What white supremacist violence in Australia means for Canada

 

An Indigenous gathering is attacked by neo-nazis with metal pipes calling for an end to immigration — now, a similar rally is planned for Toronto

When dozens of uniformed men armed with metal pipes charged up the hill toward a sacred Indigenous site in Melbourne, they were smiling and laughing as they prepared to attack.

“It was like a medieval scene,” says Nathalie Farah, a community ally who was brutally attacked and witnessed the assault on others at Camp Sovereignty. “They ran up the hill, and they were laughing and shouting.”

The attack happened last week when neo-nazis and self-avowed white supremacists splintered from the March for Australia, an anti-immigrant rally that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators in cities across the country. This attack was not an isolated incident of fringe extremism. While some protesters chanted “Australia for the white man,” others insisted to reporters they weren’t racist, claiming they were simply concerned about housing costs and living expenses — issues they blamed on immigration.

Despite denying racist intent, demonstrators marched alongside white power activists, revealing how deeply white supremacist ideology is reintegrating into the mainstream. Right now, far-right political movements across the Global North are weaponizing systemic racism and extreme wealth inequality to scapegoat immigrants and Indigenous peoples.  (more...)

What white supremacist violence in Australia means for Canada