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The 635 Group - Fighting Fascism In West Yorkshire

The 635 Group | 09.02.2005 00:00 | Anti-racism | Sheffield

West Yorkshire's militant anti-fascist group and Antifa's Northern section go public:

The 635 Group
~ Fighting Fascism In West Yorkshire ~

FOUNDING STATEMENT

WHO ARE WE?
The 635 Group is a group of militant anti-fascists based in West Yorkshire.
We exist to confront fascist ideas, activities and organisations wherever and however they occur.
We utilise a wide range of tactics and believe it is important to confront fascism on the streets as well as ideologically.
We do not advocate the electoral process as a means of defeating fascism nor will we work with groups that do.
Our structure is anti-authoritarian and non hierarchical. We oppose discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, ability or age.
We will not work with, accept information from, nor pass information to the magazine Searchlight.
FASCISTS BEWARE !!!

FASCISM?
It is a mistake to see fascism solely in terms of extreme far-right nationalist political parties such as the BNP, NF etc. While these are the most obvious target for an anti-fascist campaign, many policies promoted by other parties are equally fascist in nature, and demand an appropriate reaction. The media is also guilty of pushing far-right ideology (the tabloid treatment of the issues surrounding refugees for example) and their actions often fall within the remit of an anti-fascist group. We should oppose fascist ideology whatever its source. Equally, fascism is often used as a synonym for racism. Racism is a tool frequently employed by fascist movements, but it is important to be aware that fascists can be non-racist and indeed most racists are not fascists. While our major target is fascism, we must be aware that bigotry in all forms (racism, sexism, homophobia etc) needs to be fought, whether it comes from the mouths of fascists or from elsewhere.

PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION
Fascism is a violent ideology, which throughout history has been prepared to use violence against those it opposes, and against those who challenge it politically. The 635 Group is part of the ‘physical force’ anti-fascist tradition, prepared to confront fascism by force when we deem it necessary and appropriate. Physical confrontation is only one of our tactics though, we do not aim to fetishise it as one tactic above all others, nor will we allow a hierarchy to develop based on the kudos of street-fighting. If an individual member feels unable to engage on this level they are no less worthy as an anti-fascist than any other member of the group, however those with a ‘moral’ problem regarding this issue should be advised that this is not the group for them.

HIERARCHY AND GROUP STRUCTURE
In keeping with our anti-authoritarian ideas, we seek to challenge hierarchy within our own group and elsewhere. We do not believe in fixed leadership or power structures. Within the group we make decisions on a consensus basis to ensure that the opinions of all within the group are represented as far as possible. Where an organising role needs to be taken on by one or more people (for example, acting as chief steward during an action), we accept that this is immediately revocable should the members of the group be dissatisfied, and that the appointment of any role that could be seen as leadership is temporary and based on group consensus. There are situations in militant anti-fascism where decisions have to be made quickly (e.g. chief stewarding) and it is vital that the group trusts the person who is making those decisions. It is also vital that appointing those decision-makers does not create any unspoken hierarchy, so we encourage the rotation of roles as far as possible. This extends to meetings, where we encourage a rotating chair. The structure of our own group needs to reflect our political goals.

INCLUSIVITY
Within militant anti-fascism, the role of women has often been reduced to simply ‘spotting’ and fund-raising. A culture of chauvinism and a ‘boys club’ mentality has often prevailed, with a group often being made up exclusively of young white men. It is vital that a group’s demographic reflects the society it wishes to change, and we should expect to see far greater balance in terms of gender, race, disability, etc. We make a conscious effort not to discourage anyone from involvement, but we will not engage in ‘tokenism’ either. As the tactics of the group are not expected to rely solely on physical confrontation, hopefully the make-up of the group can become more representative, and the perception of militant anti-fascism as ‘politics-meets-football hooliganism’ can be reversed.

SEARCHLIGHT
We will not work with, accept information from, nor pass information to the so-called anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, and we will not work with individuals who have any connection to them. As an organisation that works hand-in-glove with State agencies, we cannot trust them or the agenda they pursue. Their influence within, and manipulation of, militant anti-fascism has been deeply divisive over the years, their methods and involvement with State security services are well documented and entirely incompatible with our own position.

THE AUTHORITARIAN LEFT
For decades certain Marxist-Leninist groups, most obviously the “Socialist Workers Party”, have opportunistically used the mobilisation against fascism as a way of trying to swell their membership numbers and the coffers of their party. We are not interested in working with these groups, nor with their front groups, such as the ‘Anti-Nazi League’ or ‘Unite Against Racism And Fascism’. Our experience is that these front groups exist merely to try and recruit members on behalf of the controlling party, to peddle their papers, and to manipulate and marginalize genuine anti-fascists. In the past we have seen the leadership of such fronts collaborate not only with the State, but also with the fascists themselves. We will not be fooled again, and advise genuine anti-fascists within these organisations to leave, after which we may be able to work with them.

