Sunday 21 July 2013

Off-Topic: EDL Rally, Birmingham, July 20th 2013


Yesterday there was a rally by the English Defence League in Birmingham. I hadn't intended to be there, but I was caught inside a police cordon while walking home after meeting friends. Since I had little other choice, I decided to stay and observe what was happening.

The EDL is described in the press as a right wing racist organisation. They are certainly very vocal in their opposition to Islam. The EDL are put on a level with the British National Party. However, some people that I respect as independent thinkers, such as Pat Condell, disagree with this picture of them. I pride myself on my ability to make up my own mind, so I sat on the sidelines and watched and listened.

My first impression, as the EDL members walked to Centenary Square, was negative. Rather than a political rally it had the atmosphere of a football match. People were singing loudly and unintelligibly. I was amused that the EDL chant, "Eee, Eee, Eee Dee Ell" sounded identical to the ridiculous left-wing student chant of the sixties and seventies: "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh". The lowest common denominator of all populist movements is a mind-numbing repetitive chant.

After arriving at Centenary Square the police boxed in the EDL rally on all sides in a tight cordon. To me this smacked of police brutality, but I soon realised that this was necessary. On the same day there was a rally of the UAF (Unite Against Fascism), a loose amalgamation of left-wing and pro-Islamic groups, in Chamberlain Square, on the other side of the old Birmingham Central Library. They were marching towards Centenary Square in an attempt to disrupt the EDL rally. The police did an excellent job in keeping them away. As an act of provocation, it would have been successful. Some of the more hot-headed EDL members tried to get through the police cordon by breaking into an adjacent building site (the new Birmingham Central Library). This led to the only violent clashes that I saw. When the police tried to protect the building site they were attacked by EDL members who threw bricks at them. The police held them back firmly but fairly, and the skirmishes only lasted a few minutes. When things had calmed down EDL's own stewards formed a second line in front of the cordon, appealing to their members for calm.


The peace in the square gave me a chance to listen to the speeches. That was what interested me most. I also had an opportunity to speak with a few people. It soon became apparent that the EDL is a non-political movement. Even though the speakers were quick to point out faults of the ruling parties, they have no political aspirations of their own, unlike the BNP. They see themselves as a voice of reason, calling on people to use their common sense and stand up for democracy, law and order. They don't want to change the laws, they want the existing laws to be applied more stringently.

I saw no evidence of racism in the meeting. The majority of the visitors were white, but there were also black supporters (presumably of Caribbean origin) and a very noticeable EDL Sikh division. This was significant to me, not just because the Sikhs aren't white, but because they follow a different religion. The EDL is open to people of all religions, as long as they accept British (or rather English) law and order. The Sikhs are well known for this. During the time in which India was a British colony, the Sikhs were the ones who recognised and embraced British culture. There are currently many Sikhs in England who are members of the army and police force. Compare this with the very small percentage of Pakistani Moslems who serve in the police or army. (Pakistan was a part of India that split away after India's independence).


The EDL are not only tolerant to other races and religions, they also accept alternative lifestyles. One of the speakers was openly homosexual, and he affirmed the right of people in England to be gay if they want to. This is in contrast to Islam, which calls for all homosexuals to be killed.

Yet another speaker expressed solidarity with Israel. He contrasted this with the standpoint of both Moslems and the UAF. Over the last 30 years anti-Semitism has become prevalent in left wing groups, using the alleged theft of Palestinian land as an excuse. The EDL is the true voice of tolerance in England.


All movements attract a violent fringe. After the end of the rally I witnessed a group of youths donning masks. An older man approached them and told them to take off their masks. He said that they were a shame to the EDL and didn't know what the EDL stood for. I was impressed to see that the young boys, all aged about 16, obeyed him. That was the one occasion when I broke my neutral stance. I spoke with the man, praising him for what he had said. The EDL is a peace movement, a movement that opposes hatred on all sides, both inside and outside of their movement.

On the other hand, if you read the headlines in the official press you get the impression that the reporters were at a different meeting. The BBC writes "EDL Birmingham protest: Bottles thrown at police". The Huffington Post writes "Police arrest 20 during English Defence League rally". If you read that you must think that it was all about violence. I was at the meeting for over three hours, and the outburst of violence lasted a few minutes. Is that all the reporters saw? Is that all they wanted to see? The news reports don't mention the content of the speeches at all. They don't write that it was a happy meeting of racial harmony. Why was this? I think it's because the reporters were prejudiced. They made their mind up beforehand what they wanted to write, and when they arrived they pounced on any small occurrence that backed them up.

