Charlottesville, VA: Every Single One a Hero

“Antifascist demonstrators, outnumbered close to 4 to 1, literally fought an uphill battle through a single choke point against an army of assholes with shields, clubs, and a seemingly endless supply of OC spray.”

To anyone who watched Cville from a far, I want to remind you of something.

What that coward did plowing into a crowd of people from the safety of his car and then retreating to safety was not only an act of cowardice but an act of desperation. With 95% of news reports focusing on the attack, there has been very little coverage of how the rest of the day went for the Nazis, so consider this a PSA.

Make no mistake, Charlottesville was an unconditional defeat for the Nazis and the Fash. The day started out with hundreds of Nazis occupying Emancipation Park fully outfitted in makeshift riot gear and surrounded by a contingent of right wing militia in full battle rattle. It ended with 700+ antifascist protesters marching on the final 70 Nazis that were stupid enough to not leave the city. Antifascist demonstrators, outnumbered close to 4 to 1, literally fought an uphill battle through a single choke point against an army of assholes with shields, clubs, and a seemingly endless supply of OC spray with little more than our fists and our flags. The Nazis said they were going to hold Emancipation park and we choked them with their words. Within an hour, the park belonged to Charlottesville again, and the Fash were on the run in all directions. On multiple occasions I saw groups of maybe 5 or 6 protesters chasing off large groups of Nazis

Festivities began at probably around 9:30 or 10 AM and by 11:30 AM, the entirety of downtown Cville belonged to Charlottesville, thanks to all of the various groups and individuals that came out to defend it. Once victory in the park was assured and the Nazis completed their general retreat, packed into their church vans and got the fuck out of dodge, all of the Cville defenders regrouped, rehydrated, and answered a call to defend a small group of protestors from approximately 70 Fash that were harassing them.

We stepped off by the hundreds and marched with impunity through downtown with cheering from the sidewalks and the cars. About a block away from where the attack occurred, the bloc with which I was a part of converged with another contingent of antifascist protestors, bringing our total number to AT LEAST 700 (I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it were closer to 1,000).

That’s when the Nazis pulled out their Trump card to try to win the day. This cowardly piece of shit who’s name doesn’t even deserve being written couldn’t cope with the fact that his little group of friends had fucking lost. They came out expecting Berkeley 2 and left in bandages and shame. When the left suffers a defeat, we sit with it, accept it, and learn from it, but these assholes can’t accept that their shitty ‘master race’ is one of utter inferiority and resort to attacking innocent people from the safety of 4,000 pounds of metal.

“And even in such a moment of horror, we came out on top. Faced with a situation that none of us expected, street medics and medically trained protestors responded in seconds by the dozens.”

And even in such a moment of horror, we came out on top. Faced with a situation that none of us expected, street medics and medically trained protestors responded in seconds by the dozens. The following hours long minutes were filled with the greatest acts of compassion for comrades that I have ever witnessed. Medics stayed cool, calm, and collected while providing life saving interventions and preparing accurate and complete patient assessments. By the time EMS arrived, early interventions were mostly complete, and prepared assessments were given allowing triage to be completed accurately but with haste, so that EMS could immediately begin evacuating and transporting patients to higher care. It’s a devastating shame that our comrade and fellow worker Heather Heyer had to give the ultimate sacrifice for a cause in which they believed, but I have no doubt that if it weren’t for the actions of the first responders, there would have been several others that would suffer the same fate.

“Every single one of them is a hero of the highest degree, and don’t fucking forget that.”

So with that, I would like to conclude this poorly thought out piece of writing with this: Consider the victims of Saturday’s attack. They weren’t a small isolated group of protestors, nor were they in the middle or rear ranks of the bloc marching to the final showdown of the day. They were in the very front. Our comrades were going to be the first to tell the final Nazis that their bullshit isn’t going to stand; not in Cville, not on the East Coast, not in America, and not on the entire fucking planet.

Every single one of them is a hero of the highest degree, and don’t fucking forget that. From here on out, we each need to strive to be where they were, to be the tip of the spear against the rise of fascism in this country. So next time you here of a gathering of fascists, be it five or five-hundred, show up. Show up for yourself, show up for all victims of fascism past, present, and future, and show up for Heather Heyer and all our comrades at the front who risked life and limb for our cause and the greater good.

Prior to Saturday, prominent neonazi Richard Spencer said that Charlottesville was going to be a turning point; that “people are going to speak in terms of ‘before Charlottesville’ and ‘after Charlottesville.'” Let’s show him exactly what that means.

TL;DR: a group of crows is called a Black Floc.