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ANTIFA NEWS: DURHAM
Fascist teen organizers in Pickering, Ajax and Oshawa Forty km east of Toronto, the Town of Pickering has been a target of neo-nazis for several years. In 1992, the Heritage Front visited Dunbarton High to support some white students who'd made an obnoxious demand for "white History Month" as a reaction to the Black History Month celebrations at school. To the dismay of people, hundreds of white students stood by the nazis. Meanwhile, a fascist scene was developing in Oshawa under Ken Barker, the Heritage Front's ambassador to the suburbs. This group didn't survive the disintegration of the Heritage Front generally, and the imprisonment of Ken Barker on weapons charges (now he's in Hamilton). Today, the fascist presence is obvious in Pickering, Ajax and Oshawa - all part of Durham Region. In Oshawa, the bonehead gangsters call themselves the Oshawa Boot Boys, and hang out mostly in the downtown core. In Pickering, a younger breed of boneheads has infected some high schools, especially Dunbarton, Pine Ridge, and Ajax High. One of the leading characters of the Pickering-Ajax pack is Ken Garbett, better known as Ken Garbage. Born in Stouffville, Ont., Ken hit the Toronto streets years ago, becoming involved with the "Isabella Skins" downtown. But he got busted and discredited himself among the white warriors by going into "protective custody", to escape the wrath of other prisoners. When Ken got out of jail he moved to Ajax/Pickering with his brother Phil, and resumed his career as fascist 'teen organizer' at Pine Ridge. Only thing is - Ken's now at least 28 years old! Roaming around Durham malls, he did manage to attract some newcomers in the Durham area who don't know his shameful history. Meanwhile, his nazi buddies in Toronto were using his brown Buick in several confrontations with anti-racists. (Local tire-spikers are now following up.) Word is that Ken is now retired, sick of the inbred infighting among his crew. Seems that Ajax bones aren't getting along with the Pickering crowd, and are holding cock-fights on the beach to settle their differences. While most everyone loves to hear these stories of self-destructing fascists, the bones can still get away with wearing nazi insignia at school and even with spouting white power bullshit in their yearbooks. And they've got a lot of potential recruits - there's plenty of insecurity among those white kids who are watching more people of colour moving into the area and don't have enough imagination to appreciate it. To counter the boneheads and create some conscious, positive, anti-racist space in Durham region, a group of high school students have given birth to their own, autonomous anti-racist / anti-fascist group. Durham Anti-Racist Action (DARA) is holding its first public event on October 27, a Rock Against Racism show featuring local favorites Rodent, Starkweather, Alter Ego, The Brown, as well as Pezz from Etobicoke and Toronto's Brainhooks (see details on back cover). $$ raised will go to producing flyers, buttons, stickers, posters, T-shirts and other anti-racist stuff.< Until they get their own P.O. Box and phone, DARA can be reached through Toronto ARA. Any like-minded folks in Durham region are encouraged to get in touch. ANTIFA NEWS: OAKVILLE RAGE AGAINST NAZIS IN OAKVILLE It's June 23rd and time for ARA to invade the suburbs, in this case Oakville, Ontario. The high school kids in that particular 'burb had decided to throw a benefit for Toronto's ARA to raise money in the never ending fight against racism and fascism. At first it seemed the show would never get off the ground as city officials became nervous at the thought of ARA invading their quaint little town. The Oakville Arena was the original sight for the gig, but the city wanted us, the ARA, to pay two off-duty cops 50 bucks an hour for security for the event! Since ARA has a policy of not working with the police (understandably),we said "no" and with the help of the Oakville teens, proceeded to look for another spot to have the show. We all settled on the Family Tree restaurant and went about setting up for the benefit. Up and coming bands like Trunk, Col.Bompkin, Pecola, Simple, and Grade as well as established acts like Hockey Teeth and New Day Rising headlined the bill and were more than happy to play. The basement, unfortunately, had no air conditioning and the place soon became a sauna with temperatures reaching 115 degrees!! Over 200 of the local kids turned out to have a great time and with 20 members of ARA as security, there were no problems. 25 boneheads went by the Oakville Arena and smashed some windows (?!?). They later threatened to come to the club and were only 12 blocks away, but didn't dare to when they heard about our numbers and thought it would be wiser to go on to their homes instead. All in all a great time had by everyone who attended. A colossal "fuck right off" to the blond haired, blue eyed, bespectacled jack-ass who said, outside the benefit, that ARA's posters were violent and offensive, and that we were putting out the wrong message to young people. He suggested that we ignore the nazis and they'll go away. Yeah, right! ANTIFA NEWS: TORONTO NAZI FREE STREETS For some reason, this summer downtown Toronto was the crash pad for lots of out-of-town boneheads. They came in from Victoria, from Sarnia, Winnipeg... they hung out on Yonge Street for a few weeks with their dogs and pre- teen girlfriends... and they were mostly gone again. They tried to make Yonge their own turf and did manage to discourage some anti-racists from spending time there - though we can't help but notice that