SWP activists often say that anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrations can’t be confrontational because we need actions that everyone feels comfortable attending, that families and children need to be able to demonstrate. I have even heard it argued that women need this kind of demonstration (as if women were like children!) The SWP counterpose “inclusive and non-elitist demonstrations” in order to dodge a discussion about the need to physically take on the fascists. During the Bradford anti-fascist demonstrations, I spoke to German comrades who told me about a tactic they said was common in Germany. Large rallies are formed as safe spaces for those who do not want physical danger, but also as bases from which contingents of activists would go out to fight fascists. This undermindes the dichotomy that SWPers tend to raise.
