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Today I learned there are people affiliated to nazi groups in my town, and I'm scared as fuck.

I'm posting this partially for advice but mostly to vent bc I have no idea if there's much that can be done from my situation.

Also, any opsec advice to improve the description is appreciated.

13 comments
  • Mentioned elsewhere, but reaching out to known safe people is a great place to start. The feminist collective and antifascist guy from ig sound promising.

    I think there's two flavors of actions to take, and you can decide a balance that's right for you:

    1. Don't be an easy target. Your online/public persona is ineffective lib #resistance - you're against Nazis, but Nazis won't see you as a threat. Embed yourself in some community (e.g. a shared hobby), be friendly and likable, and tolerate (or just lightly push back on) the reactionary bullshit that will inevitably come out of people's mouths. Your goal is to have a group people who know you and think fondly of you, who don't want bad things to happen to you specifically. If you're in a minority group, having some chuds think you're "one of the good ones" is tactically useful. There's obviously a balance with the emotional toll of being with chuds and hearing gross takes. You can probably at least play the "let's not talk about politics" card, but hopefully there's at least a group of #resist libs that won't spout too much garbage? Obviously the best option would be like minded people - maybe have a weekly meetup or something with your art friends?
    2. Punch Nazis. They are dangerous, and their ideas needs to be clearly denounced and challenged head on. Remove stickers, or cover with your own. Spread rumors about the folks you know in the groups. I'm 50/50 on what someone mentioned about getting a newspaper involved - that might backfire by increasing their notoriety. They're in these groups because it makes them feel cool - make it clear that nobody thinks they are cool, and actually they're disgusting and pathetic.

    Please don't feel like you need to be actively punching Nazis in order to be a good leftist. Nobody can tell you what the "right" balance is - some folks need to stay covert to survive, and few people are able to publicly advocate what they truly believe should be done about the rise of fascism (especially now).

    The existing organizations in your area and your personal risk tolerance dictate what your course of action should be.

  • Sorry to hear, comrade. This advice is absolutely a shot in the dark, what works for one doesn't always work for others.

    Maybe try forming an org. Maybe carefully put stuff on social media, making every effort to stay anonymous. Also randomly posted stickers and flyers around very carefully. It can take years but you might find people like you with no place to turn. There might be a lot of frustrated people with no other place to turn. It just needs someone to get stuff started. Growth may be slow af in the beginning tho.

    Obviously things may be very different for you in your town. And the risk is there. Having IRL people who's opinions align Hexbear is very good tho.

    Other people can possibly comment on this and refine ideas. I'm half spitballing.

13 comments