This is an unofficial translation of a statement from Antifa AK Cologne, originally posted online in German in late 2010: https://antifa-ak.org/demo-turnleft-gegen-nazis-rechtspopulismus-fundamentalismus/. In light of the rise of the “alt right” in recent years, it may be of relevant interest for progressives outside of Germany. Furthermore, given that this piece came out almost ten years ago, conditions and prospects for the German far right have changed. For example, during the federal election in Germany on September 24, 2017, Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD)/Alternative for Germany won ninety-four seats in the Bundestag.
All errors are my own. Please leave a comment if you have corrections to suggest. If somebody with Antifa AK Cologne prefers that I take down this translation, then I will comply. Just let me know.
Stephen Cheng
July 22, 2019
It is true that studying the Kremlin's internal struggles is more an art than a science. Stratfor uses systematic approaches in much of its work, though the art of Kremlinology involves watching hundreds of seemingly unconnected events and pieces move while attempting to draw common threads into a narrative. It is an imperfect art but an important one nonetheless, and it is back in demand now that the Kremlin is facing multiple crises.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: THE GULAGS. Contains: main administration of the camps, the first labour camp, corrective labour camps, soviet dissidents, gulags and labour colonies, people in gulags, estimates, political prisoners.
The (British) "national question" remainsStephen Cheng
This is an compiled rough-draft version of two e-mailed commentaries that I wrote in late December 2019 regarding Boris Johnson's general election victory in the United Kingdom and Brexit. I may expand upon these commentaries later.
It is true that studying the Kremlin's internal struggles is more an art than a science. Stratfor uses systematic approaches in much of its work, though the art of Kremlinology involves watching hundreds of seemingly unconnected events and pieces move while attempting to draw common threads into a narrative. It is an imperfect art but an important one nonetheless, and it is back in demand now that the Kremlin is facing multiple crises.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: THE GULAGS. Contains: main administration of the camps, the first labour camp, corrective labour camps, soviet dissidents, gulags and labour colonies, people in gulags, estimates, political prisoners.
The (British) "national question" remainsStephen Cheng
This is an compiled rough-draft version of two e-mailed commentaries that I wrote in late December 2019 regarding Boris Johnson's general election victory in the United Kingdom and Brexit. I may expand upon these commentaries later.
THE UGLY FACE OF LITHUANIA: SURVEILLANCE, HARASSMENT, MEDIA DEMONIZATION AND USE OF DELATORS, STALKERS AND TROLLS IN GRYBAUSKAITE LITHUANIAN NEO-TOTALITARIAN STATE.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: STALIN PERSONAL REPUTATION. It contains: the cult of personality, charismatic leadership, Tbilisi Stalin Institute, Marx, Engels, Stalin, Lenin.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: TOTALITARIANISM IN STALIN'S RUSSIAGeorge Dumitrache
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: TOTALITARIANISM IN STALIN'S RUSSIA. It contains: authoritarian regimes, fascism to maintain order, back to the Great War, Lenin and the Russian Civil War, control over individual life, the totalitarian goal.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: RUSSIAN TERROR TRADITION BEFORE STALIN - TSARS AND LENINGeorge Dumitrache
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: RUSSIAN TERROR TRADITION BEFORE STALIN - TSARS AND LENIN. Contains: last 2 czars, Alexander the third, nationalism, autocracy, russification, bloody Sunday, Lenin, Red Terror.
THE UGLY FACE OF LITHUANIA: SURVEILLANCE, HARASSMENT, MEDIA DEMONIZATION AND USE OF DELATORS, STALKERS AND TROLLS IN GRYBAUSKAITE LITHUANIAN NEO-TOTALITARIAN STATE.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: STALIN PERSONAL REPUTATION. It contains: the cult of personality, charismatic leadership, Tbilisi Stalin Institute, Marx, Engels, Stalin, Lenin.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: TOTALITARIANISM IN STALIN'S RUSSIAGeorge Dumitrache
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: TOTALITARIANISM IN STALIN'S RUSSIA. It contains: authoritarian regimes, fascism to maintain order, back to the Great War, Lenin and the Russian Civil War, control over individual life, the totalitarian goal.
