Blame The Game! The Need for Antifascist Stance against the Anti-Lockdown Protest
The overwhelmingly dangerous corona crisis and the response by the government offer furtile ground for dangerous and inherently antisemitic conspiracy theories. Solidarity these days means formulating a good class based analysis of how the governments responses and antagonizing the reactionary conspiracy guided demonstrations that are happening, like today in Amsterdam.
Blame the Game- Capitalism is not a conspiracy
It has become increasingly more difficult to mobilise left wing activist under the flag of antifascism in the Netherlands. Whilst, the corona demonstration a phenomena that is happening throughout Europe the left in Germany, Austria, Switzerland etc. responses radically by blocking and organizing counter demonstrations. Today in Amsterdam a dozen protesters, not wearing masks, claiming that the vaccine involves some Bill Gates microchips, and in general the virus be a myth clashed with the police. As much as we have sympathies with riots against police in a country where resistance seems to be paralysed, this is cleary to be opposed. Indeed, what is happening is that a clear scene around a dubious response to the crisis becomes increasingly dangerous. The scene involvels to a big extent new and old conspiracy theorists, the radical right (Nexit,NVU and NL flags), Pro Zwarte Piet Hools and people from lower classes that we have lost due to a elitist, theoretically inaccessible debate around what is wrong with capitalism.
Corona is a starting point for the scene. The general uncertainty that is an inevitable side effect of the crisis makes many people receptive to simple explanations. The lockdown is fundamentally changing people's everyday lives and shaking up all discourses. The constant exposure through the media puts people in a kind of constant excitement, which is a good breeding ground for the crude alarmism of the conspiracy theorists. What is particularly worrying about all of this is that this scene is incredibly open to the right, and in part certainly also orchestrated from the right.
Fake news and conspiracy stories about the corona virus are currently reaching an audience of millions: on the internet, on the street and among friends. Their simple explanations work over naming a scapegoat. This paves the way for anti-Semitic and racist worldviews. And that leads to specific attacks on specific groups: Jews, people with Asian readings, asylum seekers, people with a history of immigration and scientists are affected.
Of course, criticism of the measures ordered by the state is just as permissible as it is appropriate. This argument is where we need to find our place. Left groups in particular must push against these developments in dutch cities. Mistrust of the powerful is also always appropriate. But wild speculation and blind actionism are counterproductive and oftentimes end up in blatant antisemitsm and hate against everyone who agrees with the majority opinion in science concerning the corona virus. Further, the talk of the end of democracy, of the “corona dictatorship” and an imminent turning point is pure scare tactics. As it is constitutive for conspiracy theories, the dynamics of social processes are vastly underestimated and the plannability and controllability in capitalism are overestimated. To panic people and to increase the general confusion, and that also hand in hand with fascists, that plays into the hands of capital.
Conspiracy narratives usually seem harmless and often bizarre. However, above all, they are dangerous - therefore it is important to contradict
It is crucial for us to find our place, we have to keep an eye on the scene and potentially organize counter demonstration to show the reactionary fascist tendencies!
Alerta Alerta (a loosely organist AFA group form Adam in response to what happened today)