The identical appearances and tactics of the Battle of Waterloo’s participants directly reflects the nature of political punk in Europe and the United States. Because of this odd visual aspect of the incident, the Battle of Waterloo exemplifies the similarities between anarchists and anti-fascists when compared to the neo-fascist far-right. Without context clues and further research, however, it proves all but impossible to determine from existing riot footage which bald, jackbooted man committing assault and battery belongs to which side. AFA launched this attack in order to shut down a concert put on by Skrewdriver, a prominent neo-Nazi punk rock band with support from Blood and Honour, a promotional organization that sought to spread neo-Nazi ideology through music. This so-called Battle of Waterloo pitted the left-wing Anti-Fascist Action, or AFA, against neo-fascists and neo-Nazi concertgoers. To an uninformed bystander, the brawlers probably looked completely identical, but the two groups could not have differed more. In fact, the members of the two factions looked eerily similar-shaved heads, black leather boots, and a preference for dark jackets. The next day, The Independent issued a story describing the massive brawl as a “skinhead battle,” between an assembly of neo-Nazis and leftist attackers. The ensuing clashes included both beatings and stabbings, and local police temporarily closed the train station to stop the chaos, eventually making thirty-six arrests. On the twelfth of September, 1992, the Waterloo station of the English National Rail system erupted into a riot, with two groups of men viciously attacking each other throughout the depot and the nearby streets.
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