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: RUSSIAN TERROR TRADITION BEFORE STALIN - TSARS AND LENINGeorge Dumitrache
CAMBRIDGE A2 HISTORY: RUSSIAN TERROR TRADITION BEFORE STALIN - TSARS AND LENIN. Contains: last 2 czars, Alexander the third, nationalism, autocracy, russification, bloody Sunday, Lenin, Red Terror.
277 CHAPTER 6 THE (ANTI-)POLITICS OF AUTONOMY Almo.docxtamicawaysmith
277
CHAPTER 6: THE (ANTI-)POLITICS OF AUTONOMY
Almost without exception, revolutionary social movements in the twentieth century have
sought to conquer national political power -- either to take over nation-states through elections or
overthrow them through violence. The goal of autonomous movements is to transcend nation-
states, not capture them. Since autonomists are singularly uninterested in what is normally regarded
as politics (campaigns, votes, fundraising, party formation, etc.), is it possible to speak of the
politics of autonomy? An affirmative answer rests upon a redefinition of politics, one that considers
civil Ludditism and confrontational demonstrations to be forms of political action. In this chapter, I
compare autonomous (anti-) politics with these those of the Greens and of the Left. In so doing, I
hope to demarcate the boundaries of autonomous movements and speculate on their possible
applicability to other contexts. As will become clear in the course of my discussion, one of the
principal weaknesses of contemporary political movements has been their tendency to adopt ready-
made theories from previous waves of activism. In order to mitigate such dogmatic behavior in
future autonomous movements, I develop a detailed critique of the theories of Antonio Negri, the
Italian autonomist whose notions of revolutionary strategy vary widely from those I understand as
most effective and relevant. In contrast to Negri's call to adopt the cyborg as a model of action, I
propose a rationality of the heart and a reconsideration of the role of spontaneity and militance.
Unlike Social Democracy and Leninism, the two main currents of the twentieth century
Left, the Autonomen are relatively unencumbered with rigid ideologies. The absence of any central
organization (or even primary organizations) helps keep theory and practice in continual interplay.
Indeed, actions speak for most Autonomen, not words, and the sheer volume of decentralized
happenings generated by small groups acting on their own initiative prohibits systematic
understanding of the totality of the movement, a first step in the dismantling of any system. No
single organization can control the directions of actions undertaken from the grassroots. Although
the Autonomen have no unified ideology and there has never been an Autonomen manifesto, their
statements make it clear they fight "not for ideologies, not for the proletariat, not for the people" but
(in much the same sense as feminists first put it) for a "politics of the first person." They want
self-determination and "the abolition of politics," not leadership by a party. They want to destroy
the existing social system because they see it as the cause of "inhumanity, exploitation and daily
monotony."1
No doubt the Autonomen are difficult to define. Neither a party nor a movement, their
diffuse status frustrates those who seek a quick and easy definition for them. They appear as the
"bla ...
The First Political Theory (liberalism) is short of breath and although it has achieved boundless totalitarian power, it is no longer able to ensure order. It will explode like Aesop's frog: it swelled beyond its ability to bear "
Political Ideologies: Fascism. Presentation suitable for Cambridge History students, level 11, 12 and 13 (IGCSE, AS, A2). It contains a comprehensive presentation of fascism.
Here is another installment of PlanetCNC writings. Again, looking back and needless to say, I grew up under the influence of Cold War anticommunism. A good part of my life so far has been me reasoning my way out of a right-wing political culture. I mentioned before that I’m based in Long Island, New York, the United States of America. It’s a stronghold for right-wing politics in the U.S. Some of the essays here reflect that political influence—an influence I’ve come to thoroughly, completely reject. In any case, feel free to take a look. It’s another collection of curios, knick-knacks, etc. You’ll also get a glimpse of a then-adolescent writer’s mindset.
Stephen Cheng
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Well, as a follow-up to the previous series of PlanetCNC writings on the Command & Conquer franchise, I’m posting another collection here. I found myself laughing as I compiled these writings and, along the way, re-read the very last composition. Looking back, and needless to say, I realize I grew up under the influence of Cold War anticommunism and a good part of my life so far has been me reasoning my way out of a right-wing political culture. For one, I’m based in Long Island, New York, the United States of America—Long Island is a stronghold for right-wing politics in the U.S. Some of the essays here reflect that political influence—an influence I’ve come to thoroughly, completely reject. In any case, feel free to take a look. You’ll get a glimpse of one then-adolescent writer’s mindset.
