If anyone attacks us and if the conditions are favorable for battle, we will certainly act in self-defense to wipe him out resolutely, thoroughly, wholly and completely (we do not strike rashly, but when we do strike, we must win). We must never be cowed by the bluster of reactionaries. – Mao Zedong

What is a paper tiger? One who, at first glance, looks very dangerous, but upon being stepped on, or lit, or having water thrown on them, melts and burns. Of course, we’re referring to human beings and human phenomena. The fascists, the police, and their helpers are paper tigers in the long run because their system, the capitalist-imperialist order, is ultimately doomed. These paper tigers also have traits of real tigers, they are armed and have experience in killing and destruction, this means that we must take their capacity to do damage seriously in planning and organizing against them and in general. Anti-fascist organizing must rely on the masses, mobilize them, and educate them in a real way, and consistently bring them deeper and deeper into the movement. A few scattered bands of Communists or Anarchists cannot make revolution. Without the people, we are nothing. This is what Maoism teaches us. The victories of this month, and all victories, come from firmly relying on the masses, particularly the masses of working class nationally oppressed people in our city, not on the efforts of one individual or organization. Keeping this in mind and consistent, correct application of the mass line method of leadership in antifascist work and in all work will enable us to win more and greater victories and avoid left deviations.

There was a memorial to Confederate soldiers in Forest Park, built by the Daughters of the Confederacy in the early 20th century. There will soon be no memorial, the city’s elite led by the pig loving homeless hating Mayor Lyda Krewson doesn’t want continued embarrassment so the order was swiftly issued to dismantle it. This was after months of struggle and organizing against the monument, and a public GoFundMe campaign that raised several thousands of dollars. Despite all this, the black traitor and sellout Peggy Hubbard, married to a police officer, who rose to infamy by opposing the Black Lives Matter movement, saw an opportunity to once again get into the spotlight, and organized a fascist demonstration masquerading as a picnic in order to “celebrate America”, set for June 3rd. This demonstration attracted several fascist, neo-Confederate, and other bad elements to our city, and organizing against it was done under the auspices of strict secrecy to prevent infiltration and revealing of our plans to shut down this event. This was one of the reasons that the action was successful and the event was forced to cancel. Putting everything up on the internet and ignorance of security culture, especially organizational details, leads to disasters and failures. We have seen this time and time again. As far as the fascists were concerned, there was no organized response to their demonstration. This is what we wanted them to think, and subsequently, they let their guard down. There was no effort to defend their area, there was no perimeter in place, and the police were stretched to the limit, forced to run here and there. Surprise was a major factor in this victory. Comrades were able to materialize in their midst, attract their attention, draw the crowd to one end of the designated space or another, and make room for others to break through. The fascist pigs on motorcycles that Hubbard had called “security” were cowards and were extremely unprofessional, undedicated to their task, and easy to provoke, forced to leave after their precious bikes were surrounded. What type of so-called security force abandons their comrades! The police were easily demoralized, being told several times that they should die in the line of duty and we sharpened contradictions when they decided to engage in kidnapping of comrades, openly display pepper spray, and mention “breaking out zip ties”. They refused to arrest any fascists at the event until the masses pointed out how they were targeting black and brown comrades, especially women, for arrest or detention, but displayed a heavy hand towards us, shoving and pushing and assaulting. We held our ground. Hubbard also had who we presume to be her husband, a police officer employed with Hillsdale Police Department, show up and attempt to intimidate us with a rifle. This is a common trend, fascists acting like this isn’t a country where a firearm is easier to get than healthcare or education. This is a city that has a murder or two almost every day, and a gun could be had for $50. Guns don’t intimidate anybody in Saint Louis. Comrades were also armed, so we really don’t know what they were trying to demonstrate. Some comrades carried openly, some did not. The correct choice, whether to promote concealment or open display of firearms is dependent on a variety of considerations. We do advise comrades to arm themselves with a firearm if they are able and can afford it. Study and take advantage of Missouri’s very lax firearms laws, because our enemies most certainly do. The important thing is that one recognizes where political power comes from and what we must do to get it. Once again, we held our ground. Essentially, this was a battle of attrition. All confrontations and street battles of this type are protracted people’s war in miniature. We seek to fight a protracted people’s war on a national level. This is practice, learn to struggle and fight through struggling and fighting. People’s forces, oftentimes outnumbered and outgunned, must rely on creativity, ability to adapt, and the enemy’s own weaknesses to have any hope of victory. The people and their will to win are key. The fascists, puffed up, arrogant, half of whom were drunk, undisciplined, and secure, were ripe for the picking, and could not hold up to people’s forces and our superior discipline, nor could they deal with the demoralization that our presence offered. Thus, they buckled. The numbers began to dwindle, and by early afternoon Hubbard was crying on Facebook live (after breaking down earlier) about “being threatened with physical violence” and comrades were able to snatch the flowers from the Confederate memorial. Hubbard raised $8,000 for this event. Apparently, they didn’t have time to even open a single bottle of ketchup. We also point out that Hubbard, a black woman, is so detached from the affairs of her own people that she said that she will be donating the food to a homeless shelter that has been closed for months. It’s not easy being a sellout, is it? This event, held in a near majority black city, a city that rose in rage in 2014 and where racial and class contradictions are especially sharp and growing, is not a welcome or safe space for white boys from the Ozarks to come and play Johnny Reb. If they don’t believe this, they are certainly more than welcome to come back and try us again.

The fascists didn’t get enough after losing at Forest Park on the 3rd. The local reactionaries working under the auspices of the fascist organization “ACT for America”, an Islamophobic organization that believes that “sharia law will take over America”, organized a demonstration as part of the “National March against Sharia Law” effort in the Saint Charles area, which they apparently had marked as a “safe space”, or at least a safer one than Forest Park. This was especially vicious in the face of the recent murders of two people in Portland, Oregon, by a white supremacist and Islamophobe on public transport, for standing in solidarity with two women of color who he was verbally abusing. Once again, these incompetent and arrogant characters openly publicized their intentions and location to meet up. Our people did not. Comrades arrived at the park that was to host the march and speeches and intimidated both the fascists and the police (really, no difference that matters), with Palestinian and red flags. The police got nervous, and ordered the (permitted) march to cancel. Strike two for revolutionary people’s forces in Saint Louis.

So, that’s how the paper tigers burned themselves this month. If they feel like enjoying the summer anymore, they’re welcome back anytime if they want to see who has teeth and who does not. Saint Louis will be a red base, whether they like it or not. We raise a firm red salute to our comrades both nationally and locally who have guided us, correctly, since our formation as a collective, criticized us in due time, assisted us, and who continue to build for revolution in our lifetimes. We will win.