← Feed
RE: https://kolektiva.social/@alissaazar/117313256015707316
Almost every time an antifascist is assaulted by someone on the far right at a protest/counter protest/certain events etc, there are people who immediately go to the cops and ask “why aren’t you arresting them?”
I know the answer is obvious to a lot of people but I think it’s worth paying attention to what law enforcement almost always says.
“You have to file a police report. I can’t do anything if you (or they) don’t talk to me.”
obviously thats not how law enforcement works and its a way of mocking people who don’t trust law enforcement. Cops routinely arrest and target antifascists and people in general based on what they personally witnessed, what someone else told them, footage they’ve seen, information they’ve gathered, or often with little to no justification at all.
They don’t need an antifascist to walk up and file a report before deciding that an arrest is warranted when we’re the ones they want to target.
when a fascist assaults someone in front of them and suddenly the response is “yeah well they need to file a report first,”that isn’t some neutral limitation on what police can do.
It’s a choice.
And watching people repeatedly try to force cops to explain that double standard only to get the same rehearsed excuse is an important reminder of exactly who law enforcement chooses to protect and who they choose to criminalize.
Replies (1)
-
And this is also why so many people with experience dealing with these violent assholes feel it’s necessary to show up and push them out.
Because knowing that something is a crime and seeing police actually intervene are two very different things.
When police repeatedly stand by (and even help) while fascists harass, assault, intimidate, and threaten people, the burden doesn’t magically disappear. It gets pushed onto the community and disproportionately onto the people who are already most vulnerable to their violence.
we know what happens when these groups are allowed to operate without resistance… innocent bystanders get hurt, marginalized people get targeted, their hatred spreads, and fascists get more opportunities to recruit, build, and play themselves up to be “innocent patriots just waving a flag.”
That’s a big reason why people show up. Not because community defense is a substitute for accountability, but because people have seen what happens when nobody intervenes.
Open ##4811451