Post AMofalsEQErZbEMOO0 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) More posts by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) Post #AMoZBAybrtlwCUkuPY by Leighghunt@mastodon.nz
2022-08-23T00:26:46Z
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RT @farmgeek@twitter.comKia kaha Pōneke. There is no place for fascism here ❤️🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/farmgeek/status/1561840592409092097
(DIR) Post #AMoZBBSO5BajgqggpE by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-08-23T08:58:30Z
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@Leighghunt> There is no place for fascism... fullstop. But is that really relevant to these protests? Am I naive about what kinds of right winger Brian Tamaki is? Or are people diluting the word fascism by using it to mean 'anyone to the right of me'?
(DIR) Post #AMob7z9vY5FgaZehvM by Leighghunt@mastodon.nz
2022-08-23T09:20:13Z
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@strypey there’s people to the right of me, and then there’s people to the very very far right of me. https://twitter.com/te_taipo/status/1561856076450242560?s=21&t=gxW7_9iN1iXwMl-UONpqoA
(DIR) Post #AMofalsEQErZbEMOO0 by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-08-23T10:10:24Z
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@Leighghunt Guilt by association isn't really that insightful. Kelvin Alp is not under a viral copyleft license. His presence in a given place does not put everyone present under the umbrella of his politics. The Socialist Workers Organization used to regularly attend protests organized by other groups, but that didn't mean that everyone involved was a Marxist-Leninist. Tamaki and co may be naive about who they associate with, but that in itself doesn't make them fascists.
(DIR) Post #AMogFp1RcXQXEnFBa4 by Leighghunt@mastodon.nz
2022-08-23T09:23:59Z
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@strypey and of course fake “Nuremberg” trials calling for the execution of politicians and health officials, vaccinators etc.
(DIR) Post #AMogFpO8GBZiN9rIwa by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-08-23T10:17:46Z
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@LeighghuntI can see why people find this confronting and distasteful. But in the 90s and early 2000s I attended a number of left wing protests where political leaders were burned in effigy (eg Suharto, the former Indonesian head of state, at East Timor solidarity rallies). People found that confronting and distasteful too. In a democracy, people are free to exercise our basic human rights to freedom of political expression, regardless of how distasteful some people may find it.
(DIR) Post #AMoiV0wXmTImShK85Q by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-08-23T10:42:57Z
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@LeighghuntIf you think I'm splitting hairs, think about the old story of the boy who cried wolf. The most likely outcome of calling anyone and everyone on the right a "fascist" is to make mainstream society more complacent about the very serious threat of actual fascism. If that happens, anyone issuing carefully considered warnings about actual fascist movements are much less likely to be heard and taken seriously. This is potentially very dangerous.
(DIR) Post #AMsG2dMvoeuD9eBWgC by Leighghunt@mastodon.nz
2022-08-25T03:42:41Z
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@strypey I hear what you are saying, and yes, I'm also aware that often left-leaning protests can stray into this territory also. Of late I've got to say that it's been coming a lot more from the far right side, but I understand your caution about crying wolf. I guess my concern is that by the time people are issuing carefully considered warnings (e.g. at parliamentary/consulate level) it's going to be too late - sometimes acting on early warning signs to raise attention is a good thing.
(DIR) Post #AMuJnSABz3OUBsA9qK by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2022-08-26T03:34:23Z
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@Leighghunt Anti-fascist activists can (and ought to) issue carefully considered early warnings about fascist organizing. It just requires that they a) make an effort to learn what distinguished fascism from other forms of right-wing politics, and b) base their analysis of right wing political activity on that, rather than just throwing the label at any and all of it.