those in it for the kicks

freeloaders is apparently the official translation - those just along for the ride works well in that sense (Jonathan's)

(phony) knock offs, another option...

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Note added at 36 mins (2007-08-21 14:49:35 GMT)
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"in it for the kicks" would even be a play on words, seeing how brutal the whole thing was....

as in "jumping/getting on the bandwagon"

Example:

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-76003-p-3.htm...
"The Anti-American bandwagoneers that have found yet another reason to bitch about how bad, evil, fat and stupid we all are while talking about how they hate racism, predujices [sic!] and stereotyping."

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right-wing extremists and their bandwagoneers

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Not really purely political, I'd say (where do you draw the line anyway?) - see http://lawhawk.blogspot.com/search/label/anti Semitism?updat... - "So far, it seems that the curfews have kept the bandwagoneers off the streets, as well as any citizens that might oppose the hardcore, organized effort to force France into creating official autonomous no-go zones."

copy-cats

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would-bes

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standers-by

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sympathizers

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wannabees

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spontaneous sympathizers

not very convinced but might as well throw it into the melting pot

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assorted riff raff

Wie wäre es in diesem Kontext einfach mit "mob"? Der Begriff beschreibt ja eine spontan entstandene, gewalttätige Masse von Menschen. Bei Leo findet sich auch "zusammengerotteter Pöbelhaufen" - klingt doch ziemlich passend.

Just to complete the list.

In the strict sense of the word "Trittbrettfahrer" is a free rider.

Trittbrettfahrer: jemand, der an Unternehmungen anderer Anteil hat, davon zu profitieren versucht, ohne selbst etwas dafür zu tun (Duden. Deutsches Universalwörterbuch).

From the context I would go with something along the line of getting on the bandwagon as suggested by Steffen.

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Response to Francis:
Well, of course. But in the mindset of a social scientist they do indeed gain from this situation. They are able to "enjoy" an activity without having to go through the trouble of having to "organize" the activity on their own and without running the risk of being made responsible for the activity either. seen from this angle, it is indeed a classical free rider situation.

In the sense of individuals who have great sympathy/empathy, possibly a common purpose, with those who are the driving force but they cannot be strictly seen as being members thereof.

Hence the use of "their" - to show they belong to the aforementioned.

In the case of criminal activities, could they possibly be "accomplices"?

Trittbrettfahrer in diesem Kontext fallen unter die Oberkategorie Mitläufer

Gute Definition in der Wiki
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitläufer

Trittbrettfahrer sind normalerweise freeloader, was aber in diesem Zusammenhang nicht wirklich passt, da das Motiv nicht unbedingt "absahnen ohne zu zahlen "ist.

Der Unterschied zwischen Mitläufer und Trittbrettfahrer liegt mMn HIER darin, dass letztere nicht nur “ohne wirkliche Überzeugung und in einer untergeordneten Rolle beteiligt sind“ (Zitat Wiki), sondern aus ihrem Mitlaufen einen gewissen Nutzen ziehen (die Publizität, die Action)- was aber ein Nebenprodukt, nicht die eigentliche Intention ist.

Der Trittbrettfahrer ist demnach ein Mitläufer mit einer eigenen Agenda, sozusagen eine Art fortgeschrittener Mitläufer :-)

Mir ist leider kein überzeugender englischer Begriff eingefallen, also stell ich das mal so in den Raum und lass die native speakers zu Worte kommen!

or maybe: (other) activists riding (on) their coattails

tag-alongs would be another choice but (IMO) a bit weak.

they are actively participating, but not really members of the core group. And they have some other ulterior motives. It's a welcome opportunity for those people to ride on the Neonazis' coattails.


http://www.opednews.com/kall antisemitism_among_progressives...

racists, neo-nazis, etc. who are not really anti war and more anti-anyone different than them. They're just riding the coattails of the movement to spread their poison.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/10...
But, the question arises, is Jacot de Boinod what the Germans call a Trittbrettfahrer - a person who profits by another's work (literally "a running-board rider") -

along for the campaign, action, etc., taking advantage of it, but with possibly ulterior motives

using this "platform" to really advance their own (a different) agenda:
http://www.financialtimes.de/politik/:Taliban Trittbrettfahr...

Experten vermuten, dass die Entführung stattdessen auf einen Stammeskonflikt mit kriminellem Hintergrund zurückgeht und die Rebellen die Geiselnahme für ihre Zwecke instrumentalisieren.

somebody who has stolen somebody else's idea for his own benefit/Trittbrettfahrer (linguadict.de)

http://www.wsu.edu/~michael3/ps101/literatures_interest_grou...

E. Hula interviewed 130 group representatives connected to the transportation, civil rights, or education, and neatly defined three types of coalition members: core members, players, and tag-alongs. They vary considerably depending on their long-and short-term goals. Core members seek a bill or a key element of legislation. Players are satisfied if they can alter a paragraph or two in a bill. Tag-alongs seek a photo opportunity for their own narrow goals. Hula finds the tag-alongs the most intriguing. They tend to support lobbying efforts, even though everyone recognizes that they will not be particularly active.

http://www.squareis.com/en/00001/news/00335/
pseudo-phishing

http://www.federationofstates.org/articals/ccfrp.htm
1. Some Confederates could also run for lesser offices in the Republican primary and some would perhaps win as tag-alongs with a major Confederate candidate.



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or:

tag-along rioters

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other rioters riding (on) their coattails

the thing is, they are troublemakers themselves, just using the event to be active. Their agenda could just be "to riot for (the) riot's sake."