Conversation

And so it starts ...

Neonazis, a mix of skinheads and guys in miltary jackets with combat boots and facial tattoos, have stationed themselves at the train station and carefully watch the stream of travelers. Whenever they notice someone who's not white, visibly queer or wearing something Antifa-related, they step in their way and tower over them with a mean expression before letting them pass.

An intimidation attempt and a warning, I reckon.

Happened to me. Happened to a Black woman before me. Happened to a couple people behind me who I recognized from antifascist protests. All in plain sight of a bunch of cops in their cars, who just ignored the whole thing. I actually hailed down one of them to point the guys out, but he just shrugged and said well, as long as they don't insult anyone and aren't getting physical, they're not doing anything illegal, so there's nothing they can do.

Bestie and I also saw an uptick of visible fash on public transportation. We had two kinda boxing us in on the tram today, just watching, but I was still on high alert ready to get bestie and me the hell out of dodge if necessary.

But yeah. That's Germany after the election. Fash can just silently harass you in the streets in line of sight of cops and you're told that's something you have to live with. The AfD didn't even have to win, the CDU under Merz making a hard turn towards right-wing politics was enough.