The State of Things #4
The Diva has started a blog about an event that will take place in the town of Meligala in Southern Peloponnesus, in Greece from September the 13th to the 16th. It is be entitled "Hate Wave" and is potentially the largest gathering of various Neo Nazi and Fascist organisations in Europe to have taken place since the War. They are claiming it as a 'camping holiday', with bands, speakers and events.
According to news reports the towns people and the mayor of the town have petitioned for the event to be banned. The leaders of the tiny Greek Jewish community, and various Left-wing, anarchist and activist groups have also written letters of protest.
UNDER THE LAW THOUGH IT CAN NOT BE STOPPED
Now the question here is what can we do about it? Does anyone out there know of a legal way of blocking this shameful event, without making these people appear the victims?
Here in Europe we're at a very crucial turning point. Since the war, perhaps due to the feeling of certainty that Fascism was finally uprooted and destroyed, there has been a growing apathy towards the power and appeal of Fascist philosophy to the European under-class. We have watched them growing in number over several years, while the Left have slowly drifted towards the margins of political influence since the early 80's. Many good people who would have been the logical anti-Fascist elements within our societies have 'dropped out' to join fringe movements and cults, or sunk deeper into the ranks of ideologically fuzzy alternative groups, and offshoot pseudo-religious communes and so on. This void has always been one of the best nesting grounds for extreme Right groups. Disaffected youth and unemployed people have traditionally formed a very strong target group for Nazi propaganda. With the dissolution of the Eastern Block and the reintegration of East Germany, the break up of various Balkan and Eastern European countries, and the influx of migrants into the new Europe in search of a better life or to simply escape from the horrors of life in the poorer countries, the atmosphere is custom-built for a massive shift towards the Right. In countries like Greece where anti-racist education is very much only just beginning to happen, and where a large majority of the population as yet do not even have the basic language for addressing racism and xenophobia, and more than that automatically assume that they are not racist, the spectre of such a gathering is truly horrifying.
Already Greece has been seriously criticised for its track record in tackling questions of race and immigration, by most of the world's human rights groups. Its awful history for not dealing strongly with these issues, even within its own governmental institutions, is well documented. If this festival of hate is allowed to go ahead we can be certain that its impact on the youth here, especially in the more back-water areas of the country will be significant. This event is above and beyond everything else an obvious move to recruiting new followers, and it is simply intolerable.
We are open to any and all suggestions regarding this extremely serious problem. I for one believe absolutely that this is a significant, well orchestrated move to swell the ranks of New Right movements within Europe. It is an unfortunate result of Democratic laws that give voice to the very elements whose sole purpose is the destruction of Democracy, yet a solution to this paradox is one of the hardest things to find. On the other hand, abhorrent as these groups are, I fear that stopping them from having their festival would work, finally, to their advantage, by making them the victims and martyrs of the situation, therefore allowing them the opportunity to appear as the sole subjects of oppression in a 'liberal' society.
So we return to the question at hand. What can be done, and what would be a good solution to combating this horrific event from succeeding in spreading its poisonous ideology freely? Please post your suggestions, here and at 'This is not my Country' and anywhere else relevant.
THE TIME HAS ALREADY PASSED FOR RESISTING THESE PEOPLE.
According to news reports the towns people and the mayor of the town have petitioned for the event to be banned. The leaders of the tiny Greek Jewish community, and various Left-wing, anarchist and activist groups have also written letters of protest.
UNDER THE LAW THOUGH IT CAN NOT BE STOPPED
Now the question here is what can we do about it? Does anyone out there know of a legal way of blocking this shameful event, without making these people appear the victims?
Here in Europe we're at a very crucial turning point. Since the war, perhaps due to the feeling of certainty that Fascism was finally uprooted and destroyed, there has been a growing apathy towards the power and appeal of Fascist philosophy to the European under-class. We have watched them growing in number over several years, while the Left have slowly drifted towards the margins of political influence since the early 80's. Many good people who would have been the logical anti-Fascist elements within our societies have 'dropped out' to join fringe movements and cults, or sunk deeper into the ranks of ideologically fuzzy alternative groups, and offshoot pseudo-religious communes and so on. This void has always been one of the best nesting grounds for extreme Right groups. Disaffected youth and unemployed people have traditionally formed a very strong target group for Nazi propaganda. With the dissolution of the Eastern Block and the reintegration of East Germany, the break up of various Balkan and Eastern European countries, and the influx of migrants into the new Europe in search of a better life or to simply escape from the horrors of life in the poorer countries, the atmosphere is custom-built for a massive shift towards the Right. In countries like Greece where anti-racist education is very much only just beginning to happen, and where a large majority of the population as yet do not even have the basic language for addressing racism and xenophobia, and more than that automatically assume that they are not racist, the spectre of such a gathering is truly horrifying.
Already Greece has been seriously criticised for its track record in tackling questions of race and immigration, by most of the world's human rights groups. Its awful history for not dealing strongly with these issues, even within its own governmental institutions, is well documented. If this festival of hate is allowed to go ahead we can be certain that its impact on the youth here, especially in the more back-water areas of the country will be significant. This event is above and beyond everything else an obvious move to recruiting new followers, and it is simply intolerable.
We are open to any and all suggestions regarding this extremely serious problem. I for one believe absolutely that this is a significant, well orchestrated move to swell the ranks of New Right movements within Europe. It is an unfortunate result of Democratic laws that give voice to the very elements whose sole purpose is the destruction of Democracy, yet a solution to this paradox is one of the hardest things to find. On the other hand, abhorrent as these groups are, I fear that stopping them from having their festival would work, finally, to their advantage, by making them the victims and martyrs of the situation, therefore allowing them the opportunity to appear as the sole subjects of oppression in a 'liberal' society.
So we return to the question at hand. What can be done, and what would be a good solution to combating this horrific event from succeeding in spreading its poisonous ideology freely? Please post your suggestions, here and at 'This is not my Country' and anywhere else relevant.
THE TIME HAS ALREADY PASSED FOR RESISTING THESE PEOPLE.
posted by FLUX at 5:36 PM
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