they never picked any fights with the black and brown youth who hang out in the area. And with summer over, anti-racists are back on Yonge, some trying to pull together a scene called Anti-Racist Punks (ARP). They also tried to intimidate anti-racists in Toronto's west end - on College, on Queen - but got absolutely nowhere. In wanna-be death squad style, nazis cruised Queen Street videotaping street kids. Sometimes a couple of bones came down to strut around until they got chased back to Yonge, or escorted away by the cops. The response was strong and consistent. Queen Street punks started getting organized, sharing info , building an anti-racist, anti-fascist presence downtown, and hooking up with other anti-racists. The loose group, Street Kids Against Racism (SKAR), even had a speaker at a demonstration for Mumia Abu Jamal. And at the end of the summer, despite nazi attacks and police harassment, there are more anti-racists downtown than before. And more determined than ever to keep our streets a nazi-free zone. People interested in getting in touch with SKAR and ARP can reach them through ARA. BC NAZI GETS HIS ASS KICKED Another nazi is on the run. This time not from his own backstabbing comrades - it was the anti-haters in British Columbia who gave him the boot! Scott first came to the attention of people in Chilliwack B.C. last year when he opened a branch office of the "Church of Christ in Israel"-otherwise known as the Aryan Nations-in his junk-filled garage. He was ordained as a "pastor" by Richard Butler, Aryan Nations big-boy, at their nazi compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Following the teachings of that loser, Scott started organizing in the lower mainland in B.C. but at most could convert only a handful of racist skinheads. Generally he was met with increasing resistance from the community, even from the mayor who did not like a rabid racist roaming around and putting up his flyers under cover of darkness in the streets of Chilliwack. Many community forums and anti-hate propaganda campaigns, organized by the Salmon Arm Coalition against Racism, led to his ejection from Chilliwack in May. Chuck next showed up in Kelowna, B.C., hoping that he could tap into some rednecks there. Soon the local people started organizing against his monstrous presence. Resistance culminated in a Rock Against Racism concert with 300 people showing up to express their anger. Well, at first Scott bragged to the media that he couldn't be moved by protests. His macho image won him the respect of Richard Butler, who crowned him "Aryan of the Year" early this summer. But soon after the award ceremony, Chuck was on the run. He told the media that he'd split from the Aryan Nations. His weepy wife Leane mourned that Chuck couldn't get a job to support his two kids, and that nobody wanted to follow him in B.C. At the end of August it was reported that Chuck packed his bags and moved to Ontario. He might have planned to join a former Heritage Front member, the suicidal Leslie Jasinski, who was seen barking at Chuck's heels out in B.C. Anti- racists remember Leslie from the French Crueller gang - a "cell" of racial comrades who tried to hold up a donut shop two years ago to fund the Racial Holy War, in clown suits! Or maybe Chuck was hoping to hook up with Canadian Patriots Network geek Mark Lemire. Mark gave up on running the old Equal Rights for Whitey hotline this summer, to put all his steroid energy into spilling bile into the Internet on his BBS, "Digital Freedom". But if Chuck showed up in Toronto, he sure didn't stay long! Guess he wasn't into Leslie's plan to take the quick route to Valhalla at the hands of local anti-racists. At press time he was back in B.C., out on bail for trespassing on a military base, as well as mischief over $5000. Poor Richard Butler. If he had known how Chuck would be flip- flopping, would he have crowned him Aryan of the Year? Think of all the older nazis, waiting for the title for years without any success! Meanwhile, B.C. anti- racists are honouring him as Loser of the Year, and waiting for him to emerge again for another humiliating encounter. QUICK JABS FOR THICK HEADS THE HF GETS PLAYED... In an unexpected turn of events, former Heritage Front member, Elisse Hategan has broken her allegiance with the white supremacist group to testify against other HF members and divulge information on the group's activities to the police. This came to light following a trial in which Hategan pleaded guilty to charges of inflammatory libel for producing and distributing hate literature. In a CTV interview, she revealed that the group was responsible for a series of firebombings including two such attacks on the home of an anti-racist activist in Kitchener. Hategan also stated that the Heritage Front encouraged its members to join the Reform Party and to make use of welfare to finance the group's activities, and that almost all of the 100 members she knew possessed a firearm. WOLFIE'S FAMOUS LAST WORDS: "THEY'LL NEVER SHUT US DOWN" On March 15/94, Hategan testified in court against Wolfgang Droege, Gary Schipper, and Ken Barker - HF organizers charged with setting up and running a racist telephone hateline in an effort to evade an Oct.8/93 court order preventing the Front's placement of pre-recorded racist messages. Testimony revealed that Ken Barker was given a forged, predated, written resignation from the HF in order for him to operate the "Equal Rights for Whites" hateline under 'non-member' status in the face of last year's court order. Barker's line was set up on July 28/92, six days after the first trial began. During a March 23/94 hearing, Droege denied the allegations