Phoenix-area anarchists earned the right to wear their Zapatista-like bandannas Saturday in a full-on street battle at 8th Avenue and Jefferson, with anarchists and assorted counter-demonstrators on one side, and the Phoenix Police Department and a contingent of neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement members on the other.

Although I cannot condone the throwing of rocks and other objects, neither can I ignore the determination and the fierceness of the fight from the anti-fascist side.

(Note: You can check out a slideshow of the day's events, here.)

Unlike the NSM's march to the state Capitol last November, where the anarchists merely taunted the Nazis and vice versa, this time the anarchists came ready to throw down, with a large contingent of members in their "black bloc" attire, linking arms, and refusing to allow the NSM to continue to the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse, where they had a federal permit to rally.

The increasing police presence, dressed in riot gear, with a line of shield-carrying officers facing off the anarchists, was left with a dilemma: How to escort the 46 swastika-lickers in Nazi regalia under their protection through a crowd of 300 counter-demonstrators, many of them actively pushing back on the cops' plastic shields every time the police inched forward?

As the stalemate dragged on for about an hour, the mood remained festive and defiant in the anti-Nazi camp. Demonstrators in clown outfits carried signs reading "Follow your leader," with an image of Adolf Hitler blowing his brains out. One hippie chick moved through the crowd banging her drum, as another gal dressed in a bear outfit did cartwheels.

Other anti-fascists held their ground against the police line, while the neo-Nazis did the Hitler salute and yelled sieg heils. One of the counterprotesters yelled back, "Speak English motherfuckers!" Loved that one.

The Nazi-haters chanted slogans like, "Fuck you, Nazis, fuck you!," "Hey, Nazi, you're an immigrant too," and "Hiding behind the cops," which, of course, the so-called master race was doing. There were at least a hundred cops out there, maybe more. If the Nazis had not had that cordon, the anarchists would have eaten them alive.

The anarchists were ticked and looking forward to a melee. Rocks and other objects sailed over the heads of the cops and hit some of the Nazis, as well as some cops and bystanders. (Two alleged rock-hurlers were arrested by the Phoenix PD.)

Nails were strewn all over the street, I suppose to halt police vehicles. Dozens of anarchists pushed against police shields, anticipating an advance, which they knew had to come.

This police advance was eventually achieved through the liberal use of pepper spray. Several members of the media, as well as numerous counter-protesters were hit with the debilitating chemical agent, which causes temporary blindness and an intense burn in the eyes and on the skin.