Stephen Cheng
Thursday, January 5, 2021
Without regrets from the owner, Kane's Diner closes down Stephen Cheng
Translator’s note: I translated this World Journal article in August 2020. There’s already an official translation: http://voicesofny.org/2019/04/kanes-flushing-diner-sold-to-chinese-developer/. Interested readers may compare my version against the linked, published translation. All errors and misunderstandings are, of course, mine.
Readers can find English-language media coverage as well: https://qns.com/story/2019/05/01/kanes-diner-in-flushing-shuts-its-doors-on-may-1-after-more-than-50-years-in-the-business/; https://flushingpost.com/flushing-diner-to-close-wednesday-after-over-50-years-of-business; https://patch.com/new-york/flushing-murray-hill/kanes-flushing-diner-permanently-closes-after-50-years-report.
Stephen Cheng
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
This op-ed article by Moritz Gathmann from Cicero (https://www.cicero.de/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero_(magazine)) entered my e-mail account a couple of days ago. Cicero is a German-language magazine with a “liberal conservative” political orientation—essentially “classical liberal” (in present-day U.S.-American political parlance: libertarian). I don’t share Cicero’s political outlook, but I try to follow sources I disagree with. I also thought I’d translate this essay given its aptness in relation to how Russia, or rather stereotyped, propagandistic, and chauvinist perspectives on Russian politics and government, has appeared in U.S.-American political discourse since the 2016 presidential election.
Cicero published another op-ed today that is critical of Putin. I’ll see about translating it. For now, readers may peruse this translation. The original German-language article is linked here: https://www.cicero.de/aussenpolitik/verfassungsreferendum-russland-wladimir-putin/plus
All errors and misunderstandings are, of course, mine.
Stephen Cheng
Saturday, July 4, 2020
An article in 'The Guardian' about Flushing's gentrificationStephen Cheng
This Guardian article (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/13/flushing-queens-gentrification-luxury-developments) by Sarah Ngu, published Thursday, August 13, 2020, is invaluable media coverage on Flushing’s ongoing gentrification. It’s required reading for anybody who cares about affordable housing—not only within a community in Queens but any urban area.
Letter to the New York Times (October 2, 2020)Stephen Cheng
On October 2, 2020, I wrote this letter in response to two 'New York Times' op-ed articles: Michael Tomasky’s “Why Recent Republican Presidents Have Been Economic Failures” (August 20, 2020) and Steven Rattner’s “The Economic Recovery That Isn’t” (August 23, 2020). While I do not disagree that the U.S. economy has made gains under Democratic administrations such as Bill Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s and that President Donald Trump’s boasting of economic progress during his administration is based on little or no evidence, such facts do not indicate that the Republican and Democratic parties have diametrically opposed economic policies. Those facts do not indicate, either, that the Democrats have economic policy proposals that will help working-class and lower-middle-class people in the U.S.
The New York Times: Ninety-nine percent of people on Flushing’s streets insis...Stephen Cheng
From the City Council, District 20, campaign Facebook page "Hailing Chen for the People": https://www.facebook.com/hailingchenforthepeople/.
This World Journal article about a New York Times study, performed late last month with biostatistician Dr. Melody S. Goodman's assistance and published yesterday, indicates ninety-nine percent of randomly sampled people on Main Street, Flushing's primary thoroughfare, insist on publicly wearing masks during the pandemic. By the way, that's actually the average--one hundred percent of women and ninety-eight percent of men wore masks. This shows that being considerate in public is possible... and that practically everybody can do it.
Even during a pandemic.
In one word, community. Or solidarity.
Our government must step up and continue giving supplies to communities in need. We need to refocus on all our communities and keep every single New Yorker secure.
Let’s do our part to bring peace and harmony to all New Yorkers. Safe practice is a good practice!
Please see attached for the translation. The original article is in Mandarin Chinese.
This is a revised and expanded version of a message I wrote to a friend who politically identifies as a libertarian (or "classical liberal" if you're a stickler to traditional political theory terminology) and an anarcho-capitalist.