VOTING
Voting is something that allows the State to pretend we live in a democracy, and it is a tactic used by fascist parties such as the British National Party to promote themselves and their policies. While the BNP may be in a position to throw bricks through the windows of a few Asian households, it is New Labour that is locking up refugees and bombing Iraqi civilians. It is ridiculous to suggest that voting helps to stop fascism, and the sort of insult to working class communities that has allowed the BNP to grow. This is the case whether we are being told to vote for the old Statist parties or opportunist fronts, such as ‘Respect’, which has helped to promote bigotry (sexism and homophobia) in order to further the agenda of its leadership. The problems that allow racism and fascism to flourish will not be solved simply by voting for parties which mask their fascism slightly more cleverly than the BNP, nor for some middle-class tourist standing on a Left-Wing ticket.

THE WIDER STRUGGLE
Eliminating the threat of fascism will not magically correct all the wrongs of the world; only the overthrow of global capitalism will offer any chance of real lasting change. Members of the group are involved in a wide variety of other anti-capitalist struggle, but The 635 Group itself remains focussed on the fight against fascism, which we believe is linked to the wider struggle. The State will employ fascist tactics if necessary in the cause of suppressing dissent, and the fight against openly fascist ideology, wherever it comes from, is a critical part of the fight against the ultimate enemy of capitalism itself.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Fascism can be suppressed by the use of street-level tactics against their attempts to publicly organise. Its electoral ambitions can be defeated by the use of counter-propaganda. But a meaningful impact on fascism requires far more than this. We believe that involvement in local communities is critical (and this does not mean parachuting in as outsiders, but people taking action in their own communities.) Education and presenting workable solutions to the problems faced by communities are absolutely vital to the struggle. These may be outside the remit of The 635 Group, but we will support these tactics, and while we may not be able to initiate such activities, we strongly encourage our members to involve themselves in this sort of grass-roots work.

SECURITY AND RECRUITMENT
For tactical and security reasons, The 635 Group is not an ‘open’ group. Some of our work may put us in conflict with the authorities, and of course with fascists themselves. We do not seek mass-recruitment and we do not hold regular open meetings. That said, we are always on the lookout for potential new members. In the early stages of the group we are admitting new members on the basis of personal recommendation from one or more existing members of the group, with their admission on the basis of consensus. As the group progresses, this situation will probably change, and our policy on involving new people will be constantly monitored and updated as required.

If you have information on fascist activity or would like to contact The 635 Group e-mail  The635Group@mail.com

The 635 Group
- e-mail: The635Group@mail.com

Comments

Hide the following 27 comments

anti-fash

09.02.2005 11:55

this smells strangely like the bradford calling lot...
come on admit it
we know your in there

break neck
mail e-mail: ....
- Homepage: http://....


tough call

09.02.2005 14:54

So your group will be non-hierarchical and inclusive, but will operate in secret and vet new recruits? Interesting...




Mr Spoon


How effective are you?

09.02.2005 15:50

Will you be able to stop the Nick Griffin Meeting in Sheffield on the 18th of Feb?

Not a fan of Nazi's


bradford calling ?

09.02.2005 18:17

can you please enlighten me as to who the bradford calling lot are ? and what relevance it has to the launch of a local antifa group,cheers

patrick


Bradford Calling?

10.02.2005 15:51

It has no relevance Patrick, because The 635 Group has nothing whatsoever to do with Bradford Calling. The 635 Group operates in WEST Yorkshire, but would welcome hearing from committed anti-fascists in SOUTH Yorkshire who share the same point of view.

Anti-fascist


WE ARE EVERYWHERE:

11.02.2005 14:29

We are a loose coalition of anarchists communist
nihilist we are for the destruction of civilisation
and for the defence of wildness. We exist to help
strengthen the strictly anti-authoritarian anarchist
movement and work with all other like-minded
organizations. We feel that society in general is at a
crucial point where the overall disgust for daily life
is reaching a new high point everyday. It would seem
that anti-authoritarian would be all the more
appealing to larger majorities, so the widening of our
reach as anarchists requires more efforts to spread
information and more ways to keep up on current
debates as well as information regarding direct
actions. The constant repression that the systems we
oppose requires the suppression of our voices and
actions, this is primarily carried out by a highly
manipulative media, an all encompassing dependency on
the system, and the jailing of our more active
participants. This creates an even stronger obligation
on our part to spread the information to battle with
the over-arching mega-machine and help hasten the
death of civilisation for a world living in harmony of
all living things. We believe that through the
invention and use of agriculture, certain people were
able to force their lifestyles upon the rest of the
world. What was being pushed is civilisation, the
state of society that forces all to become
domesticated and thus mediated from the natural world.
It created the illusion of power and relies on it, in
this lies it's oppressive nature and ability to
subjugate the planet to it's wants and needs. While
being sold as a greater livelihood to being a
necessity, it has, in reality, taken our autonomy,
sold us commodities as 'freedoms', taken our ability
to exist and communicate freely, replaced our
leisurely lives with work as drones, 'expendable
labour' pools for those in power to rob at will. It
has replaced our natural world with a noisy, concrete,
steel and glass hell based on monotony, where any
non-corporate attempt to decorate is a crime.

This civilisation has been a draining leech on the
Earth. It has poisoned its vital resources, it has
destroyed forests, it bulldozes the homes of the many
species that share this world (and has pushed many
into extinction). It forces the remaining into
human-made, concrete prisons where they remain until
slaughtered. It has created words and ideologies for
humans to try to justify their massacres in the name
of 'superiority' (which has also been responsible for
racism, sexism, and all the other social-isms). The
only time the Earth's condition is considered is when
its resource value to humans is affected. We are not
an organization. Organizations are a mirror of the
hierarchical system we oppose. They hinder free flow
of information and thought and can be easily
manipulated into an elite power group. We feel that
power is the basis of civilization, and thus refute
any model in which it is made possible. All are
important and all should be heard. No one has the
right to rule you, and no one can tell you what to do.
So we refrain from this style of order.

There are no members, only participants. Everyone is
free to do as they please and contribute where they
please. Interaction and debate is vital. We support
anarchist and non-anarchist prisoners alike. Prisons
are one of the primary forms of pure power of the
state. It exists to scare the population in line and
sooth the 'upstanding' citizens into believing that
the state has their interests in mind. It puts forth
the image of justice being done and the 'bad seeds'
being rehabilitated. This is nothing but a lie. It
does not mean justice, only fear. One of the crimes
responsible for the high incarceration rate are those
dealing with 'illegal substances.' Something which
high positioned parts of the government have been
known to push on it's population as a means of escape
for those who bare the greatest blunt of the social
order.

The entire 'justice' system is corrupt, from the
police to the highest judges. It has no right to say
who and who is not guilty of crimes, since the state
itself is the worst criminal in existence. It will
kill nations for cheap fuel, and will convict a woman
for trying to protect herself from an abusive (and in
many cases life threatening) partner, or even a person
who can't afford to pay for that same fuel to get to
their minimum wage job and will thus be forced to
steal it. The very existence of this system leaves an
uneven slate for all to exist on. Most crimes
committed are done to try to keep up with the
constantly rising and unrealistic 'quality of life.'
It is guilty and therefore has no right to claim it's
own product as guilty. We reject the entire system,
and will not be silent on the plight of those pushed
into the dungeons of civilization, especially when
their own crime is speaking and acting against the
state's injustices. We see that civilization has yet
to spare an inch on this Earth from its blood-soaked,
greedy hands. We see that the only way to regain our
livelihood, sanity, environment, and everything else
that has been taken, will require the complete
destruction of civilization and its products. Only
through this can we truly leave our consumerist,
isolated mindsets and become feral and liberated. We
seek an end to all domestication and a return to what
remains of the natural world. We are for the abolition
of all large scale agricultural, technological, and
industrial existence, as they can only exist in the
context of accumulation based systems. We feel that
the human population is a vital issue. The Earth
cannot sustain this high of a population. We believe
that through civil collapse, into a more community and
harmonious existence that the human population will
realize it's capacities and adjust itself accordingly.


We understand that many will feel that what we are
asking for is unrealistic and utopian. However, we
feel that civilization has proven that it cannot be
trusted. As long as power exists, injustice and all of
its products exist. The state apparatus acts as a
cancer cell and grows for the sake of growth. This
mentality is mirrored in all of its products and is
pushing the whole planet and all its inhabitants
closer and closer to extinction. It has proven that
the worst thing that can happen is that the state will
continue to exist. It plays itself off as being the
best-case scenario, and downplays the accidents that
are bound to happen while carrying out its
necessities, many of which can be fatal. We seek the
abolition of power and all of its physical forms,
because that is the only way the Earth and all its
inhabitants may heal themselves and carry on. We exist
as hollow, diseased shells of our past lives. We have
been deceived and cheated out of our birthrights to
lives of happiness and freedom. The only possibility
of regaining all of this is to destroy that which
oppresses us all.

