[Beyond the Borders] The Raid of Genua: Continuing the Fight






The Raid of Genua:
Continuing the Fight

Written by Istillian




(Europeia - May 28, 2021) - On May 15, the Europeian Republican Navy (ERN) joined anti-fascist NationStates (ANTIFA) players to take and hold the region of Genua, after site moderators had deleted the founder nation and it ceased to exist. The ERN will now be known historically as a part of the coalition that secured the record for the most updaters in history at 113 verified endorsements at the update time, and joined in on taking down hate in its many forms. Soon after the success of the attack on Genua, President Kazaman released an announcement from the Goldenblock once again declaring Europeia’s support of the operation, and commented:

“Last night's operation, with participants across the ideological spectrum, demonstrated a renewed energy in the fight against fascism. For so long, it felt like the fight would never end, but now there is hope. Europeia will continue to work actively with our partners to end the presence of fascism in NationStates.”

So why is this significant, and what does this mean for Europeia? Notably, the Genua raid and incredibly large participation rate that spanned across the entirety of the NationStates political sphere. There’s something to be said about providing a united voice against the face of fascism, independent of past grievances or differing views on military gameplay; and having our sailors and our organisation representing Europeia to further this message certainly solidifies to others what we will continue to support anti-fascist efforts. Furthermore, as an Independent region we maintain a level of strength and flexibility with working with a rather broad array of organisations based on our foreign policy. Now with many organisations in the defender sphere, which we have traditionally had difficulties with finding opportunities to unite on, there is recency in our collaboration, and a way of crossing prior political differences to use our combined forces for a common goal. The Regional Message Board was rife with congratulatory efforts after the raid, which was in stark contrast to the raid reports on behalf of Genua, which were largely boasting of their efforts and collaborating to put the fascist tag on regions they had invaded, and spouting far-right authoritarian style messages fundamental to fascist ideology.

With this renewed sense of vigour to target fascist regions under ANTIFA and its supporters, it would on the face of things give many a sense of hope that Nazism and fascism would start to see a relative decline. However, the dregs of their culture and community are still prevalent, and while they may seem to be either hidden or gone to some, they are not out of sight. Their views continue throughout NationStates communities; regions like Farkasfalka and Genua have since had splinter regions created with many of their community members taking a stance against the messages they tried to convey being quashed by site moderators. So what do we do next, and where and how should the ERN provide its strength?

On May 23 the region of Genua was officially password-locked and is under the control of the anti-fascist community, concluding the hold operation. A day earlier though, on May 22, the ERN provided assistance to the raid of the region Crusaders, targeted for liberation due to Genua’s remnant forces occupying the region. Which begs the question, will these communities give up, and are our efforts just pushing these people from region to region? On reflection on this question the EBC reached out to Europiea’s current World Assembly Delegate and associate justice, Prim, for comment on the recent moderation decisions, and the spread of fascism across NationStates.

“In NS and in real life, Nazis and neo-fascists have shown that they're not beyond covert tactics to achieve their goals. This purge was a road block for them, but they aren't done for good. They will hide their motivations better (especially from NS mods and on the website itself) and speak with more caution, but they will still be propagandizing in more subtle ways and trying to recruit and influence new players. ANTIFA rousting nazis from their safe havens is a necessary effort. If allowed to maintain a stable presence, their population and base that they can reach for propaganda purposes will grow. Ousting them, moving them, keeping them on their toes continually disrupts those efforts and prevents impressionable teens from being radicalized by these nazis over time.”

Armed with reassurance from these comments, the EBC also sought to get an insider’s view on the navy, and to see more generally what Europiean’s thoughts on the current climate are. Current minister of interior and ERN Lieutenant Grandfather Clock spoke on proactive efforts from the ERN against fascism, and was asked about if Europeia is being proactive enough about stopping this spread.

“We do a lot, but I feel like it's one of those things where you can always do more, you know? Combating fascism in this game is really important so you can't really do too much. What I do know is that Europeia is well-known for standing very strongly against fascism and we are proactive about talking to people if they are espousing those kinds of beliefs - letting them know that they aren't tolerated and why … I do think Europeia does a good job of stopping those kind of hateful messages.”

It certainly seems that there is a strong effort from military organisations and governments across NationStates to target fascist behaviours, and we as a community are continuing to be proactive about these efforts, especially through engagement with the ERN. However, the raid against Genua has shown that many smaller regions are popping up or being invaded by those that disagree with the recent moderation decisions, and seem to claim that their thoughts and speech has been hindered. Arguably now more than ever it truly is an important time to continue our efforts in fighting this fight, rooting out those that continue to spread this dictatorial attitude, and to hold ourselves to the high standards that we do.



 
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A very well written article (even with my comment in there, somehow)!! Thank you Ist, it was a pleasure to participate in the op.
 
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