Taiwan and Israel sign reciprocity agreement on driver's licenses (Spanish to...Stephen Cheng
This press release from the government of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is shameful and disappointing. The Taiwanese government, by signing two agreements with Israel this year, has decided to continue supporting apartheid in the “Near East”. Given Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge, the ongoing annexation of the West Bank, Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the recent signing of the Abraham Accord between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, and the current Israeli bombing of Gaza, Taiwan’s, or rather the Taiwanese government’s, decision to keep on cooperating with the Israeli apartheid regime is unconscionable.
This topic is a personal matter to me, too, because my family is from Taiwan and they lived under a right-wing military government led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang/Guomindang (國民黨; literally “National People’s Party” but the standard English-language translation is “Nationalist Party”). The government of the United States supported that dictatorship for the same reasons it supported so many other right-wing military dictators and paramilitaries…. to say nothing of the Israeli government. Taiwan democratized in the early-to-mid 1990s and its current head of state is Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (民主進步黨/民進黨).
It’s dismaying, but perhaps unsurprising, to see that even with changes of regime and governing party, some things remain the same. Here, Taipei opted for a deal with the devil, if only to remain in the good graces of Western imperialism and colonialism a la Donald Trump, the Republican Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Likud Party. It’s not unlike Seoul, Tokyo, Islamabad, New Delhi, and others doing the same in the vain hope of enjoying decent diplomatic relations with “the West”.
As for the press release, it is from the Taiwanese government’s Spanish-language service. I translated it into English this morning. I employed a more “liberal” approach with this translation while staying faithful to the source text’s meaning. All errors, as always, are mine.
Stephen Cheng
August 28, 2020
Jewish Resistance to Nazi Germany (a Coursera essay)Stephen Cheng
This essay on the Holocaust, or Shoah, goes back several years ago—possibly the early-to-mid 2010s. I wrote it for a Coursera course called “The Holocaust: The Destruction of European Jewry”, which Professors Murray Baumgarten (https://literature.ucsc.edu/faculty/emeriti-faculty.php?uid=dickens) and Peter Kenez (https://humanities.ucsc.edu/academics/faculty/emeriti.php?uid=kenez; https://news.ucsc.edu/2016/04/kenez-emeriti-award.html) co-teach.
Professors Baumgarten and Kenez, respectively specializing in literature and history, are affiliated with the University of California, Santa Cruz.
I’m putting it up to demonstrate writing ability as well as an interest in historical topics.
Stephen Cheng
June 20, 2020
Fariborz Kamkari: Kurdish art is always political Stephen Cheng
This is an interview that Yeni Özgür Politika’s Luqman Guldivê did with Fariborz Kamkari, a Kurdish film director from Iran who is currently an expatriate in Italy. The original interview, posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, is linked here: https://yeniozgurpolitika.net/kurt-sanatcisi-apolitik-olamaz/
English- and German- language versions of this interview appeared on ANFNews: https://anfenglishmobile.com/culture/filmmaker-kamkari-kurdish-artists-cannot-be-apolitical-43191 & https://anfdeutsch.com/kultur/fariborz-kamkari-kurdische-kunst-ist-immer-politisch-18710
A few weeks ago, I happened to find the German- language version as I was looking for updates on Kamkari’s work. Before I found the aforementioned, above-linked English- language translation, I already decided to do my own translation and began accordingly.
As for Fariborz Kamkari, I first heard of him a couple of years ago when I discovered his The Flowers of Kirkuk (Golakani Kirkuk), a film with a story I found moving. I may write about this movie in the future.
But for now, readers may check out my translated version of this interview. All errors, of course, are mine.
Stephen Cheng
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Writings on the Command & Conquer game series (originally from PlanetCNC)Stephen Cheng
Now this is a blast from the past. Back when I was an aspiring writer as a teenager, I decided to write essays about the “Command & Conquer” franchise—it was, and still is, a noted real-time strategy computer game series. These articles appeared on the PlanetCNC fan site, which used to be active in the 1990s and 2000s. An archived, or mirrored, version is available at this link: http://planetcnc.gamespy.com/index.html
I’ve moved on from gaming a long time ago, but I thought I’d put these writings up in one document. It’s a chance for readers to check out my early work… and to see something that’s “out of the way”, practically a curio (or a series of curios).
Stephen Cheng
May 22, 2020
Ready to Lose Again: Joe Biden & the Democratic Party Stephen Cheng
This is a brief op-ed I wrote. It's also posted to the 'Insurgent Notes' Web site: http://insurgentnotes.com/2020/04/ready-to-lose-again-joe-biden-the-democrats-and-the-november-2020-election/
It's about the Democratic party's decision to tack right by having Joe Biden as the 2020 presidential candidate. I decided to post a revised-draft version of this essay here.
