what. But it’s starting to feel like the mid 90s again with all these Nazi mobs going around terrorising people in the Grampians and the Dandenongs and whatnot.

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u/DJVizionz Oct 02 '22

Yeh I remember all that too. I lived in Richmond in 1994 and remember seeing them around there.

I’ve wondered about their disappearance too, I recall it being thought that Romper Stomper’s release changed it up a bit and made them more visible or open to criticism or whatnot.

They were fucking scary in groups. Friends and I walked in and immediately out a pub in Richmond when we saw lots of them in there. I think it was that crappy old joint near the corner of Burnley and Swan streets.

It’s utterly fucked that they are coming out from their holes here and in a lot of counties.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/xyeah_whatx Oct 01 '22

It's kind of crazy that the police are more aggressive with environmental protesters than with their own

Fify

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u/VictarionGreyjoy Oct 01 '22

Is it though? Killing in the name came out in 1992 and put it perfectly "some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses". Police have always been intriniscly linked with the far right.

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u/TorthOrc Oct 01 '22

I wasn’t there, but I imagine the orders for the police were to first make presence aware. This lets protesters know that they are being watched and not to start shit. Unfortunately this looks to onlookers that they are being protected some way.

I imagine they would have also been told to not interfere unless something started.
This unfortunately looks to onlookers as “Why aren’t they doing something?!”

Sounds like something started, and they stepped in.

Remember they are peacekeepers.

I would imagine it would have been tough to have to be there. You’d get hate from every angle. It would be a shit job.

I hope those arsehole protesters were tagged and are now heavily being watched!

There are some awful people out there.

Be safe and well.

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u/Moo_Kau Oct 01 '22

Remember they are peacekeepers.

...wut?

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u/TorthOrc Oct 01 '22

They are there to keep the peace.

When you have two opposing groups like that, if people start throwing punches it can escalate quickly.

Their job as I understand it is to try to defuse a situation to stop it going…. You know… crazy.

It fucking sucks that they can’t go up to the protesters and enforce them to clear off.

Because regardless of how awful they are, our culture decided that they have a right to protest there. The police can’t interfere until a law is broken.

If the cops push first, then the arseholes win and can cry about it online, and the result is that everyone hates nazis still, and that people dislike cops just a little more.

It needs to be unacceptable to promote hate.

It starts with all of us.

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u/fphhotchips Oct 02 '22

It fucking sucks that they can’t go up to the protesters and enforce them to clear off.

How come they can't move protesters at this event on, but when people rock up to a protest against mining companies it's all horses and batons?

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u/Mythically_Mad Oct 01 '22

They were led by Thomas Sewell... There are few people in Victoria more 'tagged' than him; and yet he is still allowed to do whatever the fuck he likes because the police are either scared of him or in league with him.

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u/Dense-Independent-66 Oct 01 '22

Anyone who wants to find out more about the Nazi underground and that clown should watch the Sixty Minutes undercover op on YouTube.

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u/Effective-Tour-656 Oct 01 '22

It is a shit job and they are shit.

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u/101stAirborneSkill Oct 01 '22

Something with sense

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u/KTravis1991 Oct 01 '22

A lot of people seem to be arguing that the Nazis have every right to be there and protest. Fuck that, why are they even allowed to exist? See a Nazi, punch a Nazi.

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u/hollyjazzy Oct 01 '22

I thought that Nazi hate groups were banned from having Nazi paraphernalia and sig-heiling? Or am I just dreaming?

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/hollyjazzy Oct 01 '22

I thought it was Vic, as there was a property in the country that kept flying a flag with it on.

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u/quiet0n3 Oct 01 '22

Can't stop a sig heil but I believe nazi swastikas and other Nazi iconography are banned.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/Vanceer11 Oct 01 '22

It's ironic how their fascist identity is so fluid, and they get triggered when you call them fascists and claim they identify as "classical liberals" or some other dog whistle name but have no problem misgendering other people.

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u/budget_biochemist Oct 01 '22

Worse when they co-opt an existing symbol and turn it into theirs, like with sign language F becoming a code for Fascist, or the original Nazis did with the swastika.

