Every year on Columbus Day weekend, members of a neo-Nazi organization going by the name of “Keystone United” – formally the Keystone State Skinheads – flock to Philadelphia from all over the state of Pennsylvania to lay a wreath upon a statue of Leif Ericson in “commemoration” of his journey and, later, the settlement of the first Europeans in North America. Leif Ericson Day, as it is known formally in the United States, is a 
federally recognized holiday; however, neo-fascists utilize October 9th every year as a way to profess their virulently deceptive notions of Euro-centric superiority, racial and ethnic bigotry, and every other conceivable type of demagoguery intended to win over downtrodden and embittered – due in large part to the recurrent crises of capitalism – “white” workers and youth to Fascism through strategically-subtle “cultural” events such as the kind mentioned above. Nevertheless, their day did not go according to plan; something was standing in their way…
Outnumbered at least three to one, anti-fascist fighters, including members from REVOLUTION, blockaded the statute to prevent the fascists from laying their wreath. We all held our ground despite their repeated taunts and provocations. While we lacked the forces necessary to physically disperse their rally, we did achieve our intended goal: we prevented them from laying the wreath. In that sense and, in that sense alone, we were victorious; however, so much more work is desperately necessary in the coming months to combat the rise of fascist organizations – particularly as the crisis of capitalism continues to manifest itself with greater than anticipated month on month increases in unemployment.
Being outnumbered three to one against a fledgling, socially despised organization (currently anyway) is not only embarrassing, it is a disgrace. If the fascists took anything from this past demonstration, the at least now know the weakness of the Left in Philadelphia. They will undoubtedly increase their presence and scope of actions throughout the city and Pennsylvania more generally if working-class men and women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities, trade unionists, gay men and women, do not break up their rallies and dismantle their organizational structures.
Contrary to what some might argue, fascists have no right to appear in public anywhere or at any time to spout their messages of intolerance and hatred with the intention of fragmenting the working class, to keep it from uniting against its true enemy: the capitalists of all nations, races, creeds, etc.
At the same time, we cannot rely on or demand that the capitalist police break up fascist mobilizations or their infrastructure. We need to do it ourselves. A call on the government to ban fascist groups demonstrating or holding rallies, would be turned, inevitably, against organizations on the Left if, and when, they began to pose a significant threat to the interests of capital. Our democratic rights are in just as much jeopardy with the capitalist State as they would be under a fascist dictatorship.
We need to start building anti-fascist self-defense organizations throughout our communities and neighborhoods before the fascists get any stronger. Such organizations must be made up of armed contingents of workers (both male and female), young people, the progressive petit-bourgeoisie, and all those targeted directly by the fascists in the course of their daily lives; such organizations must be answerable to the working class and youth in general through democratic deliberation and reporting. Fascists working within the established organizations of the working class (i.e., the trade unions) must be driven out and banned from returning. No individual whose ultimate goal is the destruction of the working-class movement should be allowed to actively participate within the unions with the purpose of undermining their collective strength.
The task now is to break any hope of the fascists of increasing their presence to spread the poisonous fumes of racist, sexist, and homophobic propaganda. A workers’ anti-fascist united front is, thus, on the order of the day. Unite your communities against the fascists! Confront them by any means necessary when they appear in public, harass and intimidate women and young people, racial and ethnic minorities, and gays and lesbians. Trade unionists: join the struggle! Fight back against the forces seeking the destruction of your organizations.
As the capitalist crisis continues its devastating course afflicting the working class, the youth, women, the urban poor, etc, the fascists will continue to attempt to swell their ranks so long as the “traditional” Left remains in disarray. A mass revolutionary working-class political party would actively work to combat the fascists on a day-to-day basis. Only such a party would be able to link up the local and sectional fights against fascism into one nationally coordinated body capable of guiding both offensive and defensive actions against the paid hirelings of capital. Such a party can and must be built to repel not only attacks by the bosses to make workers and young people pay the cost of the economic crisis through layoffs, short-time work, reduced benefits, etc, it must combat the reactionary rise of the fascists who seek to atomize any resistance to the rule of the capitalists and their State.