Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn't see this comment until now.
I'd say none of us want any drama either, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to make clear upfront that it'd be strictly about Aus-focused discussions. If I get the support of other moderators, we can gladly emphasise that we're on probation, that drama, infighting and troll-feeding won't be tolerated, and create rules to promote a respectful community.
Fair point, agreed and edited the post.
It's an odd premise, and ideally Rowland would have noticed and objected to the question.
Criticism of a country's actions (and in fact, it's really an implied criticism of a regime and its military) is not a threat to Jewish Australians. It may frustrate Zionists, but Zionism is a political movement, it is not a nation, religion or ethnicity. If a Zionist happens to be a Jewish Australian, it is coincidence - I know plenty of Australian Zionists who are not Jewish, and I know plenty of Jewish Australians who are anti-Zionist.
For an analogy, the interviewer's question would be as ridiculous as someone asking if it would be illegal to claim the historic Nazi regime committed genocide of Jewish, Slavic, Romani, etc. peoples, and as a result made "white" Australians feel intimidated.
Telegram message (similar to image text)
The National Socialist Network have chosen Sydney for their yearly "Nationals" gathering on 24-26 January.
Antifascists, unionists, community groups, activist groups and all concerned members of the public should be aware that upwards of 200 neo-Nazis and their supporters are intending to turn up in Sydney between January 24-26, including the racist "March for Australia" rally on January 26. You can't let this go unchallenged in your city.
Groups should begin organising, coordinating together, and making plans for supporting the Invasion Day rally and Yabun festival if they haven't already.
Keep an eye on the Anti-Fascist Alerts Sydney channel https://t.me/antifaalertssydney for further information over the coming weeks, and follow The Blak Caucus on social media for updates on the Invasion Day rally.
We've included some social media graphics to help people spread the word.
Sovereignty never ceded. No room for racism.
Get the word out to the public. These violent neo-Nazis cannot be tolerated, and Sydneysiders need everyday people to be involved if they want to keep their city safe.
From the anti-fascist alert Telegram channels (these can be converted to RSS feeds):
The neo-Nazis are not taking it well.
One of the news outlets said this, along with the M4A rallies, were an attempt to rebrand as "everyday Australians". But if anything, this photo-op just proves they're anything but.
Agreed. A known leader of a neo-Nazi organisation registered a protest. The group have a history of registering events under false pretenses but there's no excuse for this one. It was obvious.
Nazi speech is illegal.
It should be.
But fascists know their worldview is revolting to the public and parts of it are illegal to plainly say. That's why they use pseudo-runes and sonnenrads instead of swastikas, talk about removing instead of exterminating, and protest around secondary positions like 'mass immigration' to spread racial supremacy rhetoric. They've been playing this game for a hundred years. Nazi speech is legal if you're careful about it.
The problem is what they're doing, not how they're doing it, and our law struggles to handle that.
Blinded by racism.
Video (instagram): https://imginn.com/p/DQAZcNNk1VW/
As the article mentions, the most famous poster in their series is of Monga Khan. Wikipedia mentions:
Because Khan arrived in Australia prior to the introduction of the Immigration Act 1901, better known as the White Australia policy, when he wished to return to India he obtained a Certificate of Exemption to the Dictation Test (C.E.D.T.) which proved he had been domicile in Australia before 1901 it enabled him to leave Australia and be re-admitted on his return
Link: https://xcancel.com/tassiekaz/status/1979775283747316096 (twitter link) - note: edgy neo-Nazi brigade in replies
spoiler
One of the neo-Nazis claims it's the Stirling Arms Hotel, no evidence given.
Shoutout to the Melbourne bartender three years back who spat in their beer and got pretend-fired when the neo-Nazis extorted the pub.
Banned from Australia? Well the governments tolerate abusive cults and neo-Nazis. The NSN hasn't yet made it onto the official terrorist organisations list over here. (No, I'm not exaggerating when I say 'cult')
Or if you meant banned from the event: it's because they were heavily involved in organising it in every state, they're effectively running the rally as a front. They're not going to ban themselves from their own rally. Mainstream outlets like ABC and The Age summarised this before the rallies, journalist Tom Tanuki has made in-depth videos detailing the evidence.
Finally, a protest with a clear demand. Down with roadwork!
This GreenLeft page lists many of the protests. Don't treat that page or the following image as official, it's possible for it to be outdated, so find your local event's page for any organiser updates (typically a Facebook page, unfortunately).
They are planning another rally on Oct 19. Various locations have already announced counter rallies.
It is very important you turn up and bring along friends. If you can't make it, then make sure that other people do. Not just social media posts either.
These Nazi-run rallies are particularly dangerous because the capitalise on a real, valid anger towards our government. If we allow them to grow unchallenged, bigots will continue to be embolded. There were many reports of people being opportunisticly harassed after last rally, so if we don't outnumber them, they'll do that again. If you don't help your community to squash this, it will grow. We're at a great moment where we can still stop this peacefully. Seize this moment while we have it.
Don't just show up, bring along friends. And if you see me handing out fliers for the counter rally, tell me you're bringing along friends! We can all use a smile :)
It was confusing for good reason. As the article explains, and as people here were saying before the rally, the marches were astroturfed by the NSN, from the start. It's unfortunate that so many people bought into their trick, and it's good to see many of the well-intentioned people had the guts to stand up once they realised they were being conned.
The NSN thought they could draw people into their tent by having half of them pretend to be "everyday Aussies" and by appealing to the cookers in the freedom movement, but at the end of the day, even cookers know that Nazis need to be forced out. Good on the people there who tried, but ultimately, anyone who goes to the next March for Australia now that they know the NSN are real, coordinated, dodgy manipulators and welcomed back by the MfA organisers... this time there aren't any excuses.
Out of touch, exactly. We aren't the target audience.
Yes please!