One was a biography of Juan Peron, the other a work of fiction with the storyline set in the country’s dirty war. My interest in Argentina has been reignited by the far right phenomenon that Ireland sadly has not proven immune to. For most of the 1970s and the start of the 1980s Argentina was a very violent country where the far right, at the heart of which sat the military dictatorship, murdered somewhere in the region of 30,000 people. The Left too were not blameless, but its violence was dwarfed by the country’s armed forces and the death squads like AAA which was headed by a government minister.
While Ireland today does not remotely resemble Argentina of four or five decades ago. the spectre of far right barbarism across the international spectrum is instructive to look at. Somewhere along the continuum of authoritarianism, militarism and intolerance lies a snapshot of the type of society the Irish far right aspires to.
After alighting from my bus, I walked along O’Connell Street, inquiring about the provenance of any leaflet pushed my way before accepting it. I didn’t want to be in receipt of any fascist or racist literature, and fortunately none was offered. I then fortuitously came across a friend and fellow IWU member who had made the journey by car from Drogheda, so we headed towards the assembly point.
The size of the crowd when we arrived disguised what it would morph into. It was the largest demonstration I have been to in years, even bigger than the huge anti-war march in Belfast around the time the US and UK attacked Iraq. An estimated 50,000 determined to trample hatred underfoot. As I made to cross the road in front of the Rotunda, I could feel my friend’s hand steer me from my path. I thought it was to nudge me away from what looked like a potential flare up when in fact it was to prevent me walking on dog poo. Meanwhile, no actual physical clash occurred. A woman from the far right, face contorted by hatred, was screaming at a People Before Profit member distributing leaflets that he was a traitor, that we all were, that she alone in a street of thousands was the sole Irish patriot. If there was any resemblance to Maud Gonne MacBride, Constance Markievicz or Mairead Farrell, I seemed to have missed it, detecting only the persona of Jolene Bunting and Marjorie Taylor Green. Stepping on dog poo would have been a more pleasant experience than stepping on her toe.
People like her invariably remind me of joyless religious fundamentalists who seem to have sucked on lemons before they venture out onto the streets with sour faces to denounce and renounce Satan and all the sinners they feel follow him. The PBP guy just carried on handing out his leaflets. The demented traitor-screamer ran up and down Dublin’s main street gesticulating and mouthing obscenities. Most gazed on, mildly curious as to why some can be given to the type of idiotic outbursts most normal people wouldn’t resort to even after a feed of beer. Her lot was to be dismissed as a figure of fun. Not a great dividend for an afternoon’s fuming and foaming at the mouth.
I have no doubt that there are people on the far right who are capable of conducting a logical conversation. But they rarely seem to turn up at protests. When they do, the antics of the scowlers, growlers and howlers steal their thunder.
To my mind there is an immense value in the type of social protest gathering that Dublin played host to yesterday, unlike the type of mini-counter protest I reluctantly attended last week. Yesterday’s event emitted a powerful message about what sort of society we are and intend to be. The fascists who would have been vastly outnumber had they appeared in any numbers were denied the street clashes from which they draw their publicity.
The opinion polls suggest that a majority of people feel the country has taken in too many refugees. What they do not show is any significant spike in hatred against the refugees we are taking in. People are genuinely concerned about the government’s shortcomings in terms of providing infrastructure fit for purpose and have a feeling that the government simply has no idea about what it is doing other than continuing to lead the way with a white stick. It is not those with authentic concerns about government aptitude who are to be found ranting like one of the Irish Freedom Party fascists from last week’s Drogheda gathering who went blue in the face screaming Get Them Out.
I am glad I made the journey down. At 65 mobility is not my forte. I would be easily downed were a confrontation to occur, But being surrounded by activists from the Connolly Youth Movement, I had little to fear from the fascists trying to have a go.
The organisers have promised that yesterday's demonstration is the beginning of a new wave of resistance to fascism and racism. A social protest movement whose sheer popular weight can crush the serpent’s head much more effectively than heroes on horseback.
I have no doubt that there are people on the far right who are capable of conducting a logical conversation. But they rarely seem to turn up at protests. When they do, the antics of the scowlers, growlers and howlers steal their thunder.
To my mind there is an immense value in the type of social protest gathering that Dublin played host to yesterday, unlike the type of mini-counter protest I reluctantly attended last week. Yesterday’s event emitted a powerful message about what sort of society we are and intend to be. The fascists who would have been vastly outnumber had they appeared in any numbers were denied the street clashes from which they draw their publicity.
The opinion polls suggest that a majority of people feel the country has taken in too many refugees. What they do not show is any significant spike in hatred against the refugees we are taking in. People are genuinely concerned about the government’s shortcomings in terms of providing infrastructure fit for purpose and have a feeling that the government simply has no idea about what it is doing other than continuing to lead the way with a white stick. It is not those with authentic concerns about government aptitude who are to be found ranting like one of the Irish Freedom Party fascists from last week’s Drogheda gathering who went blue in the face screaming Get Them Out.
I am glad I made the journey down. At 65 mobility is not my forte. I would be easily downed were a confrontation to occur, But being surrounded by activists from the Connolly Youth Movement, I had little to fear from the fascists trying to have a go.
The organisers have promised that yesterday's demonstration is the beginning of a new wave of resistance to fascism and racism. A social protest movement whose sheer popular weight can crush the serpent’s head much more effectively than heroes on horseback.
⏩ Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.
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