999-666...


ill-thought-out codswallop

11.02.2005 23:03

You wish to destroy civilisation and return to a 'feral' existence? You do realise that in order to do such a thing would require a vast reduction in the human population level - only a very small number of people living in this manner could be supported by the available natural resources. The only conclusion that can be arrived at is, therefore, that you lot would like to kill off 90% of the world's population. Wannabe genocidal maniacs - nice bunch of folk aren't you? So much for being 'anti-fascists' lol.. bunch of blummin' cretins more like.

Mercian


You are nowhere...

13.02.2005 13:49

"We see that the only way to regain our
livelihood, sanity, environment, and everything else
that has been taken, will require the complete
destruction of civilization and its products."

Well go on, lead by example then... put your ideas into action! That would presumably mean either a) you shun the trappings of civilisation and fuck off and live in a cave eating roots and berries or b) you enforce your bizarre ideas about the "destruction of civilization and its products"... sounds to me like the Final Solution?

What has this diatribe of shite got to do with the original post here? What has this pseudo-intellectual misanthropic hippy bollocks got to do with the working-class stuggle against fascsim? Absolutely nothing!

Get your head out of the clouds and try taking part in some meaningful activity (such as The 635 Group are advocating).

YORKSHIRE R.A.S.H SKIN


Nothing to do with The 635 Group

14.02.2005 20:08

The ‘We are everywhere’ rant above has absolutely nothing to do with The 635 Group, the politics of which are quite clearly stated in the original posting by them. What’s up with you people, a new anti-fascist group is launched, and the first response is by some silly bugger making a comment about Bradford Calling, then there’s an entirely inappropriate load of bollocks from a primitivist nutter? Doesn’t anyone have anything constructive to contribute?

Red N Black


Excitement!!!

17.02.2005 22:46

We can't wait for the Anarchists to take power so that we can get out and start murdering people again! Yay! Go Anarchists! Go 635!

P.Sutcliffe, C.Manson, T.Bundy


READ SOME BOOKS

18.02.2005 00:12

Anarchists murdering people? Have you been reading the Daily Mail?

I suggest you read up a bit on anarchism before throwing tabloid-level slurs at us... after all, it wasn't anarchists that started every single war that has wracked the European working-class in the last few hundred years.

And (just pre-empting the obvious trot response) it wasn't anarchists who slaughtered the sailors in the Kronstadt Soviet, or betrayed the Spanish people to forty years of fascist dictatorship.

Statist parties (left or right) have accounted for millions of times more senseless bloodshed than anarchists, and I defy you to produce any evidence to the contrary.

And don't confuse the primitivist "We Are Everywhere" spam bollocks with anarchism, because it simply isn't, nor does it have anything to do with The 635 Group. We are pro-working-class anti-fascists and that crap posted above is plainly drug-addled hippy drivel.

So, if you can't back up your assertions with some fact, don't bother opening your mouth.

YORKSHIRE R.A.S.H. SKIN


Actually...

18.02.2005 14:35

no Yorkshire boy, we weren't accusing the Anarchists of murdering people, that's our job snd that's we can't wait for you to overthrow the state and release us all from our cells.

Of course we understand that anarchists don't normally murder people (apart from our buddy Timothy McVey), they just throw bricks at police officers trying to do their job and beat up those who disagree with their own points of view.

P.Sutcliffe, C.Manson, T.Bundy


Please find something else to do with your time

19.02.2005 13:25

It's rather typical, that an anti-fascist posting attracts this sort of rubbish. But clearly Messers Sutcliffe, Bundy, & Manson are confusing Anarchism with liberalism - We don't need prison cells to deal with serial-killers like Sutcliffe, Bundy, Bush, & Blair -Bullets are cheaper.

Anti-fascist


Distraction from the issue

22.02.2005 12:19

Is it really impossible for there to be any kind of sensible discussion in regard to the issues raised in the original post? The claims made about anarchists are ludicrous in the extreme yet unfortunately are the kind of accusations readily bandied about and easily swallowed by those with no opinions other than those they've read in The Sun. Before you start indulging in mindless jibes at least get your facts straight. As pointed out else where - read some fucking books! 635 has fuck all to do with a bunch of weirdy beardy primitivists but then its easier just to dismiss something without any research - then there's no danger of you having to get involoved, right?

