After watching Pedro Lasch’s video concerning civil rights movements and refusal / boycotting I thought about an “activist” group that has recently formed and garnered widespread support in Germany called: Pegida. Pegida is a group that initially started as a movement that focused on issues that affected society as a whole. Marches lead at its inception included individuals protesting against issues ranging from the battery farming of chickens to the abolition of the television licence. At its inception, Pegida appeared to be a rally that had something for everyone concerned with a whole host of societal issues. What started as a seemingly positive movement unfortunately did not adhere to what it set out to do. After the founding group of individuals realised this they distanced themselves from the organisation as it turned into a racist and xenophobic group that called for the deterrence of immigrants into Germany- among other unfortunate things. After adopting fashion statements including swastikas, Pegida soon became a group that attracted Neo-Nazis and extremists. After the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris on January the 7th 2015, Pegida utilised this to instigate its own movements against “extremism” by marching in public and accosting muslims. The group used events across Europe as a front and excuse to promote its own message. Pegida became a group fighting extremism with extremism, akin to fighting fire with fire.
After hearing Pedro talk about the Montgomery bus boycott where Rosa Parks stirred up a “targeted movement” to produce civil disobedience to instigate a movement- I realised how similar this was to what has happened with Pegida, although in this case it was not for a positive effect. Pegida has appealed to a whole host of disenfranchised Germans who feel hard done by the influx of migrants who have contributed for the most part positively to the economy after WWII and the rebuilding of Germany. What has sprung out to me about this movement in particular is the speed at which an organisation like this can garner support and momentum in a matter of months. I believe that action needs to be taken by the government in restricting the formation of these groups by acknowledging the potential for groups to be overrun with disenfranchised individuals and monitoring social media to try and mitigate the fabrication of extremist movements and breaking up racist protests.