The far right is not ‘revolting’, only upholding white supremacism with performative violence
The xenophobic unrest in the UK this summer was a troubling attempt to stage ‘people’s riots’, and this should not be ignored. We see our enemies co-opting the language and tactics of revolt to defend white supremacy. Increasingly, ‘revolt’ may come to mean reactionary conservatism fighting to restore the power of vile capitalist figures like Trump, or rallying behind social media-fueled provocators like Tommy Robinson.
The rise of neo-fascism has been systemically cultivated and sustained by systems of power. Its roots run deep in historical patterns of fascism and racism caused by European colonial expansion and domination. The imperialist wars of our times have been causing the mass displacement of migrants who are dreaming of reaching the heavens of the advanced consumerist urban centres. Integration of diverse identities and cultures in the framework of modern nation states has never happened, leading to simmering hatred between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
What is particularly insidious is how this rise of neo-fascism in the UK has been framed by the media—as though it were a spontaneous uprising of the people justifiably concerned with an ‘islamic invasion’. In reality, what is being co-opted here is the very concept of insurrection. The true essence of revolt—where the oppressed rise against their oppressors—is being stripped away and replaced with a hollow spectacle: a mere performance of violence, often portrayed as clashes between the police and various extremist factions.
The issue is not that insurrection is the exclusive domain of anarchists, but that it is a vital tactic for the oppressed in their struggle against class warfare, state repression, war, genocide, austerity, and all other forms of imposed injustice. When the oppressed resist, they do so out of necessity, confronting the brutal realities imposed upon them by a power regime.
In contrast, the neo-fascists who throw stones at the police or clash with antifascists are not part of this resistance; they are the enforcers of state power, upholding the status quo of nationalist white supremacy.
We have witnessed true waves of insurrection in recent history: from the first Intifada in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the 1990s Zapatista revolt, to popular uprisings in Argentina, Chile, Greece, Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Hong Kong. These events inspired many people to think seriously about revolt, giving hope to anarchists that the seeds of future revolutions might well be planted in today’s insurrections.
If we are in danger of forgetting what a genuine popular insurrection looks like, we might want to find inspiration in the ongoing struggles in Bangladesh, which may have sparked the ones brewing in Indonesia. Or in the diverse tactics of local movements worldwide fighting against systemic violence and ecocide. And if our memory fails us, we must use our imagination to rediscover and revitalise the spirit of revolt.
~ Blade Runner