"they just throw bricks at police officers trying to do their job and beat up those who disagree with their own points of view."

Ha ha, don't even get me started on this one! "Trying to do their job" - what like beating people up for no reason, raiding houses and nicking drugs which mysteriously never reappear at the station? And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"beat up those who disagree with their own point of view" Quite unlike the nazis of course who just merely put forward their opinion in a reasoned and well-thought out manner. All those reports I heard about them firebombing shops, beating up people because of their ethnic background and stabbing homosexuals must just be made up purely to give groups like the 635 a reason for existence.(N.B for any complete idiots reading this the last paragraph might br found to contain an element of sarcasm!)

BLACK N RED


black n red


well done guys...

23.02.2005 15:26

...for proving them right!

Anti-fash claims that bullets are cheaper than prison cells, this is hardly doing much to dispell the claims that Anarchists aren't violent, if you are prepared to use bullets to take out those who committ crimes then what hope do we have?

And Black N Red, instead of accusing those who don't agree with the ideas of contemporary Anarchism of being uneducated and reading The Sun, why not take a look at what you are actually saying? Are you seriously claiming that all police officers are corrupt in the way that you suggest? If you are then you are seriously misguided.

And did any of you get a chance to read about the 365 Group before that posting disapeared? I wonder if they have a point?

Violence breeds violence- although I suppose most Anarchists are prepared to ignore this.

Paul C


The State Is Violence

23.02.2005 17:52

It's not Anarchists who will determine the amount of violence required to overthrow the State. That will be determined by those who already terrorise the world - the people who order napalm and cluster bomb strikes against civilians, who gun down trade unionists, who torture and murder daily, and on a huge scale.

There is something inherently sickening about cossetted liberals who can't see the difference between a child throwing a rock at a tank, and someone who orders the deaths of thousands from the safety of Whitehall or Washington. Or those who hide behind their white skins to condemn anti-fascists who are prepared to stand up and be counted.

Red N Black


365 Group?

23.02.2005 17:58

Do you really think the so-called '365 Group' had anything serious at all to say? Don't you think it more likely that this was just some fascist nutter on a fishing expedition?

Auntie Fash


let the state do it

24.02.2005 17:59

Today came a dawn raid on the home of yorkshire BNP organiser whose computer equipment was seized and who was taken to a cell in halifax police station where he will be the fifteenth person to be arrested for questioning in connexion with a secretly filmed BBC programme infiltrating BNP meetings.

This is yet another attack on the BNP by blair's police designed to intimidate opponents of Blair's regime.

Why anyone should consider bothering with the 606 group i don't know. Stay in bed. The state is doing it all for you.

Freedom is no freedom unless the government's rule can be challenged. And that democratic right has been removed in this country.

liberty boy


Not just the BNP

24.02.2005 18:32

The 635 Group does not just exist to challenge groups like the BNP, but the racist and neo-fascist policies of New Labour.

Anti-fascist

Anti-fascist


Oi! Liberty Boy...

22.03.2005 01:28

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Now I certainly don't support the idea of cops raiding houses, seizing computer equipment, arresting people for being involved in criminal conspiracies and so on. I mean I'm an anarchist, i find it disgusting.

But there's a little bit of me that can't help grinning when it happens to the bad guys, and fascists and nonces getting hassled by the law really makes my day!

So thanks for sharing that with us...

Yorkshire R.A.S.H. Skin


635 group

02.04.2005 23:28

The only dissapointing thing about your statement is that I didn't read it months ago.

Crolt Bopper


Cheers Crolt Bopper

05.04.2005 17:42

Thanks mate. Hope to hear from you soon.

635
mail e-mail: the635group@mail.com


Crolt Bopper

10.04.2005 21:45

Hope to hear from you soon.

The 635 Group
mail e-mail: the635group@mail.com


facists

23.01.2006 16:04

You advocate Violence and behave like Nazis then claim to be Anti Facist's you are a bunch of Violent Nazis who attack anyone of any political persuassian who don't agree with yourselfs. I'm sure you are Government Funded and am looking for a direct links between a known government source and yourselfs.

londoner


They're called 635 because they always fight 635-1

01.02.2006 21:06

Those "libertarians" try to stop legal political parties from functioning with violence.

Ian


Pink 635

04.02.2006 19:43


Yes that is my IP addy, very clever :D

I'm sure you hard boys will show those nasty fascists a lesson when there's twelve of you and one of them...pimm's a clock anyone?..

Out of interest, are you going to be wearing pink badges with 635 on it?..

88

WG

WG


635 supporter

07.07.2011 15:36

Keep up the good work folks

miffed in leeds


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