This Is an Anti-Fascist Newsletter

The Thorn on Thursdays | Jan 14 2021

Jan 14, 2021

Far-right violence isn’t just in the Belly of the Beast in Washington, D.C. The threat is right here in Vancouver and throughout Canada too. We hope your 2021 is off to a decent start, and here’s to another year of fighting collectively to stop fascism and build a better world. If you like what The Thorn is doing, help us spread the word!

Former BCA president, labour activist Gordie Larkin dies of COVID

Jagmeet Singh: Gordie Larkin was a stalwart activist - dedicated to the Labour movement and to our Party. Another cruel loss to COVID-19. Our sympathies to his comrades, family and friends

John Horgan: A sad time for the labour movement. Gordie was a good man who befriended everyone he met, and never stopped advancing the cause of working people. Sending my condolences to family and friends. With a smile and a song, Gordie is still organizing somewhere.

Gordie Larkin and his wife Barb felt the first symptoms of the virus in mid-November and while Barb recovered somewhat quickly, Gordie couldn’t shake the cough. Four weeks later he was rushed to hospital and put on a ventilator. But he was only intubated for one day, and the family celebrated when he woke up chatty, saying how much he loved the food, loved the people who were helping him, and wanted to come home. Gordie continued to battle and by early January he seemed to have won. Then he took a turn for the worse, and passed January 7th with Barb at his side.

During any other times, there’d be a huge funeral and celebration of life for Gordie Larkin and all he accomplished for the labour movement and his community. But during any other times, he’d still be here, joking and playing music, and taking his youngest grandson Fox out for ice cream. Gordie was 78 when he passed. He is survived by his wife Barb, two stepsons Clayton and Andrew Shannon, his son Keith Larkin, daughter Keicia Larkin, and four grandchildren.

The Twitter-sphere has come alive with tributes - https://twitter.com/search?q=gordie%20larkin&src=typed_query

Gordie Larkin spent over 25 Christmas Eves with union members and volunteers dishing out turkey dinner to over 3,000 people at the Annual Labour Community Christmas Dinner in Surrey. Following the turkey and trimmings, families were sent home with a hamper of food, vegetables, clothes and toys for children. (Source: Burnaby Now)

What fascism looks like in Maple Ridge

Jamie Seip, former candidate for BC Liberal MLA in the Maple Ridge / Mission riding, now spearheads a right-wing group that calls themselves Clean Up Maple Ridge, and whose purpose is to remove homeless persons from the city. Seip claims the group has driven, flown or ferried hundreds of such people from the streets of Maple Ridge back to the towns and cities they came from.

A recent video produced by CUMR shows Seip and other volunteers forcibly removing a young female occupant from a house while RCMP watched from across the street.

The group now does six patrols a day of what it considers “troubled areas,” making contact with street people, Seip said. Its members film everything with body cameras, dashcams and drones, he said. Money for relocations comes from fundraising, and the group spent under $5,000 on that last year, he said.
Asked whether he believed the group was engaged in vigilante justice, Seip said: “We’re Ridgilanties. Are we vigilantes? Absolutely not.”

Maple Ridge residents vow to fill the grey zone where police and the law just won't tread

Seip and his group’s activities might have been inspired by Maple Ridge mayor Mike Morden who is on record as saying that homeless people were "basically raping and pillaging all of our community and our businesses" as well as many other unsubstantiated claims as to the impact of homelessness and addiction in their community. CBC published a great article ‘fact-checking’ Morden’s claims:

Fact-checking Maple Ridge mayor’s claims about homelessness

The vig - er, sorry, “Ridgilante” rhetoric echoes another anti-homeless group, Safer Vancouver. That group, which also had ties to the BC Liberals, were exposed as being run by a number of wealthy real estate investors with interest in gentrifying the DTES. While Clean Up Maple Ridge has yet to show us their true colours, one can’t help but note the privilege in Seip’s own “inspirational” story:

Seip said he is a former addict who was strong-armed onto a path of recovery by an uncle who drove to Nanaimo to retrieve him, slapped him across the face, and made him chop wood until he got clean.