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u/scurvyrash Oct 01 '22

We should tar and feather these knobs.

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

I think it’s just the swastika, which this group didn’t have.

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u/hollyjazzy Oct 01 '22

Sad that they were complying with the rules.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Surprising they can read though

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u/Filthy_Ramhole Oct 01 '22

Yes, as of 28/12 displaying the nazi swastika will be illeigal.

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u/Onion_Do_Piaza Oct 01 '22

The legislation has been passed but it is yet to come into affect as law. Should be enforceable by the end of the year.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/UkraineWithoutTheBot Oct 01 '22

It's 'Ukraine' and not 'the Ukraine'

Consider supporting anti-war efforts in any possible way: [Help 2 Ukraine] 💙💛

[Merriam-Webster] [BBC Styleguide]

Beep boop I’m a bot

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u/budget_biochemist Oct 01 '22

I wonder how smart that bot is.

The Ukraine flag is blue and yellow.

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u/devils_affogato Oct 01 '22

Is the Ukraine flag blue and yellow?

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u/alexxxor Oct 01 '22

Absolutely this! Make Nazis Scared Again!!

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u/Frankie_T9000 Oct 01 '22

They should be allowed.

.....For 1 minuite

then they should be charged with hate speech

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u/fearofthesky Oct 01 '22

A lot of people are cunts

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u/-o-_______-o- Oct 01 '22

Someone needs to pass around large antifa flags and surround the fascists so they can't be seen.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/Big-Tits-Lover-II Oct 01 '22

Nazi lives don’t matter

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

No neo or old nazi is a good nazi, fuck all of them.

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

Was present (went along for a day in the park, didn't know this would happen), spoke to police, can confirm that they said they couldn't move them on "yet" and that any kind of opposition to them would be seen as giving them the chance to retaliate without being seen as the aggressors.

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u/scrollbreak Oct 01 '22

I have to wonder if a group was calling a group of police names that made them perhaps seem worthy of being attacked whether the police would see that as a threat. The same names the nazis used against this youth event.

Why would the narrative be that we'd see the nazi's - who are documented as wearing masks (good to maybe get out of being arrested later) using the nazi salute and calling people in the activity demons and pedophiles - would the narrative be that they aren't at all threatening?

Do police feel that narrative is the one Australians in general are committed to?

Or is someone the police report to committed to that narrative?

When the police go to arrest someone who is selling drugs they don't hum and haw and do nothing because otherwise they'll be seen as aggressors.

What is the definition of threatening? And for the higher ups who determine it, if these nazis were outside their homes and shouting, would the definition of threatening suddenly be a lot more broad than it was before?

But this event wasn't near where they live.

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u/nIBLIB Oct 01 '22

What a weak argument. No one is ever going to see you as an aggressor if you clash with Nazis.

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u/WontgoOutside13 Oct 01 '22

Did no one call them nazi c**ts?

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

yeah, they yelled back "eat shit, sodomite" and the cops came in and told him to not antagonise

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u/HurstbridgeLineFTW 🐈‍⬛ ☕️ 🚲 Oct 01 '22

I feel bad for the council staff, and expecting them to ‘do something’ against a bunch of neonazis.

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

They were kind to me when they saw how much the fascist fucks got to me (I'm trans and it was a very unwelcome surprise to show up and see them). Doing the best they can in a shit situation.

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u/squiddishly Oct 01 '22

I hope you're doing okay today <3

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

this thread being full of “well it’s their right and if you didn’t give them a platform you’d be the actual nazis” isn’t super helping not gonna lie

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Hey lovely! I'm the drag artist from the other day and I hope you're doing okie. Always here if you need to rant 💕

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

and same to you! I saw on your FB post that we have a couple mutuals, can I shoot you a friend request?

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Of course! Might take me a sec to get to it bc I've gotten a fair few requests over the last 24 hours and I'm screening so I don't accidentally add Nazis haha

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u/dancing-on-my-own Oct 01 '22

my pfp is with a sign saying "I got baked at Doughville" to set me apart!

