The Mask is Our Shield

(this is a post originally written by Ferryman from second sons.)

The use of masks by Nationalist activists is a repeated source of controversy. It is the most commonly mentioned item you will see debated in the comment sections and coverage of public actions by activists who use them. There are a variety of critics and criticisms of the use of masking, both of which I will address, but first I would like to explain what should be the obvious

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The primary threat to our activists is not judicial, but social. We do not live in a society where the legality or illegality of the actions of a Nationalist activist matters. The primary purpose of maintaining anonymity is not to avoid legal prosecution, but to protect from social persecution. Of course there are many examples of nationalist activists being prosecuted maliciously by the state on contrived charges, but for every one instance of this, there are 10, 20 or 100 instances of Nationalist activists being doxxed, harassed, and stalked by non-state actors, or at least, unofficial state-actors. Additionally, instances of state prosecution typically involve leaders or influential members of activist organizations who are public facing already, and so in many cases they are able to bear the consequences of these attacks better than the relatively unknown activist can bear the consequences of social persecution.

Additionally, people often forget that the technological advancements of the past 2 decades have drastically changed the landscape of political activism. Even as little as 15 years ago, cameras and recording devices were a rare thing for someone to have on their person by default, especially one of high quality. Today, everyone is constantly carrying a high resolution camera with video capability in their pocket. Doorbell cameras, dash cameras, body cameras, security cameras, traffic cameras - these are not the exception now, they are the rule. In addition to this, facial recognition technology, image search tools, and AI applications have made it incredibly easy for individuals captured in photo or video to be identified. Where once it was difficult to even capture a clear image of a political activist, it is now easy to identify them and discover their full name, where they live, who they work for, and more.

The solution to these problems is painfully obvious. A thousand digital problems neutralized almost entirely with a small piece of fabric. The mask is to the contemporary, rank and file Nationalist activist what the shield was to the rank and file foot soldier for millenia; A simple, cheap, efficient means of protecting oneself from a variety of enemy attacks. Additionally, not only does the mask negate the primary method our enemies use to attack us, it has benefits to the organizations who utilize them that go beyond protection that many Nationalists may not have considered. For this reason, I have summarized the purpose of masking into 5 categories by order of importance.

Protection of the Individual

Protection of the Collective

Uniformity and Unity

Spectacle and Controversy

Psywar and Infowar

The reasons that Nationalist activists wear masks can be summarized in the following five categories, ordered by their importance:

Protection of the Individual

The mask is worn by the individual activist the way a shield was carried by an individual man-at-arms. It is their primary form of personal protection from the arrows of doxxing, harassment and social persecution. It is not invulnerable, but it is highly effective.

Protection of the Collective

We often have members who initially object to wearing a mask, who find the notion that they would “hide” indignant, and wish to proudly and boldly proclaim their views. Commendable as this attitude may be, it is not in their best interest to do so, nor is it in the interest of the collective. Our enemy’s source of ammunition is information. Every piece of information they obtain about an individual involved in a Nationalist organization is a thread that can be followed to uncover more information. This is why anonymity and masking is required for all of our members, with the exception of the dedicated public facing leaders of the organization. In the same manner that a shield in a Greek phalanx, the Roman Testudo or the Viking Skjaldborg protects not just the individual man holding it, but also the one to his side, the mask worn by the individual activist provides protection to the activist standing beside him. Every activist doxxed by our enemy gives them information that can be used to dox others. You do not wear the mask to protect only yourself, you wear it to protect your brothers.

Uniformity and Unity

Uniformity is another means of enhancing individual and collective protection. By ensuring each member involved in a public action is wearing similar clothing, headwear, footwear, and of course, masks, it makes it extremely difficult for our enemy to identify individual items that can be cross-referenced to other photos or videos and used to identify members. Masking enhances this effect.

However, beyond the practical protection provided by the mask, there is a symbolic and psychological benefit to it. When an individual dons the mask, they are symbolically conceding their individual identity, beliefs and opinions to the collective. In that moment, they are forfeiting their individual voice to the message being delivered by the club, whether it is in the form of a banner or a speech given by a member. This is a powerful act, and it is one you will rarely find among those who do not use masks. Unlike typical protests, our members are not attending as individuals who wish to voice their personal opinions about the issue at hand, they are a collective that speaks with one voice. Similar to the foot soldier in a shield-wall, our activists are not fighting as individuals, they are working as a unified entity towards a common objective and the mask enhances this unity.

Spectacle and Controversy

The primary purpose of engaging in public actions is to generate exposure that drives recruitment to the organization performing them. Anything that enhances the spectacle or controversy surrounding a public action aids in generating exposure. The use of masks does both. Firstly, it adds to the spectacle of the action because it is out of the ordinary to see large groups of masked men engaging in political activism. Secondly, it adds to the controversy surrounding the public action by instigating our opponents to attack the use of masks. The most commonly used word you will see in response to our public actions is “masks”. It is almost used in a critical context, but this is irrelevant. Every criticism to our actions assists us in generating exposure and the most common criticism is “masks”

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Psywar and Infowar

There is a psychological effect that the use of masks has on our opponents. It is the fear of the unknown. Maintaining anonymity allows our members to perform a public action and then transition back to their daily lives amongst the people who want them harassed, imprisoned and killed. Our members are all around you. They are your mechanic, your plumber, your accountant and your children’s hockey coach. You do not see us, but we see you.

This psychological effect then creates an additional problem for our enemies. Not only does anonymity neutralize their preferred means of attacking us through social persecution, it creates an information nightmare for them. Instead of being able to simply identify members and attack them with ease, they are now forced to chase digital ghosts through the internet. Every like, every positive comment, every repost to our public actions is a lead that must be followed by them. By not giving them information easily, they are forced to dig through mountains of information tediously in vain

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