Searchlight, Antifa and the UAF

Work done for the day and pleased with output both visible and behind the scenes, I thought I might check out what the reds are saying.

And as usual they are always good for a laugh. Reading red sites is like stepping back in time with the terminology they still like to use. As far as they are concerned, the Berlin Wall is still in place, Che is about to overthrow all of South America before heading North into America and Stalin is still Uncle Joe.

So first off, I see that the Alliance for Workers Liberty who "aims to build solidarity through struggle so that the working class can overthrow capitalism." are having a pop at all other red factions including the UAF and Antifa.

On Antifa they have this to say;

Antifa is a group of “anti-authoritarian” and “anti-capitalist” (basically anarchist) activists of indeterminate size who prioritise small-scale physical actions against the fascists. This can range from picking off known fascists for a bit of rough justice to more coordinated efforts to disrupt larger events.

Well we already know that. Antifa like to work like a pack of hyenas taking down a single Lion Cub left undefended. Cowards basically.

But it is the kind words they had for the UAF that made me smile:

The form and function of Unite Against Fascism makes for a chameleon-like entity. In an attempt to be all things to all people, UAF presents a potentially bewildering variation of stances best characterised by the Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee of Martin Smith and Weyman Bennett.

Martin Smith is quite often to be found speaking on behalf of UAF and/or “Love Music Hate Racism” at left-wing events. In his speeches, Martin likes to emphasise the need to “fight the BNP”. Martin also likes to remind everyone that the BNP are “Nazis”. His speciality, however, is staging little stunts to prove how militant the organisation he leads, the SWP, really is.

Weyman, on the other hand, has the job of convincing trade union bureaucrats, celebrities and worthy individuals that the best way to fight fascism is to give UAF money and a bit of legitimacy by lending their name to it. Weyman is also a leading member of the SWP, and as with all employees, his boss doesn’t make his life easy for him.

When Martin talks about “fighting the Nazis” he’s talking to growing layer of young and politically inexperienced people who really do want to fight them off. When Weyman talks to trade union officials he’s after the endorsements necessary to make UAF appear like a legitimate outfit. Neither of these things is wrong in and of themselves, unless you understand that the first and foremost priority of Martin and Weyman is to recruit people to the SWP. This imperative has all sorts of negative consequences already considered.

But it’s Martin Smith’s penchant for “fighting” that interests us most here. Apart from offering the BNP’s GLA member Richard Barnbrook outside for a fight — via a megaphone directed at the London Assembly with Barnbrook nowhere in sight — there is very little evidence that Martin is serious about taking militant direct action against the BNP.

Well for those people who keep doubting us in the BNP, when we tell you the truth about the UAF, you will perhaps believe the reds themselves.

Then of to the Antifa site, where I have another laugh at their posed picture that they had taken in Oxford when the students were trying to get over the gate and they went down the pub for some Bucks Fizz.

Then I gasp in amazement and rifle through the mountain of empty whiskey bottles that surround me(according to the UAF) for one with a drink still in it.

Because after reading through the Antifa rubbish below, I find something I am in agreement with when they talk about Searchlight.

PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION

Fascism is a violent ideology. Throughout history, fascists have used violence against those who oppose them. Antifa is a continuation of the antifascist tradition of confronting fascism physically when it is necessary. Physical confrontation is only one of our tactics though, we do not aim to fetishise it as one tactic above all others, nor will we allow a hierarchy to develop based on the kudos of street-fighting. If an individual member feels unable to engage on this level they are no less worthy as an anti-fascist than any other member of the group, however those with a moral problem regarding this issue should be advised that this is not the group for them.

VOTING

Voting is something that allows the State to pretend we live in a democracy, and it is a tactic used by fascist parties such as the British National Party to promote themselves and their policies. While the BNP may be in a position to throw bricks through the windows of a few Asian households, it is New Labour that is locking up refugees and bombing Iraqi civilians. It is ridiculous to suggest that voting helps to stop fascism. This is the sort of insult to working class communities that has allowed the BNP to grow.

SEARCHLIGHT

We will not work with, accept information from, nor pass information to the so-called anti-fascist magazine/organisation Searchlight, and we will not work with individuals who have any connection to them. As an organisation that works hand-in-glove with State agencies, we cannot trust them or the agenda they pursue. Their influence within, and manipulation of, militant anti-fascism has been deeply divisive over the years, their methods and involvement with State security services are well documented and entirely incompatible with our own position.

A BNP member is more likely to fall backwards onto a knife then throw a brick at anyone. The BNP condemns all violence, political or otherwise.

Unlike the communists. All violence and no mention of democracy. But when it came to the Searchlight portion, for once they speak some truth. Searchlights "involvement with State security services are well documented" and you can read them by following the links below.


How Searchlight is fianced.

Searchlight and Political Violence

Searchlight Exposed

The truth about Unite Against Fascism(UAF)

Imagine that. Green Arrow and Antifa in agreement over something.

Tags: Searchlight, UAF, ANTIFA, BNP