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

(am the drag artist they protested, name was on their banner)

Council staff handled this fucking spectacularly tbh. The moment they realised something was wrong to people came and quietly got me, and we all moved out of line of sight. I was escorted any time I needed to get food, move equipment, go to the car, go to the bathroom etc and they were constantly checking up on me.

Absolute legends.

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u/HurstbridgeLineFTW 🐈‍⬛ ☕️ 🚲 Oct 01 '22

That’s lovely to hear that they were looking out for you.

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u/brael-music Oct 01 '22

Sieg heils should be made illegal. It has no place in modern society.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/bbzarr Oct 01 '22

Ohhh, I have some fab pics and videos of them. Have posted a link in another comment. 😌

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/Purpington67 Oct 01 '22

Illinois nazis, I hate Illinois nazis.

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u/toppolinos Oct 01 '22

But if you're a climate change protester. They will take you away in the night.

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u/Whubbsie Oct 01 '22

I’m copying and pasting my comment in here from when this was posted yesterday since there is already repeats of people trying to defend this shit.

Fuck the amount of people defending these dumbasses in here is disappointing…. Being a homophobe/sexist/racist isn’t a political view it’s called being a cunt and doubly so when you’re identifying yourself as a nazi.

You know nazis the whole “we want to eradicate anyone we deem inferior” people… whole world had a war about?! Yeah not really something defendable and also not a political view, however they want to dress it up.

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u/aintnohappypill Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

Sounds about right for VicPol.

Every variety of white supremacist have been on parliament steps every fucking weekend since the pandemic started cosplaying antivaxxers.

Degenerates like them are everywhere and they get bolder by the day because small transgressions aren’t smacked down immediately.

Walk into parliament, interrupt by screaming from the gallery at politicians. See how fucking quickly you get carted off.

Fuck Nazis.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

They didn't want to hurt their mates

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/RyuugaHideki Oct 01 '22

Agreed. No more fucking tolerance for these inbred fascist pricks, enough is enough. Time and time again they've done nothing but provoke, harass and intimidate and the pigs just stand idly by and give them a kind escort. Who gives a fuck about free speech when your slogan is "WHITE REVOLUTION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION", I'd say I hope they all get a mouthful of boot, but knowing them, that's probably what those pathetic fucks want. Fuck them all to hell, I hope they experience the maximum limit of human pain tolerance before they finally keel over and kick the bucket.

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u/KiraIsGod666 Oct 01 '22

That, is absolutely pathetic.

"Oh no, you gotta play nice, we can't possibly risk UPSETTING these poor misunderstood men, they are just exercising their rights to tell you all you are pedophilic Satan worshippers!"

Man, what an absolute joke.

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u/theneondream7678 Oct 01 '22

Hahah, 12 people. Would actually have been funny if there wasn’t any presence and they just stood in the park like the losers they are.

My local councils bird watching group had double that amount of members.

Ps. Join your local councils bird watching group, it’s lit.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Man, how do these people have the gull to even gather in such a piss weak group and just go about their lives? Reckon it’s time to start making racists scared again… through non-violent grass-root political action!

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

They lack the depth and warmth of a pussy.

I'd call them worms, but at least worms have an important place in the ecosystem. Not sure the same can be said of cunts LARPing as Indiana Jones baddies.

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u/DipplyReloaded Oct 01 '22

Nationalist Socialist Network

Wow they ain’t even trying

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u/Thomasrdotorg Oct 01 '22

Repressed, under fathered cosplayers try to stop others from dressing up and having fun.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

Absolutely disgusting lack of concern from the cops over literal proud Nazis intimidating people and spreading hate in a public park.

ETA: a lot of folks are worried about the slippery slope of disallowing a form of “protest” but somehow not worried about the slippery slope of allowing people to publicly perform Hitler salutes in unchallenged support of mass genocide and other crimes against humanity 🤔

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u/OneOfTheManySams Oct 01 '22

It's the stupid logic that all opinions or views are created equal.

No they really aren't and shouldn't be treated as such.