This is not a story of running someone off and hoping they get clean. While it’s “tough-love” on its face, if it’s true, then Seip was lucky enough to have a family member who gave him shelter, food and emotional support while he got clean. Why Seip doesn’t seem to think others deserve this kind of support is unclear.

The truth is, Clean Up Maple Ridge may live in a grey area between “concerned citizens” and “militia”, but it’s not hard to see echoes of groups like The Proud Boys or The 3-Percenters in their language, activity and organization. Even if their intentions are good, organizations like theirs are easily co-opted by white supremacists, reactionaries, or even people who want an excuse to commit violence.

You can follow this story and many more on the Red Braid Alliance website here https://www.redbraid.org/campaigns/regional-campaigns/campaigns-maple-ridge/

Melissa De Genova compares far-right attack on U.S. capitol to 2017 occupation of Vancouver City Council chamber by housing activists

In a grotesque move last week, Vancouver City Councillor Melissa de Genova compared the far-right attack on the U.S. capitol with a 2017 occupation of the Vancouver City Council chamber by housing activists from the DTES and Chinatown.

Many who took part in the attack on the U.S. capitol were armed, five people died in the attack, and there was considerable property damage. In contrast, the activists who occupied the Vancouver City Council chamber in 2017 were entirely peaceful -- none of them were armed, nobody was killed, and there was no property damage. Oh, and they were advocating for justice for the most marginalized residents in our city, not attempting to violently annul the results of an election.

The Democratic Socialists of Vancouver have released a statement calling for the resignation of Melissa de Genova, and for the NPA to be shut out of office in 2022.

Statement: Melissa De Genova should resign -- and the NPA should be shut out of office in 2022

Protesters temporarily take over Vancouver City Council

Downtown Eastside resident killed by police

On January 5, the Vancouver police shot and killed a man named Chester who lived in supportive housing in the DTES. Police responded to a call by paramedics that included reports of a man chasing people with a sword. They found Chester naked, yelling, brandishing a sword, and with injuries from repeatedly running into a glass door.

The killing once again highlights the need to cut the police budget and to transfer responsibility for mental health and addictions issues away from police and towards community social services. The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users held a vigil/protest for Chester on Tuesday, January 12.

Read more in The Tyee: Downtown Eastside Grieves Man Shot Dead by Police

National

Anti-government website hosted in Montreal shut down after promoting armed protests in U.S.

Federal government weighs listing Proud Boys as terrorist group.

International

Aftermath of attack on U.S. Capitol

In the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the U.S. capitol by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump that left five people dead and caused significant property damage, the House of Representatives voted on January 13 to invoke articles of impeachment against Trump. This makes Trump the only U.S. President to be impeached twice. Trump is charged with “incitement of insurrection” for comments he made at the rally that took place prior to the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump’s impeachment will proceed to trial in the Senate, where senators will serve as jury. If Trump is successfully convicted, he would be barred from running again for the office of U.S. President.

Donald Trump becomes 1st U.S. President to be impeached a second time

Meanwhile, the FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitols and Washington D.C. in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration on January 20.

FBI Warns of plans for nationwide armed protests in U.S. next week

Jacobin Magazine published an article which argues that we don’t need new terror laws to defeat the far right. The Weekends show on Jacobin Magazine’s Youtube channel also had a spirited debate on how the left should respond to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

How Should the Left Respond to the Capitol Riots?

The Google campus in Mountain View, California, 2009. (Shawn Collins / Flickr)

Google Workers Unionize

Last week, workers at Google’s parent company Alphabet formed the Alphabet Workers Union, a groundbreaking step in organizing tech workers at one of the world’s largest tech giants.

Jacobin magazine spoke to two of union’s rank-and-file members about the organizing effort, how unions can fight for democracy on the job, and why blue and white collar workers need to organize together.

Unionizing Google Workers: We Want Democracy at Work