One of the most amusing ideas of the dim (as opposed to decent) left is that fascism is a force from the right at constant risk of re-eruption. So widespread has this idea become that even members of the Conservative party often feel forced to describe themselves as ‘centre right’ just so as to make clear they aren’t ‘right wing’ because ‘right wing’ is just in from ‘far right’ and ‘far right’ basically means fascist.
However, one of the strange things about these so-called ‘anti-fascists’ is that their fascist sensors seem completely befuddled whenever they meet anybody who behaves distinctly fascistically yet is thought to come from ‘the left’. For instance, here is an interesting one.
On Tuesday evening a mob of ‘anarchists’ wearing masks to obscure their faces set fire to things outside Buckingham Palace and Parliament, threw bottles and other missiles and engaged in running-clashes with the police. As well as masking their identities many of these protestors wore those terrorist chic keffiyehs. Among this mob was the increasingly unsavoury ‘comedian’ Russell Brand. Russell donned a mask and generally appeared to be taking the advice he had proffered in the Guardian – that people riot ‘when dialogue fails, when they feel unrepresented and bored by the illusion’. Perhaps Mr Brand is peeved he has not achieved power since his Newsnight interview the other week. It must be so tedious for him to have to wait like this.
Of course it is possible that the ‘anti-fascist’ forces of the UK are simply too busy giving platforms to people like this. But if Russell Brand and his followers were remotely suspected of being of ‘the right’, had declared a desire to abandon the democratic system, masked their faces, took part in violent protests against Parliament, the Crown and the police, what exactly would you call them?
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