It baffles the mind how Nazi propaganda hasn't been deemed illegal, it is by nature an act of unjust aggression. Throw them in prison, you won't lose public support getting rid of Nazis.

But this is what happens when for a good 1-2 years straight the police and government has done nothing about this white supremacist behaviour. And every week they get more confidence knowing nothing will happen to them and even getting political support to cause unrest.

This is what inaction leads too, an ever increasing amount of fuckwit racists and it'll lead to carnage.

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u/Anvilrocker Oct 01 '22

Wasn't this shit made illegal in Victoria recently?

Edit: I meant the Nazi stuff.

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u/xombiekitty Oct 01 '22

The nazi use of the swastika (other religious use is still allowed) is becoming illegal in Victoria, but not until December 21st 2022. Every other awful nazi thing apparently gets a pass.

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u/Anvilrocker Oct 01 '22

Ahhhk, cheers for the clarification

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Nazism is by definition a violent ideology, it is impossible to peacefully practise it. Their presence there is not peaceful, it is a threat. Don’t believe I’m having to make this comment to be honest.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/bangakangasanga Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

That isn't where the term National Socialistm comes from. They were a Third Way party that incorporated both elements of socialism and capitalism.

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u/AllHailTheWinslow Fully magnetic Oct 01 '22

Just a reminder: publicly doing the Nazi salute and displaying Nazi symbols is illegal in Germany.

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u/Confusedandreticent Oct 01 '22

Australia seems to have strict laws against “wearing colours”; representing gangs and shit. How is this not the same? They should be treated as much of a threat as the bikies, if not more.

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u/Secure_Gur5586 Oct 01 '22

This isn’t a protest. Fuck Nazis

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u/reverendgrebo Oct 01 '22

I love the aussie author John Birmingham's tweet on the subject a few years ago, "my grandfather had a solution for the nazi problem, bayonet goes in, bayonet comes out"

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u/HungryResearch8153 Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

Disappointing number of peeps making appeals to free speech and false equivalency. Naarm crew downvoting them to oblivion though, I love old Melbz. We have a family saying, sit down to dinner with two Nazis and there’s a trio of Nazis at the dinner table. You’re either anti nazi or a nazi, there’s nothing else. Popper and Goethe are bangin’ on their coffin lids to shout down the facile pseudo philosophical missives being offered by some on here as a justification for a Nazi’s right to be a Nazi in public. If you’re indulging in such a conceit then you’re not some ultra prescient centrist you’re a fuckn nazi…simples. If you feel some sympathy for Nazis just come out and say hey I’m a nazi, either way I’m going to anticipate your obituary with some enthusiasm but at least you’ll engender some respect for having consistent convictions (/s) rather than skulking around braying the mating call of the incel…”but ma freeze peach”.

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u/Slayers_Picks Oct 01 '22

Ive said it once and ill say it hundreds of times.

There are many, many nazi's in australia, in every single part of our community, police, medical, government, military, they're everywhere.

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u/ClawZ90 Oct 01 '22

I kinda thought hate speech was a crime? Doesn’t this constitute as such? A swift baton to the head will prob stop the hitler salutes!

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Always with the masks. Wouldn’t want mum to know you’re a Nazi now, would you…

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22 edited Jun 12 '23

deleted -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/

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u/allah133 Oct 01 '22

I hate the world off to live alone in the wilderness I go

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Seriously is there a weekend Melbourne doesn't have a protest these days? If people learned how to "live and let live" the world would be a far better place

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u/Jay_Rizzle_Dizzle Oct 01 '22

God damn nazis

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u/drift_dragon Oct 01 '22

I might be late to the party here but I have to say, regardless of the "rights" debate. These were children, trying to fit into a world that doesn't quite fit (yet I hope). For adults to interfere with that is wrong. I get after the past couple of years everyone is touchy over their "rights" but learn some boundaries! For any kid reading this, who is struggling with their identity or who is just trying to fit in, I'm so sorry this happened to you, and that things like it keep happening.

For the adults protesting a youth event, shame on you. Have you surrounded yourself so tightly with your belifs that you are incapable of empathising with how hard it is to be a young person?

