With the selection of the We Keep Us Safe priority for 2023, your friendly neighborhood DADS (the Direct Action, De-escalation and Security committee) have been busy at work stretching our existing systems of safety and security to other community groups.
As you may have heard, Nationalist Social Club 131 attempted to interrupt a Drag Queen Story Hour in Fall River in December. Members of DADS and AUNTS (Auxiliary Underground Network of Tactical Supports) kept these Nazis from entering the library, although several suffered minor injuries. The story time proceeded as planned.
In the last year the far right across America has increasingly targeted queer events, especially ones for children. Protests of these events are helping the far right organize and recruit, so it’s important for socialists to protect these events and disrupt these attempts at far right organization. In order to expand our capacity to do so, DADS is spinning up our training program for 2023. To get plugged into these trainings and get involved, members may join the AUNTS group chat on the secure message app Signal (ask us for the link! – you can also indicate your interest in getting involved in the priority and we will follow up).
The priority campaign is already off to a good start: The next Fall River Pride Committee’s Drag Story Hour was held on Saturday, January 14th, 9:00-11:30am. DADS organized a Boston DSA contingent to show support for the queer community and make it more difficult for the far right to disrupt community events like this. The event was a success, with an estimated 120 attendees on our side. Only a handful of fascists dared to attend, and they left cold and demoralized. Check out this Twitter thread from Working Mass to see more pictures, videos, and reporting from this event.
DADS hopes to build on this momentum and develop our relationship with groups such as the Fall River Pride Committee while preparing our comrades and our communities to more effectively oppose the far-right.