The Forever War
The Fascist Leviathan that is fear and hatred of the left.
A look back at two points of history, 100 years apart, that rhyme.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”-Mark Twain
On January 24, 2019, the Pacific Northwest “Proud Boys”, a far-right terrorist group, vandalized and threatened an IWW Union Hall on East Burnside in Portland, Oregon. The group shattered windows and graffitied “Antifa House” and “Smash Communism” across the house. This followed a series of attacks and threats aimed at the IWW union and Democratic Socialist of America.
Well…why am I bringing it up now? Geez Riley, that was like a million years ago. On Sunday, August 22, 2021, I watched the proud boys casual brutality at Parkrose High School Parking Lot. I watched a man nearly get beat to death. I saw cars get smashed, one medical van turned onto its side, smoke bombs, paintballs, occasionally someone points a gun…all wrapped up in the cringy Larp that is the Proud Boys, with some violent, criminals peppered…or smothered throughout their ranks. What do they all have in common? A deep hatred of the left.
This hatred is nothing new. In fact, the attacks on IWW in particular are nothing new here in the Pacific Northwest. For instance, on November 11, 1919, a group known as “American Legion”, a far right, racist, anti-union hate group made up of ex-soldiers who had just fought the first World War, marched through the streets of Centralia, Washington on the first anniversary of Armistice Day. Both Centralia and Chehalis, a nearby town, was home to many veterans of WW1. There were veterans that joined the American Legion and veterans that joined the IWW. This was all taking place during a red scare that lingers to this day. World War 1 had brought out a hypernationalism never seen before across the US. In Russia, the Bolsheviks “October Revolution” had just sparked a civil war that would eventually lead to the creation of the Soviet Union. There were also bombings set off by anarchist led by Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani in the United States that set off a panic. People began to become conspiratorial that leftist and especially anarchist were plotting to destroy America. They began to blame leftist for any and every catastrophe, some real, some imagined. Add all this to strikes and race riots and you’ve got a boiling kettle about to blow its top.
On November 11th, the American Legion were having their Armistice Day parade, but led the march to the IWW Union Hall. The Wobblies had been beaten and dragged out of their Union Hall, they had been looted, and they had been evicted. Their new Union Hall in an old hotel, the Roderick Hotel, was prepared for some fuckery to take place. They had armed some of their veterans and had them guard the door. They also had shooters on a nearby hill. The AL fucked around and found out. 5 were shot and killed, 3 wounded. 7 of the Wobblies were arrested for murder and placed in jail. One of them, Wesley Everest, wouldn’t last the night. During the firefight, Wesley had been severely beaten after being caught by members of the legion. On the evening of November 11th, the electrical power to Centralia was mysteriously cut. Wesley was spirited away by an angry mob. He was found, castrated, and hung from the Mellen Street Bridge over the Chehalis River.
100 years later, the Proud Boys take up where the American Legion left off. The Antifa Scare perpetuated by Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, and Andy Ngo, rhymes with the fear of Anarchist bombings in 1919. Race Riots (Black Lives Matter), General Strikes, shit even pandemic’s with anti-vaxxers. The more you learn about history, the less surprised you become of any of these recent acts of violence and spread of misinformation. The main difference is how we choose to handle it today.