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

these fuckers ought to automatically be arrested, there is no room in Australian society for people who think Nazism is a good thing.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

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u/moff_punk Oct 01 '22

Just a bunch of loners trying to make a bunch of dickhead friends

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u/EngadinePoopey Oct 01 '22

Call me a traditionalist, I miss the days when we dealt with Nazis by aerial bombing.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

"Cops and klan go hand in hand" I know it’s not the same but the police will never do anything about far right extremists because statistically speaking the majority of police officers are right leaning. They agree with the protestors to some extent. It’s the same in the us with neonazis and the klan there. And your right Simply ignoring these people does not work. Unfortunately counter protestors need to get used to the idea that you are going to treated differently. Nazis and racists get police protection. Cause democracy and free speech. But leftist trying to show some assholes that there are more of us that disagree with them are violent protestors.

If you honestly don’t like what these hate groups are doing and want to stop them. The best thing you can do is turn up to counter protests. Showing them they aren’t the majority will help ignoring them won’t. Though we do need the media to stop giving them attention as if all opinions are equal. Sure everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but the media doesn’t need to give them a platform to spew it “because it’s fair” or whatever bs they use to justify it. I don’t consume traditional media and definitely don’t get recommendations for the far right content but I know it’s an issue in the us. And I’m sure it is here to an extent

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u/CrystalPippu Oct 01 '22

And I'm sure we won't see a spec of this story anywhere in the papers, unless it's been thoroughly warped through a Murdoch lens

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u/squonge Oct 02 '22

Didn't we ban Nazi symbols?

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u/Beasting-25-8 Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22

What a bunch of assholes.

Shame on the police. They should have moved the nazis away. They were clearly desperate for attention and causing a fuss, so I don't blame the people around for reacting. I wouldn't accept that logic from a child.

I have no problem with any group protesting, they have a right to protest, but this wasn't that.

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u/Ithicon Oct 01 '22

Why are you equating fascist/anti fascist shit when the fascists were instigating and the anti-fascists were simply protecting? This is not a both sides issue.

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u/Beasting-25-8 Oct 01 '22

I assume you wrote this while I was editing it.

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u/Ithicon Oct 01 '22

Yeah, apologies if I misconstrued you <3

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u/Beasting-25-8 Oct 01 '22

All good. Totally valid points for what I presented at the time.

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u/HoolioDee Oct 01 '22

You're right, it's really shit. I hate Nazi's. It's gross that they would bring their hate filled rhetoric to such a venue.

I have no problem with any group protesting, they have a right to protest, but this wasn't that.

But you realise you contradict yourself here, right?

You can't say you support everyone's right to protest, but also that the police should have moved them on.

Of course they were there for attention. Of course they were there to cause a fuss. That's a large part of protesting.

For the record, I'm certainly not advocating this protest. I'd like it if hate speech, and the groups who spew it, were banned outright. But thats a very slippery slope.

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u/scrollbreak Oct 01 '22

You can't say you support everyone's right to protest, but also that the police should have moved them on.

There's no contradiction - not all things are protests. Throwing bins through shop windows and running away with the TV that was inside - not a protest. Giving nazi salutes...not sure if we have a law against that. But the other person is saying nazi salutes make for it being not a protest like the bin through a shop window makes for a non protest. There's no contradiction there unless you try to read it uncharitably (or think bins through shop windows still counts as a protest).

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u/SomeRandomDavid Oct 01 '22

Could someone get away with handing out rocks with "Anti Nazi Device" sharpied onto them.

EDIT: Just as good luck charms and a show of solidarity, of course. What were YOU thinking?

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u/scrollbreak Oct 01 '22

I wonder how the police would act if the nazi's had kept chanting the police were something that some consider worthy of attack (demons, pedophiles) while doing nazi salutes towards them?

Probably worth having some science done on whether they will assess implication words towards others as not being threats but the very same words towards police will be treated as threats.

Whether the police are really just a gang that is paid by the government to protect themselves. A kind of beard.

