“The white nationalist movement used to be very fragmented and had a lot of infighting,” Balgord said. “The reason that we’ve been warning about the size and the threat of the white nationalist movement in Canada right now is because they have managed to sort of figure out a unified and coherent strategy. And they are successfully recruiting large numbers of people doing it.”
Not good. Canada needs a broad antifascist movement, including communities and mainstream political parties, to ensure that the Nazis don’t get anywhere near as far as they have done in the USA. There’s still time, but if we leave the country in the hands of neoliberals while doing nothing to counter fascism or to provide a socialist alternative, we’re leaving the door wide open to Nazis. For now though, there’s still time to disrupt their funding and their organization. And if the NDP can pick the right leader, someone who is an energetic and unashamed socialist (like Zack Polanski in the UK) it could still provide the electoral alternative people need to steer the country away from the rocks.
Was it some kind of secret that the MMA scene is chock full of right-wingers and fascists?
I remember going to a local smoker about a decade ago, and there was a whole team walking around with SS in a huge font on their shirts.
Sweden recently also had a problem with fitness bros being Nazis and making gyms recruitment centers.
Anywhere there’s a “bro” there’s an eugenics supporter.
Why is a tweet from a well known neo-Nazi just in that article without being mentioned in the text? Strange.
It ends on the minister having a son in the neo-Nazi movement. Not only that, the governing party representative is sharing tweets from that neo-Nazi saying they are “just a group focust on training” basically.
Bernie-bros were good and cool (also, not eugenicists).
If we aren’t banning these hateful terrorists organizations and forcing them to scatter like the roaches they are, we are implicitly condoning them and are heading towards crimes against humanity.
Let one Nazi stay in a bar and the bar is now a Nazi bar.
It’s a terrible idea to ban any speech.
Plus, don’t you want nazis in the open? I like to know who they are.
If they’re in the open, they’re comfortable enough to start harassing people on the streets.
Nazis should be scared. They shouldn’t be handed power by brainwashed and apathetic masses.
We always know who they are. I don’t want them organizing.
Baning hate speech is always a good idea.
don’t you want nazis in the open?
No
Glad to see CBC following up on and building on the Canadian Anti-Hate Network’s reporting. There needs to be mainstream awareness of this. Gyms, community centres and other venues these groups are using to organize and build need to be in high alert.
the event was organized by a group called Exiles of the Golden Age and discussed the formation of “Männerbunds.” On the group’s social media accounts, they describe these as “disciplined groups of men” who can rebuild our world “amidst the coming wreckage.”
So in other words, a bunch of angry leather incels came together to masturbate in a blockhut.
I too practice martial arts, and thus far haven’t had the “joy” of encountering neo nazi types amongst my peers, but then again, I don’t practice MMA
Seems to me that the purpose of a martial art and of MMA differ significantly. Most martial arts are about finding a unity and discipline in your life and passing that on to others.
MMA seems to be about finding the movement combinations from various martial arts that combine to cause the most damage to the opponent. I can’t imagine being able to actively practice more than two or three arts at the same time and actually hold to the core principles of all of them.
Takes me back to Karate Kid, really….
I practice Karate and I’ve trained in dojos world wide and everywhere it’s the same, everyone is super down to earth, humility and respect are baked in and I’d be extremely surprised if any of the practitioners (at least the higher level belts) would be racist, let alone a Nazi sympathizer, as you always work and train together with people from all nationalities.
There is a huge amount of respect for other practitioners, there is simply no space for hatred over nothing
Meat heads gonna meat head.
Sorry if this offends anyone but MMA is for meathead morons. I’m talking both fighters AND fans. If You participate in UFC, you’re an idiot with a small brain and if you watch UFC, I can only assume you’re an idiot, too. It’s a sport for people who’ve had frontal lobotomies.
Oogh man hit man. blood come out and crowd make noise. me like that! more punch. less think. smash face good!!!
I support this message.
Striking and grappling arts should be kept separate.
Good way to put it!
I was a gym rat for awhile in/after college and knew a lot of martial artists at the gym. The Muay Thai and krav maga guys were really chill but every MMA bro was a piece of shit. I got the STRONG impression that their goal was to cause pain to, not just subdue, their opponent. They’d laugh and brag about breaking someone’s nose.
Tangent: I got into fitness through a classmate who was a big parkour guy and EVERY parkour guy I met was awsome. I only got into lifting when he dropped out to be on Survivor: China