Stephen Cheng
May 21, 2020
The Iraqi War--A Ten-Year Anniversary (written in 2013) Stephen Cheng
I originally wrote this Web blog entry back in 2013 to mark the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. It’s something of a “handwringing” remembrance op-ed given that the Iraq war of 2003 was, essentially, a crime against humanity by the George W. Bush administration. Some of my future writing may deal with this war and its aftermath. For now, I’ve decided to place a copy of this entry on my SlideShare account.
Stephen Cheng
May 14, 2020
This is a brief message I wrote in February 2020 to a “New” Democrat, that is, a pro-Clinton and pro-Obama Democrat, who I know personally. In light of Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday victory, due in no small part to Barack Obama’s intervention, I thought I should post it to my SlideShare account to spark a discussion as to what the Democratic Party truly stands for.
No need for free market utopias and thoughts on political organizingStephen Cheng
These thoughts on paper come from two Web log entries I wrote a couple of years ago. Here, I discuss the virtues of social democracy in relation to neoliberalism as how as how Hillary Clinton and the "New" Democrats lost the way they did to Donald Trump and the Republicans in 2016. We may see a 2016 redux, or replay, come the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
In Augusto Pinochet's Shadow: Chilean Democracy, Protests, and Dictatorial Le...Stephen Cheng
This article by Heidi Tinsman originally appeared in English on The Abusable Past Web page for Radical History Review (https://www.radicalhistoryreview.org/abusablepast/?p=3520). Angela Vergara translated it into Spanish for North American Congress on Latin America (https://nacla.org/news/2019/11/19/la-democracia-chilena-las-protestas-y-las-herencias-de-la-dictadura). I decided to translate the article back into English for practice.
All errors are mine. I came up with the title--it's a modified and expanded version of the original title.
Cultural Destruction and War Crimes in the Middle EastStephen Cheng
This is a translation of an article from German-Foreign-Policy.com on Donald Trump's threats of imposing new sanctions on Iraq for demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces and razing Iran's cultural monuments. The article also mentions the German government's decision to go along with the Trump administration on these matters and the consequences of sanctions on Iraq during the 1990s. The original article is here: https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8146/
German-Foreign-Policy.com is somewhat comparable to the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA; https://nacla.org/ ) and the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP; https://merip.org/).
The translation follows and all errors are mine.
Acolyte Episodes review (TV series) The Acolyte. Learn about the influence of the program on the Star Wars world, as well as new characters and story twists.
04062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
‘वोटर्स विल मस्ट प्रीवेल’ (मतदाताओं को जीतना होगा) अभियान द्वारा जारी हेल्पलाइन नंबर, 4 जून को सुबह 7 बजे से दोपहर 12 बजे तक मतगणना प्रक्रिया में कहीं भी किसी भी तरह के उल्लंघन की रिपोर्ट करने के लिए खुला रहेगा।
03062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
El Puerto de Algeciras continúa un año más como el más eficiente del continente europeo y vuelve a situarse en el “top ten” mundial, según el informe The Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CPPI), elaborado por el Banco Mundial y la consultora S&P Global.
El informe CPPI utiliza dos enfoques metodológicos diferentes para calcular la clasificación del índice: uno administrativo o técnico y otro estadístico, basado en análisis factorial (FA). Según los autores, esta dualidad pretende asegurar una clasificación que refleje con precisión el rendimiento real del puerto, a la vez que sea estadísticamente sólida. En esta edición del informe CPPI 2023, se han empleado los mismos enfoques metodológicos y se ha aplicado un método de agregación de clasificaciones para combinar los resultados de ambos enfoques y obtener una clasificación agregada.
Here is Gabe Whitley's response to my defamation lawsuit for him calling me a rapist and perjurer in court documents.
You have to read it to believe it, but after you read it, you won't believe it. And I included eight examples of defamatory statements/
An astonishing, first-of-its-kind, report by the NYT assessing damage in Ukraine. Even if the war ends tomorrow, in many places there will be nothing to go back to.
