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We are so fucked. There is no escaping this global rush of extremism.
I am originally from the states, but was lucky enough to move to Australia 11 years ago.
I thought I escaped the growing right wing crazy, and watched from afar as Trump was elected the first time, and my country descended into fascism.
Then here in Australia there was a white supremacist rally. Then another.
Then in my city there was a "March for Australia" organised by known white supremacists, but claiming not to be racist.
"They just don't want all this immigration".
Their website also said they wanted remigration.
Remigration is an originally European far-right proposal for ethnic cleansing via the mass deportation of non-white immigrants and their descendants, sometimes including those born in Europe, to their place of racial ancestry.
Sounds pretty racist to me.
This march was planned for the final day of the state multicultural festival. Its planned start and end point was the park where the festival was being held.
My family and I decided we would go. I haven't been to a protest since I was a teenager, but I felt it was our duty to show that not everyone agrees with this.
The day before the march our best friend said their friends were afraid to go out to lunch with them that day, because their parents were verbally assaulted in a grocery store on Friday for being immigrants.
They later said people came to their parents house and were beating on the door and yelling about them being immigrants.
My husband stood there in his suit, I stood in my pretty dress with flowers, our daughters held signs that said things like "so bad even the introverts are here".
The March was not peaceful and was definitely racist. We started off to the side, sitting with flags my daughters and I made with hundreds of countries on them, and eventually we were swarmed as the crowd veered to come right past us.
They screamed obscenities at us, pushed into me, pushed my husband, tried to rip the sign from his hands. They ripped down the flags we made. Blew an air horn in our faces.
Many claimed they were not racist but my husband got called a f-ing Jew multiple times??? Maybe it was the beard and the hat, I don't know.
Seemed pretty racist to me.
Eventually police came and stood in front of us while we packed our things and left. We would do it again, in a heartbeat.
Before the rowdy crowd came looking for trouble we had immigrants come up and thank us, hug us, and we want them to know that not everyone agrees with this march.
Not wanting immigration is not what this march was about. This march was about fear and racism.
I urge all of you, show up, make signs, show that not everyone agrees.