made and testified he "seriously doubts" he told Hategan of his plans. Disavowing her involvement with the HF, Hategan offered further information on the group's activities and even admitted to spying on them for four months prior to her official defection. She also stated that most of her racist views had been obtained after she had joined the manipulative ranks of the Heritage Front. STONEY POINT Following a Nazi-gig last summer, featuring the bands Aryan and RaHoWa (Racial Holy War), Jason (Little Jay) Hoolans and his racist skinhead mates went on a rampage. On that night of June 6th, Hoolans 20, kicked a Sri Lankan immigrant into a coma, resulting in a state of permanent paralysis. In a videotaped interview with police, Hoolans stated that while he doesn't think all non-whites should be killed, the world would be better off without them and that he doesn't "like to see all the immigrants coming in, taking our jobs..." On March 8, Hoolans pleaded guilty to the aggravated assault charge, and begged for the court's forgiveness. Pulling the old "reformed-racist" routine, a teary-eyed Little Jay did his best to convince the judge that the 9 months already spent in prison had given him the opportunity to see the error of his ways. They saw through his act and slapped him with a four-year jail sentence. STOP POLICE TERROR! The "Voice of Canadians Committee" held their founding meeting in Toronto on December 15/93 at the Swansea Town Hall. Self- acclaimed as the "Unhyphenated Canadians", these reactionaries are located between the Reform Party and the Heritage Front on the far- right scale. Believing that the source of their economic and social woes stem from "taxpayer-funded special interest groups", their material drivels on about how their "free society" and upper class stature has been violated by immigration, employment equity, etc. Suggested name changes: Short-Sighted-Canadians, Got-It-All-And- Still-Want-More-Canadians, Euro-Ignoramus-Canadians, Whining- Windbag-Canadians, Ku-Klux-Kanadians. JUSTICE FOR GENTLES An attack on anti-homophobia education is the first step in a transparent attempt by the religious right to take control of Metro school boards. Using front group tactics imported from south of the border, well-known homophobia bigots have joined forced under the banner of CURE - "Citizens United for Responsible Education" - and taken aim at a package of mild educational reforms introduced in the Toronto Board of Education. With school board elections coming up in the fall, their sights are now set on overturning the current board and replacing them with a crop of homophobic, conservative trustees who will roll back any small gains made in anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-homophobic education over the past 20 years. CURE presents itself as a group of concerned parents who worry that the Board's recent steps toward countering homophobia in the school system means young people will be (gasp!) converted by pro- queer education. In fact CURE is led by a notorious collection right-wingers with shaky histories whose agenda includes the supposed "curing" of queers, questionable psychiatric ideologies and religious fundamentalism. Watch out for CURE members, Dian Malott and Sue Careless. Furthermore, the reforms they're attacking were only a small step towards real (and long overdue) anti- homophobic education. However, if we want to see large steps taken, we'll have to wipe CURE off the map and push the Board to go the extra mile ahead rather than letting the bunch of them drag us back to the stone age. Students are already meeting to make sure that these kinds of decisions - about what kind of school environment we'll be working in - aren't made by the religious right, and more to the point, aren't made without us! If you want to get involved, contact us through ARA at 631-8835. FREE MUMIA On January 15, 1994, Blood and Honour, a neo-nazi skinhead group, attempted to hold a memorial concert for Ian Stuart in London. Stuart, who died in car accident last year, was the singer for Skrewdriver, a fascist skinhead band that also operated Blood and Honour. Because of previous successes by anti-fascists in shutting down fascist gigs this one was organized strictly by a word of mouth basis. As well, Combat 18 (C18) thugs (a paramilitary fascist organization), provided security in an attempt to foil anti-fascist efforts to smash the gig. All of which proved useless when militants from Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) thwarted their every manoeuvre. AFA is national anti-fascist organization in Britain that was formed in 1985 to, in their own words, "cause maximum disruption to fascist activities". Unlike groups such the Anti-Nazi League (a Socialist Workers Party front group), AFA attempts to smash the fascists whenever they rear their ugly heads. January 15th was no exception. Despite C18 attempts to redirect nazi scum to a series of assembly points, AFA militants always managed to find them. Even the cops called the AFA ability to locate the fascists as "uncanny". The day ended with nazi skinheads and C18 stewards holed up in a pub surrounded by riot police. When AFA once again arrived on the scene, the fascists panicked and tried to flee. The riot police smashed their way into the pub and badly beaten and bloodied fascists were dragged out and arrested. Other fascists attempting to flee the vicinity received a beating from AFA militants in the area. The key to AFA's success was their intelligence gathering capacity and on that day they "controlled the play, were ahead of the game and made all the decisive moves". Write: AFA, BM 1734, London, WC1N 3XX. | . |