Oppose Nazis, Right-Wing Populism and Fundamentalism
1. 1
This is an unofficial translation of a statement from Antifa AK Cologne, originally posted
online in German in late 2010: https://antifa-ak.org/demo-turnleft-gegen-nazis-
rechtspopulismus-fundamentalismus/. In light of the rise of the “alt right” in recent years,
it may be of relevant interest for progressives outside of Germany. Furthermore, given
that this piece came out almost ten years ago, conditions and prospects for the German
far right have changed. For example, during the federal election in Germany on
September 24, 2017, Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD)/Alternative for Germany won
ninety-four seats in the Bundestag.
All errors are my own. Please leave a comment if you have corrections to suggest. If
somebody with Antifa AK Cologne prefers that I take down this translation, then I will
comply. Just let me know.
Stephen Cheng
July 22, 2019
Oppose Nazis, right-wing populism and fundamentalism! Turn left.
Antifa AK supports the call by Antifa [ko] and Autonomous Antifa [f]:
Oppose Nazis, right-wing populism and fundamentalism
Organize the antifascist resistance
Turn left!
Nazis
After the Nazi march which the National Democratic Party (NDP) of Hesse led in
Offenbach in December 2007, the previously existing Nazi structures are already no longer
deniable. Parts of the city like Buergel are covered with Nazi stickers and fascist graffiti.
Memorabilia from the neo-Nazi spectrum such as “Consdaple” and “Thor Steinar” are
knowingly placed in sight and brought out to the public. During the Offenbach Kickers’ football
games, neo-Nazis show up in public--racist and anti-Semitic taunts in the fan block are the order
of the day. The now-closed clothing shop “Wayward Streetwear”, with a proprietor who ran a
business in the 1990s selling CDs with National Socialist content, recently has had not just “Thor
Steinar” in its assortment but also offers upon request banned T-shirts from under the store
counter. Last summer (summer 2009), a supposed antifascist was attacked and injured by three
neo-Nazis from the so-called “autonomous nationalist” milieu due to her/his/their political
convictions. One thing is clear above all else: The neo-Nazis feel comfortable in Offenbach and
they hardly have to deal with any opposition or resistance within the population. While a more
or less active Left exists in neighboring cities, the neo-Nazis in Offenbach see themselves in
rather decent positions with seldom any direct antifascist resistance to confront them. It is thus
no wonder that the fascists in Offenbach feel comfortable in their surroundings and publicly
propagate their worldview through the use of sensational Nazi symbols.
2. 2
Fundamentalists
Whoever walks the streets of Offenbach in fact sees Nazi decals side-by-side with the
graffiti of the Grey Wolves. “Bozkurt”, the three crescents, or “MHP” are symbols that stand for
a mixture of the nationalistic and Islamist ideologies of Turkish fascists. The frequency of the
symbols in Offenbach shows that parts of the migrant [populations] are also forced to
acquiesce to far-right positions. At the same time, the Grey Wolves frequently work with
German Nazis and see them as allies in nationalist and racist politics. The ideological connection
of these Turkish fascists with German Nazis was vividly exemplified by then-district chairperson
Joerg Krebs for the National Democratic Party in Frankfurt, who in December 2007 provoked
Kurdish counterdemonstrators at a NDP march in Offenbach with the so-called “Grey Wolves’
salute”. In the same year, he also with a speech, which he published on the far-right platform
“Altermedia”, called for close cooperation of German neo-Nazis with Turkish fascists fromthe
ranks of the “MHP” and the “Grey Wolves”.
Islamist positions are not only just found among the Grey Wolves. [These positions] are
forced into public as well as appear under otherwise consensual [conditions] in Offenbach, as
shown at an event by the Islamic fundamentalists Pierre Vogel and his organization “Invitation
to Paradise” in October 2010 at the Offenbach town square. About 400 higher-ranking youths
cheered Vogel as he, [with] a simple black-white view, divided the world into the “evil West” on
one side and the oppressed Muslims on the other side. Also, members of an Offenbach youth
group of the Islamist organization Millî Görüş were among the participants. Here, it is not
merely a matter of religious ideologies worthy of criticism. Islamic fundamentalists politically
charge the religious identities of Muslims and instrumentalize them for their reactionary and
misanthropic agenda. Anti-Semitism, prescribed sexist [gender] roles, homophobia and an
authoritarian image of the world become propagated as elements of a “godly, pure doctrine”
which promises to solve economic, social and political problems of the existing society and
offers paradise as redemption.
