I thought I'd make an introductory post and tell folx on here a little about myself, the community I live in, and recent-happenings here.

I'm a 26, almost 27 year old nonbinary trans-person who lives in the middle of central Appalachia in a really small town. For the nature of this post, and what I guess I'm using the account for, I can't say much else about that.

About 2 months ago, a group of neo-nazis came to a nearby community to hold a rally, and invited a bunch of other racist fucks to join in with them. Just like they tried to do a 1-2 decades ago, these morons, emboldened by our cheeto of a prez here in the USA are trying to build a nationalist front. What's even shittier is, they're playing into that narrative that blames poor, rural folx for his presidency, try to co-opt our rural (and often white) identities, and think that they can recruit more dumb nazis in rural, mostly white areas and are targeting places like my home, specifically.

While I've always considered myself an anarchist to some degree (and an antifascist; isn't that like the norm??? apparently not) I realized pretty quick that antifascist rural organizing was gonna be a thing I needed to become an expert on immediately. Places like my home have been left out by "the left," (I don't like enforcing that bullshit political binary, so I'm gonna tiptoe around that language as much as possible). So now, we are building a network of folks who want to oppose fascism and racism, but live in rural places where they cannot just drive 2-3 hours to meet up with the closest local Antifa crew.

here's some antifascists and local folks who helped make a beautiful action beautiful.

the cops always face us; as they say "the cops and the klan go hand in hand"

and of course, they had some (very little) local support. This is Audrey Skeens of Pikeville, KY, who has openly posted about starting a National Socialist Movement chapter in Pikeville on Facebook. smart girl.

We are learning as we go of course, and networking with folks from many other places. Does this apply to you? What kind of communities do y'all live in, and are you seeing a rise in organized racism and fascism? I'm not sure how many antifascists exist on steemit, but I'd love to get to know ya!

Here's some recon of the work and happenings in my area:

https://itsgoingdown.org/appalachia-antifascist-reflections-pikeville/

https://itsgoingdown.org/durham-nc-may-day-pikeville-solidarity-banner-drop/

https://itsgoingdown.org/defend-kentucky-no-nazis-in-pikeville/

https://itsgoingdown.org/defend-appalachia-kick-nazis-pikeville-ky/

https://itsgoingdown.org/pikeville-community-members-speak-out-against-nazi-rally/

https://itsgoingdown.org/neo-nazis-threaten-safety-peace-rally-organizers-campus-blames-antifa/

https://itsgoingdown.org/join-and-support-the-mobilization-in-pikeville-kentucky/

Also, be sure to check out the Unicorn Riot footage from the action!

Love and Rage,
-Appalachian Antifa