The youth are the future of the anti-fascist movement. It stands on all your shoulders, in the coming years you’re going to be on the front line more and more. You need to rise to the challenge, you need to be ready for the streets. Because it is a risk, we don’t just function on theoretical and ideological levels but we have always been a street movement, it will always carry risk. You might have to be ready to do time, or risk injury from feds and fash, its not a game.
We’ve had a militant, street-strong movement for decades, prepared to brawl and take any threat. This must continue and intensify and it lies on you lot. Lets keep our firm grasp on ideology and the streets.
Make anti-fascism militant again.
But like, the stereotype that doing the more dangerous and violent activisms is a ‘youth’ thing is not true. It is true that stress stays in the body longer when you’re older and it’s true that a lot of people get their first experience in their teens and early twenties and some are incredibly brave at that age, but like, some people start that shit later and more to the point there are also a LOT of really awesome and risk-taking activists out there in their 30s and 40s and beyond. Someone isn’t in their early 20s just because they’re wearing a skimask.
So in that frame of mind: take your own time. Do what feels okay to you. Don’t wear yourself out. The idea that you have to rise to the challenge right now right here is actually really juvenile and selfdestructive. Take breaks. Take a step back or do nothing for a while if you need to. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. If high-stress activism isn’t your thing at all, figure out what does work for you. And you do not have to bear the world on your shoulders alone. We’re not one generation and we’re many, we’re millions. We’ve got this.
toddismycopilot: Truth is that 95% of antifa isn’t about macho street tactics. It’s about support & solidarity for the targets of fascists; it’s about research, education, and communication; it’s about building an authentic anti-racist youth culture. True, we have to be ready to confront them when they crawl out of their rocks. True, we need to defend ourselves and our communities from their violence. But that’s maybe 5% of the work.
Truuuuuuueeee. Depending on the time and place it may be more that 5% but our on the street presence can not survive without all the work on the foundations. And the idea that that very necessary work is usually only done by ‘youth’ is just bullshit.
QueerAnarchism 