Tag Archives: English Defence League

The English Defence League in Preston- a personal account

‘Apathy and evil. The two work hand in hand. They are the same, really…. Evil wills it. Apathy allows it. Evil hates the innocent and the defenceless most of all. Apathy doesn’t care as long as it’s not personally inconvenienced.’ – JAKE THOENE

What do you do when an organisation of racists turn up on your doorstep, arguing for their ‘democratic right to protest’?

If you’re one of the people who didn’t turn up to counter protest the racist EDL in Preston city centre today, then not much. The English Defence League are an organisation who routinely band together to spew race hate on the streets of England .  They hijack the St George’s flag and the Union Jack to make their point, in turn subverting the symbolism, giving the flags a whole new meaning.  In my opinion, when they turn up to your city, strong anti-fascist opposition is needed. For want of a better phrase- when racists are involved, you’re either for or against them.  I and other UCLan students turned out to counter protest this morning because we felt that we had to take a stand.

When I woke up this morning, I had a quick glance over the regular social networking websites. Some planning to attend the counter demo were angry and excited, ready to vent. Some statuses were those of keen journalism students, anticipating a significant news story in their university town. Others were just plain scared. I on the other hand, felt none of those things. It was an overwhelming sadness that settled itself around my shoulders early this morning. Sad at the fact that we even have to oppose racism in this day and age. Sad at the fact that these people felt the need to stir up tension in a city with a good race relations record. Sad at the fact that I had to warn my brown friends to be careful on the streets. These people seek to oppress and divide, and it almost felt like the liberation movements I eagerly learnt about all those years ago amounted to absolutely nothing.

Of course, in the face of far right extremism, a defeatist attitude amounts to nothing. So it was with a heavy heart that I trudged onto campus with a few friends to our designated meeting point, incredibly grateful for those who turned out to take a stand against such virulent, racist views. There were roughly 20 of us from UCLan altogether, and I was proud of those of us who were there.

On reaching Preston city centre, we were greeted with live music, but that didn’t hide the fact that we were pretty much penned in by barriers for our own safety. Thanks to police restrictions, the anti-fascist side of the demonstration had exactly one hour to speak and play live music in the hope of celebrating multiculturalism, before we were asked to disperse.

One hour of anti-fascist action on a day where racists rampaging through the city felt like a proverbial drop in the ocean. It was freezing cold, but I was glad I was there. Myself and a friend broke off from the crowd, darted through the back roads, and positioned ourselves in the middle of the waning English Defence League crowd. There were points when I couldn’t determine if I was shivering, or shaking in anger. The youth of some of those protestors was the most chilling factor of the day- predominantly white, predominantly male; some looked like early teens, some looked like children, whilst others were nearing their thirties. There were numerous reports of the EDL setting off smoke bombs, throwing fireworks and fighting each other. Clutching cans of alcohol; they wrapped themselves in St George’s flags and Union Jacks.

There was a strange, uneasy atmosphere in Preston today. Since moving to the city to study, I can safely say the number of racist comments I’ve had to suffer has been minimal.  And I’m not even the EDL’s main target. But today, an invisible, suffocating feeling of fear blanketed the streets. It was easy to feel intimidated by groups of white men with black scarves covering their mouths and concealing their identities.

Sometime I think we live in an upside down world- a world where a person holding a sign that proclaims ‘peace and love’ is asked if they’re ‘looking for trouble’ by the police. This happened to a friend of mine who was asked to drop the placard before walking past the pub that the EDL congregated in this morning. He was warned by a representative from the same police force that allowed an organisation spreading race hate to march in a diverse city in the first place. Of course, there’s the safety factor- you could argue that we were penned in for our own safety, that my friend had to drop his placard for his own safety, and that my university’s student union didn’t promote the counter protest for student safety. But I often think that if we keep ourselves paralysed in fear, our good intentions will be rendered inert. Doing anything you can to take a stand is infinitely better than doing nothing at all.

A world of contradictions: a quick dissection of the English Defence League

With the English Defence League gearing up to march in my university town on the 27th of November, I thought I’d look into their ideologies. In the past I’ve dismissed the growing street movement as a bunch of lunatics, but with numbers of the EDL growing as the BNP fall apart, I’ve done some digging to see if there’s any truth in their statements. Founded in 2009, the League facebook page already has over 40, 000 fans- can all of these people be wrong?

Here are four hotly discussed EDL topics.

1. Vehement dislike of the use of halal meat.

Excuse my ignorance, but I don’t understand this obsession. All forms of animal slaughter for human consumption are cruel- halal or not. If it bothers these people so much, they should just convert to vegetarianism rather than using halal meat as a flimsy excuse to justify their Islamophobia. If they’re this passionate about animal rights, they shouldn’t be eating meat, full stop. Media hysterics -such as this article from the Daily Mail – only act as catalysts, fuelling the fire to a one sided debate that needs to be discussed in its entirety.

