RESISTANCE MOVEMENT. A monthly meeting was held in Västerås on 10 September, followed by a presentation, physical training and a bridge action.
The day began in the morning, with the Nest Chief welcoming the participants, before the monthly meeting got underway. During the meeting, the successful Nordic Days event that took place in August was reviewed. Both positive and negative reflections were made on how well the Nest had organised the event, with suggestions for improvements put forward for future events.
After the Nest’s recent activism had been reviewed and future plans were made, it was time for the next item on the agenda.
Lunch was served to the participants, who could enjoy it while listening to Joakim Kannisto give a presentation. The theme of the presentation was Sweden’s Police Law and the guidelines the police have to follow, as well as how we – as the opposition to the system – specifically need to know about our rights when in contact with the police.
Among the topics discussed were legal rules of conduct, such as the principle of proportionality and the principle of objectivity – two guidelines the police love to violate when they encounter organised National Socialists, as they think they can get away with it.
During the presentation, there was also a discussion with the audience about the various laws mentioned, including real-life examples that comrades have been subjected to, as well as talking about what can be done in such situations.
All the paragraphs of interest in the Police Law were reviewed, with the lecturer asserting how incredibly vaguely written all of the laws actually are – precisely because they are designed to allow the police to get away with almost anything. The police break their own laws every day, but they can always claim they felt their actions were justified because of the situation. People must use the state’s own bureaucracy against it to fight back, so the police will not dare behave however they want in future, because they know they will be punished.
When the talk was over, everyone had the opportunity to change into their workout clothes and take part in a joint training session. The comrades trained in martial arts, mainly focusing on situations that can arise when encountering violent antagonists at a public activity.
After an intensive training session that ended with sparring, the men prepared for the last activity of the day. They travelled by car to a footbridge over the E18, where they lined up with banners and flags in both directions.
Everything from hand hearts to thumbs-up and even middle fingers were seen during the bridge action. Several people also passed by on the bridge and expressed their appreciation for the comrades’ presence, including a middle-aged couple who were very happy for the opportunity to have an extended discussion with National Socialists.
There was also time for some of the contents of the day’s presentation to play out in practice, when two diminutive, freshly graduated policewomen driving an unmarked car appeared on the bridge towards the end of the activity. With all the authority of small children about to reprimand a group of adults, they approached the comrades. One of the women was visibly offended that the interaction was filmed and thought it was disrespectful for someone to record what she was doing in her profession (perhaps she chose the wrong job?).
Like many officers before her, she did not know the law, despite several years at the police academy, and asked if the Resistance men had a permit to stand on the bridge. When the comrades informed the officers about the laws the police force are paid to uphold, the offended policewoman made a snide comment and went back to the car with her tail between her legs, before driving slowly off.
When the comrades felt satisfied with the activity on the bridge, they moved on to have a meal together, as by now it was evening. Afterwards, they said farewell until next time and headed home.
