What do we do about the Nazis then?

A conversation with Dr Kaz Ross, Nazi expert.

I recently had a long conversation with Dr Kaz Ross for the Australian Jewish Democratic Society about the current state of Australian Nazis and what’s likely to happen with their banning. It was a pretty frightening conversation because you can see how well thought through some of their strategies are and how appealing their messages are to both men and women who are disaffected. The attractiveness of their message can’t be underestimated to some young people, nor can activity in such place as gyms be ignored. Leadership is clever. They will seek ways to circumvent all legislation. They have links with groups overseas and recent revelations in reporting in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald have made that even more clear. They are infiltrating all sorts of citizens groups & taking over. Kaz goes into detail about who is behind this strategy and the terminology used to create a sense of strength, unity and direction.

It also became clear to me that their dogmatic, fundamentalist and absolutist way of thinking is very sadly reflected in some of the views of a couple of very fringe left groups in this country that cause a lot of problems. Unfortunately, it would not surprise me if some group decided to go beyond arson attacks. There are also social media personalities who amplify tensions. They cross into dog-whistling and antisemitism and it generates online income. In my opinion, the left needs to be aware of such people and disavow them quickly. Well, that’s my opinion. Link to the interview