Public statement on fascist presence @ MAC
Dear friends and comrades,
On Sunday, November 1, at 12:25pm, five members of the fascist group the 'United Patriots Front' (UPF) attended the Melbourne Anarchist Club (MAC) in Northcote.
The five confronted a member of the Club who happened to be present: the confrontation was filmed and uploaded to the UPF Facebook page.
Obviously, the UPF intended their visit to intimidate the MAC, local anarchists, and all those in Melbourne who reject fascism.
In this context, we deeply appreciate the solidarity displayed by local anti-fascists who attended the space later that day in support.
The MAC is issuing this statement in order to re-affirm our commitment to anarchist politics and to appeal to the broader community to join us in a public refusal of fascist attempts at intimidation.
We appeal to our fellow anarchists, anti-fascists, and all those involved in public campaigns to oppose racism and fascism in Melbourne to attend the Club on our next opening day on Sunday, November 8 from midday onward.
We intend to carry on our work of promoting anarchism, regardless of the UPF's actions.
~ MAC.
Statement on transphobia
transphobia
n. Intense dislike of or prejudice against transsexual or transgender people [Oxford].
The MAC rejects transphobia and all other forms of irrational prejudice based upon a person's real or presumed ethnic, national, gender, racial or sexual status. People from all walks of life are welcome to participate in events organised by the MAC and always have been. We welcome debate and discussion and are committed to providing an environment in which this can take place. Any person who has participated in a MAC event and believes they have been subject to some form of harassment or discrimination is encouraged to inform us so that we may attempt to remedy the situation.
Joint statement by MAC and ASF (Melbourne) regarding sexual assault within Melbourne anarchist milieu
JOINT STATEMENT BY MAC AND ASF-M REGARDING SEXUAL ASSAULT WITHIN THE ANARCHIST MILIEU IN MELBOURNE
Since 2010, the question of how an anarchist group can respond effectively and fairly to sexual misconduct by men against women has been the subject of debate and action by the MAC and the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation Melbourne.
By sexual misconduct we mean the spectrum of conduct from low level sexual harassment through to opportunistic or predatory sexual behaviour.
This misconduct is a fundamental challenge and threat to our anarchist goals of a free and equal society. In the absence of an effective anarchist justice system we are ill-equipped to respond.
For this reason, we want to put on the public record our support for the right of women to choose the appropriate avenue for redress when wrongs are committed against them. This includes the criminal justice system.
An injury to one is an injury to all. Our anarchist community must develop its sophistication in making that axiom real for women who suffer injury from men.
Endorsed at the 27 October meeting of the MAC
Subsequently endorsed at the assembly of the ASF Melbourne