One man was arrested in Melbourne, with police deploying crowd control measures including OC (or pepper) spray, flash-bangs and rubber bullets during a tense stand-off with counter protesters.

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[–] eureka@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's strange that this comment is demanding skepticism while declaring "Authoritarians always hold counter protests, always."

To contradict that assertion: The flash bang video in that article clearly shows many flags front and centre of the Melbourne counter-protest are anarcho-socialist flags. Out of all political currents, it's tough to get any more anti-authoritarian than them.

And, as we've seen, the March for Australia protests that these people are counter-protesting is organised and led by neo-Nazis, Nazism being infamously and proudly authoritarian.

Looking at history, I don't think "authoritarian/anti-authoritarian" is a useful lens for analysing state politics [further reading], but if we're using it, we can tell that the counter protest is not the authoritarian side. I mean, some of them are literally throwing things at the authority, how could they be any clearer.