Right-wing populists
The growing popularity of the Islamic fundamentalists is grist for the mill for right-wing
populists such as Wolfgang Huebner’s “Free Voters” in Frankfurt and the Germany-wide “Pro-“
movements. They see therein their fears confirmed about “being overrun by immigrants” and
their “own” culture endangered. The supposed threat of Islamic culture to the “Christian West”
knowingly and conveniently overlooks the crucial difference between Islamas a religion on one
side and, on the other side, the project of Islamismas a politically reactionary movement which
demands worldwide the abolition of democratic rights and the introduction of Sharia. The
current discourse on immigration and integration indicates how such positions are able to
[become mainstream]. Thilo Sarrazin becomes celebrated as a “taboo-breaker”—[it] is always
stressed [that] he only says what many think. Therefore, right-wing populism has become
fashionable in Germany. Nationalist and racist positions are not exceptional appearances in the
population or an all-too-willingly conjured phenomenon of the far right, but are also constantly
3. 3
accepted by the self-identified “center” of society. And precisely here an antifascist critique
should be set forth: But until wide sections of society already accept reactionary positions, neo-
Nazis are not initially the problem. Indeed, many citizens pay lip service against the far right –
this dissociation in fact only serves to vindicate their own [private] opinions. Whoever officially
condemns neo-Nazis can end up diffusing, in an assuring way, racist ressentiments—lastly,
incipient reproaches via the distancing [of one’s self] from neo-Nazism have reportedly already
cleared the path in advance.
Anxieties due to capitalist crisis and the cutting off of social ties lead only all too often to
flight into ideological impasses. They are not perceived as a problem of conflicts, competitive
pressure, and wage labor resulting from economic relationships, but rather of supposed
“foreigners” who “overwhelm” the country. Out of the fear that outside or inside influences
could damage or even capture the singularly constructed collective, be it the “volk”, the
“nation” or the “race”, a clear outward differentiation and the restrictive disciplining in the
interior develop (a looser, freer translation of the last clause: a clear demarcation with the aim
of excluding the outside world and the restrictive disciplining of internal affairs become
developed). How compatible these positions are with the biologistic racismof the Nazis again
becomes obvious with the aid of Sarrazin whose theses on “backward” migrants and the
unemployed attribute social conflicts to biological instead of social and economic causes.
Reactionary overture(s)
There exists one decisive common denominator among the varied reactionary to openly
far-right overtures: suggested solutions for social problems based on misanthropic ideologies.
The right-wing, personalized critique of capitalismwith a touch of anti-Semitism is to be found
in all the mentioned movements. And instead of wanting, in an emancipatory sense, to do away
with bourgeois society and capitalism[in favor of a] more liberated and just society, it demands
reactionary answers [amounting to] a regression behind existing social relationships (a more
liberal translation of the last clause: it demands reactionary answers [amounting to] a turning
back of the clock as existing social relationships are dissolved in favor of previous ones). History,
and therefore also social relationships, becomes perceived not as makeable and changeable (or
in one word: malleable). Instead, reactionaries advocate [and/or substitute] an ideological
image of the world in which personal ties, religious delusions, forced collective homogeneity
and hatred of the “foreigner” or the “other” are decisive.
Reactionary tendencies do not at first present a problem if and when they achieve social
relevance. Other right-wing tendencies in certain Eastern European countries, above all
Hungary, have not enlisted fascist guards as a result of Offenbach and also right-wing populist
parties in Germany up to now cannot chalk up major electoral victories. Nevertheless, as the
current “integration debate” indicates, elements of reactionary ideologies are able to
thoroughly become mainstream. Offers of identities by Nazis, right-wing populists and
fundamentalists become gratefully taken up and reproduced by people who feel betrayed and
discriminated against or threatened in their social positions. The result is the coexistence of
4. 4
different right-wing worlds of living (social worlds)—as seen in Offenbach—not especially
interfering with one another and often compatible with the moods of mainstream bourgeois
society. Despite major conflicts within and between the camps, a social climate for a right-wing
consensus arises in which emancipatory positions are rarely to be found. Moreover, the
followers of reactionary and far-right ideologies bring out structural violence and therefore
present a real threat and danger, physically and mortally, to those who think differently.