I was quoted by Newsweek in an article published today about fascism and antifascism in 2017:
Kit O’Connell, an Austin-based writer who is a veteran antifascist organizer, was among the activists who pointed out a weakening in the alt-right movement at the close of the year.
“They started out the year in a position of strength,” he told Newsweek about the beginning of Trump’s term. “Now, they can’t go viral on Twitter or Facebook anymore. And, they can’t mobilize in public without expecting to be massively opposed.”
I’ve been quoted previously by Newsweek’s reporter following the far right, Michael Edison Hayden, including in an article about Texas neo-nazi Will Fears. It’s a pleasure to share this most recent article with Mark Bray, author of the excellent book “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.”
The article quotes me three times in total, and Hayden even gave me the last word of the piece:
“We scared the Nazis off the streets,” O’Connell said of the current political climate. “But we still have to deal with the politicians they helped to elect.”
I expressed similar sentiments in my most recent issue of Gonzo Notes:
While we may or may not see large-scale “Unite The Right”-style rallies (the nazis seem more interested in flash mob photo ops these days), we will see the continued normalization of fascism and increasingly overt white supremacy within our political system and culture.
And on Twitter, in a thread about the one-year anniversary of the Richard Spencer punch:
Of course, they still have Trump in office, and all the nazi pieces of shit he's put into power and the courts. The Overton Window still shifted right in 2017.
— Mx. Kit O'Connell (@KitOConnell) January 17, 2018
For the moment, American nazis no longer seem to consider mass mobilization an effective tactic. Recent white supremacist events in Austin have had a downright pathetic turn out. At the same time, the far right continues to see global political success and the effects of the Trump regime, both politically and culturally, will reverberate long after the 2020 election.