2. Absolutely, definitely not racist.

The EDL don’t seem to understand the notion of nationalism- as well as pushing the message ‘black and white unite’ on their propaganda, many of the members argue that there’s a difference between racism and patriotism. The OED defines nationalism as ‘an extreme form of patriotism marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries.’ There’s your middle ground. Unfortunately, whilst hijacking the St George’s flag to emphasise their racist viewpoints, they’ve inadvertently (or, perhaps deliberately) changed the meaning of the symbol. Now, I don’t know about you, but screaming ‘we hate pakis‘ at a protest sounds pretty racist to me.

3. Fighting for women’s liberation

Here’s another cause mercilessly hijacked by the English Defence League. As they get involved with the burqa debate, it seems they involve themselves in anything remotely to do with Muslim culture- any excuse for racism. The EDL often refer to the burqa as oppressive symbol, and hijack the women’s rights movement as part of their racist arguments. It’s an interesting and nuanced issue, because burqa bans are always shovelled under the umbrella of religious debate, when in actual fact burqa bans are a thinly veiled attack on women, their bodies, and how they choose to dress themselves. The French government have inadvertently dictated what women should wear- not men. To force Muslim women to take off their burqas or hijabs is just as oppressive as forcing women to wear them. Thus, it makes sense that more women are wearing it as an act of defiance, as well as for religious reasons.  The EDL’s protests aren’t about feminism; instead, it’s just another excuse to be racist. If these people were feminists, they’d campaign abouta lot more than this single issue. I could write about this all day, but Laurie Penny sums it up quite nicely.

4. Labelling everyone who disagrees with their ideology as lefty Marxist/communist scum

Reading these diatribes got me wondering how many EDL members have actually read the communist manifesto- as their cries of communism sound very similar to right wing America’s disdain for the political ideology.  The first slip up is labelling those who oppose the EDL as lefties- during his election campaign, David Cameron said ‘The EDL are terrible people, we would always keep these groups under review and if we needed to ban them, we would ban them or any groups which incite hatred’. Last time I checked, Cameron was the leader of the Conservative Party. Using Marxism and communism (political ideologies that the EDL don’t understand) as an insult isn’t the best idea. Those of us who label the EDL ‘racist’ are qualified to do so as we actually understand what racism is, and why it isn’t very good. Anyone who’s read Marx would probably think that the EDL, a predominantly working class movement (not that I’m looking my nose down at that fact, I’m working class too) would sympathise with what the manifesto has to say.

Nietzsche once said ‘Insanity in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.‘

Looks like he was right.

Reclaim the flag!

The FIFA World Cup is on its way!  Due to start on 11th June 2010, the worldwide football tournament never fails to ignite a sense of pride, solidarity and most importantly, inclusivity across the country. World Cup summers are often buzzing with an atmosphere of positive electricity. There’s a shared sense of joy, and an equally shared sense of disappointment, depending on the team’s success. The uniting theme is steeped in the idea that we’re all in it together.

Unfortunately, something very sinister is happening on the streets of the North West.  The English Defence League have begun to carry out anti-Islamic rallies. They call themselves a ‘counter Jihad movement’, but look deeper and you’ll find they have a particularly strong distaste towards the Asian population of Britain as a whole. Put simply, it’s racism.

One of the most worrying aspects of this group’s mobilisation is their hijacking of the St George’s flag. At their racist rallies, the members of the English Defence League claim to wave the flag with pride. At the same time, they’ll chant phrases more suited to the heyday of the 1980s National Front movement.

A quick YouTube search of the EDL’s anti-Islamic protests will reveal a trend. Each protester proudly waves a billowing St George’s flag above their head. Some can be found wearing items of clothing emblazoned with pictures of the Union Jack. But the flag belongs to a cornucopia of British demographics- not just extremists. The very nature of the English Defence League’s rage doesn’t portray a very United Kingdom. The EDL’s hijacking of the flag could lead some to draw an ill informed decision, and tar everyone with the same brush.

The chilling truth is that, by latching onto the once noble flag, they have associated their extreme views with the very nature of England. Of course, it’s an unwarranted and unfair representation of England. The English defence league run riot in the name of patriotism. The uncomfortable result is the flag redefined- and it is slowly morphing into the English Defence League’s symbol of hate. In the context of these modern day Nazi sympathisers,  the symbolic value of St George’s humble flag is almost as recognisable at Hitler’s swastika- provoking the same uneasy and unsettling emotions. Racist protesters have seemingly succeeded in warping the meaning behind the flag, and as a consequence, they have also warped what it means to be British. EDL protestors at Bolton’s 20th March demonstration have said, on record: ‘we want pakis out…they take our jobs, they rape our women and they steal our houses’. Are these the kind of words that should be blurted out in the name of our flag? It’s a terrible injustice, but the flag is becoming symbolic of this negative movement. It’s long been a trait of fascists to hijack the innocent notion of patriotism, turning an inclusive sentiment into an exclusive one. One can only come to the conclusion that the organisation is either too lazy or too ignorant to create their own symbol of hate. It’s time to reclaim the flag. The tool is only as good as the hands it’s in. In this case, the tool is the St George’s flag, and the imminent World Cup is a brilliant opportunity to address the issue. This summer will see the flag back in the hands of people who don’t choose to exclude based on criteria as arbitrary as ethnicity. Reclaim the flag!