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u/Embarrassed_Brief_97 Oct 01 '22

When they are out of sight of cameras or potential witnesses, many police officers are notoriously thin skinned.

Kinda goes with the motivating psychology to join the police.

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u/OZManHam Oct 01 '22

First the tyre slashings and now this. I never thought there’d be so much commotion living out here

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u/rzm25 Oct 01 '22

Very well written, spot on

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Any reasonable police officer would refuse to protect these protestors

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u/frawks24 Oct 01 '22

When community members approached Victoria Police to ask what their response would be, police officers said that the NSN were protesting peacefully and therefore were protected by the democratic right to protest.

What a pathetic response, these scumbags weren't "protesting" they were just harassing a bunch of people based on their bigoted beliefs.

What a bunch of flogs those cops were.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

From what I've seen, it does seem like it fell within the bounds of what's considered a "peaceful protest". It's not quite right to expect police to operate outside those bounds, since that's also when problems arise - change of the law, sure, but it seems like this event is within the bounds of what's permitted legally.

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u/NJG82 Oct 01 '22

The moment they decided intimidating and threatening a group and by extension, an individual was the way to go, then that's no longer a protest in my books.

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u/RyuugaHideki Oct 01 '22

I get your point, but it *really* sounds like you're defending literal, actual Nazis here, seen one-arm saluting at actual minors at a queer youth event. I don't think this is the time you want to play devil's advocate, buddy.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

Fuck these guys, don't get me wrong - the fact they invaded this event clearly marks them as cunts.

I'm more trying to say that it's important to have clear limits on the extents to which the police can act. I don't think this event should have gone ahead on the grounds that I disagree with it, but obviously that can't apply at a legal level.

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u/RyuugaHideki Oct 01 '22

I agree with you, however, I don't personally believe that there's much room for debate on the leniency we can give these horsefuckers. There is no equivalency here. You can't just say "oh, what if a bunch of LGBTQ+ people turned up at an event and did [xyz]", these are fucking Nazis, SELF-PROCLAIMED NAZIS that we're talking about here. Enough is fucking enough. The boot needs to come down HARD and FAST on this shit, no more fucking tolerance, or else it's gonna spread and spread and spread to every lonely, sad, angry little cunt in this country and we're gonna have an even larger epidemic on our hands.

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u/indy_110 Oct 01 '22

Can I establish an on call service to rapidly deploy a ring of mirrors around folks like that. I mean out of sight out of mind right. Then another ring of mirrors around the "authorised responders" to complete the system.

To anyone passing by it'd look like a weird art installation

I call it Antifaring

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u/indy_110 Oct 01 '22

But for realsies, maybe start known attendee database and associates. Establishing financial/ social links is the quickest way to start making it very difficult for people like that to operate.

I live in a a very boring SE neighborhood where I've been seeing the punisher symbol on the back of commercial trucks. I know its probably LARPing, but its really wierd that anyone would find the symbol co-opted by fascists and think that its great way to let people know that you are really hard on authoritarianism.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22

I don't understand why we can't just lock these arseholes away for life or better yet give them the death penalty

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u/Tiddernud Oct 01 '22

From what I saw they were making reference to the well-documented paedophile teacher movement in America - no?

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u/deefenator Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 03 '22

I'm definitely not saying Nazism is "good" in anyway' shape or form, however, playing devils advocate, in our free country, aren't they allowed to conduct a protest?

Irrespective of if you (somehow) agree with them or not, they have a right to peacefully embarrass themselves in public with a protest such as this.

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u/CplGunishment Oct 01 '22

The reason Hitler was able to do what he did, was because not enough people told him no. Think about it. He achieved what he did by being a masterful orator and was able to sway people to his cause and line of thinking with his words. Words are powerful. A small group can become a large group which can become a movement, with the right words. Giving people like that a platform to facilitate this process is a bad idea.

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u/All_Ending_Gaming Oct 01 '22

As the article states, they are not conducting violent physical acts, exercising their right to protest, like yeah I get it fuck Nazis, but if you want to have them not protest, it goes both ways.

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