My conclusion is that the EDL are not racist. They are not Fascist. They are not even right-wing. They are being targeted by the UAF because left-wing groups hate their pro-Jewish and pro-tolerance stance. They are feared by the general public because the media is painting them in a false light. I advise my readers in England to go to their next rally and decide for yourself. Make up your own mind. It doesn't mean that you have to become a member. I don't intend to join the EDL, I prefer to stand back, watch them and tell the truth as I see it.

Please watch this video by Pat Condell. Unlike me, he hasn't had the advantage of visiting an EDL rally in person, but he puts across his views more eloquently than I possibly could.

10 comments:

  1. well said. Glad you saw the truth

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  2. Good report and fair

    Lionsingh

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  3. My opinions (as expressed in this post) have caused some friction between me and my friends. I know a few people who are anti-EDL, and in the aftermath of the rally they made negative remarks about the movement, such as "Why did they come to Birmingham? They should stay away". Don't get me wrong, my friends are good people. They're only against the EDL because they believe what they see on the news, and the news is all bad.

    Maybe it's a marketing issue. The EDL talks (with good reason!) about what it opposes, i.e. the rise of Islam and Islamic intolerance in England. Maybe it should talk more about what it supports, putting emphasis on the points that contradict Fascism. Let's just take one example: the Socialist Worker and other left wing groups claim to be against homophobia, and yet they have allied themselves with homophobic Islamic groups against the EDL, an openly LGBT-tolerant organisation. The Socialist Worker is on the wrong side, they should be supporting the EDL.

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  4. I wanted to say something last week when I read your post but I wasnt sure if I should. I'll say it now. My brother went to meet some EDL people last year in London. He wanted to criticize them but when he came back he was talking good about them. Something happened. My dad and my brother had a big row. We're Jamaicans, I dont understand why he liked them.

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    1. Hi Anne. Or should I call you Jilly? The photo gives you away.

      Was it a rally he went to? I'm curious, tell me more about it, please. Is that your brother who's a Pentecostal preacher? It sounds to me that he discovered for himself that the EDL isn't racist.

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    2. lol yes I'm Jilly. Anne is my real name, I made a new account this week. I oouldnt call myself Anne when I joined SL in 2006 because the name was already taken. I picked Jilly and it became a habit, that's my name in all my online forums.

      My brother is the pastor of a Baptist church. I dont know much about the meeting. Me and my brother dont talk. He says I'm evil and I'm going to Hell. All I can say is fuck him. When my mother was sick I took my year's holiday to look after her, where was he? He was in church shouting hallelujah. It wasnt a rally, it was a private meeting between church leaders and EDL leaders. No idea. Ask him yourself. All I know is that he came home and said good things about the EDL to my dad. He talks good about the EDL and bad about me so that's why I hate the EDL. Sorry I'm drunk and I'm angry I'll probably regret this tomorrow lol.

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    3. Maybe one of the EDL people he spoke to was a born again Christian? Just a guess. Give your brother a break. I'm sure he doesn't think that badly of you. If he's a pastor he must take his beliefs very seriously, so what he says is meant to help you.

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    4. You have no idea what youre talking about. My parents are very religious. They made me go to church when I was young. When I was 14 I stopped. My brother was a good boy he went to Bible school and became a pastor. I left school when I was 16. My parents yelled at me for years to get a job. Then I got a job as a barmaid and they yelled even more. They say I work in a den of sin lol. My dad is ashamed he tells his friends I work as a waitress in a restaurant. He doesn't like my boyfriends he sometimes invites "good Jamaican boys" from church to meet me. When they come I dress super slutty to shock them but it doesnt work lol. If I dress slutty they like me more theyre all hippocrites. My parents dont like the way I am but we talk and we get along. My brother hates me he doesnt talk to me we live in the same house and he ignores me. I'll be glad when he gets married then I wont have to see him again. So dont say he wants to help me he doesnt and if you meet him you'll know.

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  5. i have been a EDL supporter for a long time now and as you say we only ever get negative reviews and this is to further the lefts political needs, it is interesting to see a fair review by a outsider hopefully your words may change the minds of a few thanks for the fair opinions you have voiced.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Cdx1. I haven't received any feedback to my post from anyone who it has caused to change his mind. That's a shame. In conversations with my friends my opinions aren't well received. It's as Pat Condell says in his video that I included: "Anyone who doesn't condemn the EDL as far right, fascist and racist is instantly written off as far right, fascist and racist". It's a curse of today's world that people have such difficulty thinking for themselves. If the media says something it must be right.

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