Meet the real Sons of Anarchy. An anti-fascist motorcycle club in Athens, Greece, patrols the community, fighting neo-Nazis who attack immigrants.
From Athens Anarchist Anti-Fascist Motorcycle Club:
As of June 2012 the far right/neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn is officially represented in the Greek Parliament with support from the local media. As we have seen throughout history, in times of “economic†crisis, far-right ideologies tend to increase their influence dramatically.
The number of attacks on immigrants is rising every week, fuelled by the police’s complicitly apathetic stance and refusal to do anything to stop the perpetrators. This has led to a need for anti-racist patrols, as it is the only way of protecting immigrants from racist violence.
On the nights of the 15th and 22nd of September, the first two antifascist motorcycle patrols took place, with fly-posting and protest chants against neo-Nazi attacks. A third motorcycle demo passed through down-town locations on the evening of Sunday, September 30th, where it encountered a group of neo-Nazis smashing up immigrants’ shops. The antifa successfully attacked and stopped them, and were themselves attacked in retaliation by several motorcycle police units.
I wanted to share this because here in the U.S., anarchism is increasingly being linked to “terrorism” in the courts and in disinformation campaigns. There are currently two anarchists in prison for refusing to talk about their politics before a federal grand jury, and a third individual has been subpoenaed to appear today. Meanwhile, the Cleveland 4 are fighting a “terrorism enhancement” penalty that would officially reclassify them as terrorists in prison.
Minneapolis anarchist motorcycle rally supporting CeCe McDonald.
Of course, not all anarchists form motorcycle clubs. They also step in after natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy to provide relief and support that, in some cases, has been more effective than the government has been able to do. Check out Occupy Sandy Relief for more information.
There’s video below. If motorcycles aren’t your thing, there’s also an anti-fascist scooter gang in Athens.
Meanwhile, if this club decides to start a US charter, I’ll be the first to sign up.