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The far-right demonstrators were opposed by a slightly smaller number of anti-fascists, who tried to block their path. Violence broke out as missiles were exchanged between both sides. People chucked bricks, bottles, beer cans, and heavy metal padlocks that had presumably been brought along for the occasion.Related: Calling Bullshit on the Anti-Refugee Memes Flooding the Internet
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The anti-fascists, meanwhile, ambled off to the nearest park, where a local retired man in a suit called Patrick Carey came up to them started thanking them. I asked what he thought about his town being targeted by the far right, as Saturday's was the third fascist demo the town has played host to in the last year."I'm very pleased to see these people here. I'm completely hostile to the neo-Nazi movement," he told me. "That's the second week they've been here. Last week I stood alone by a traffic light and shouted at them; there was no one else around. I think it's because of this long connection with refugees. Unfortunately there's been a deliberate focus on Dover to encourage racism and acts of violence against immigrants. I've seen it grow. I've read letters in the local papers. I spoke to a couple of girls today—working-class girls—and they were on the side of the EDL. That's a worry for me."WATCH: Hanging with the People Who Ritualistically Suspend Their Bodies from Hooks
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Kent Police were more sanguine in a statement, commenting that they had managed to "facilitate a peaceful protest," which is weird given that "one police officer suffered bruising to his shoulder and some parked cars were damaged in Russell Street after various items were thrown but the protest passed without major incident. There were no arrests. Kent Police would like to thank the community for its co-operation."In the last couple of weeks, the zeitgeist seems to have swung away from migrant-bashing to getting behind the refugees. But it wasn't so long ago that David Cameron thought it was cool to talk about "swarms" of migrants and headlines asked, "How many more can we take?" rather than demanding something be done. In any case, the thing about zeitgeists is that they're fickle and fleeting and don't take account of what might be bubbling under the surface—those bullshit anti-refugee memes that are swooping around the internet are enough to tell you that.Unfortunately, one thing definitely bubbling under the surface at the moment is the re-emergence of an increasingly violent neo-Nazi street movement.Follow Simon and Oscar on Twitter.