Today's EDL protest in Walthamstow was due to get underway with a march from the station at 1.30pm. Police had anticipated that there would be some 700 supporters present, but according to a report posted at BLOTTR at 1.09pm, only 200-300 EDL had turned up. Numbers at EDL demos appear to have passed their high watermark, and it is likely that the disruptive action by the RMT at Kings Cross today has prevented some protesters from arriving at their desired destination. However, according to a Hope Not Hate (HNH) posting at 12:36, circa 500 EDL were setting off from Kings Cross, whereas "a smaller group of "Casuals" have been spotted moving independently." In a later posting the HNH blog was claiming "that the proposed EDL demo site has been changed as the original one has been "occupied"."
The blogger Quiet Man claims that some reports estimate the number of EDL supporters to be in the region of 1,000. Once the police figures become available, which are invariably the most accurate, they will be posted here.
On Thursday, I highlighted how the mass media uncritically accepts accounts from the self-styled "revolutionary socialist" Left such as the SWP in its slanted reporting of officially sanctioned pariah groups who oppose Islamism, multiculturalism and mass immigration. Today, true to form, the Metro report on the Walthamstow EDL demo and counter-protest has done just this, only allowing quotes from groups opposed to the EDL to appear in its story. Moreover, it quotes directly from the SWP's online piece about the opposition to the protest that it helped to create in the lead-up to today's events.
The SWP front group "We are Walthamstow" (WAW) appears to have been successful in its objective of whipping up an atmosphere conducive to violent confrontation, with this small but influential sect of the "revolutionary socialist" Left managing to mobilise a reported 3,000 individuals (some ideological fellow-travellers, others naive dupes) into turning out against the EDL. Given the numbers, the police were faced with the unenviable task of seeking to prevent the violent faction within the WAW crowd from attacking the EDL, and unfortunately, the Waltham Forest News reports that a group of the former managed to break through the police lines making it "to the Bromley Road turning where fighting started with bottles, flower pots and firecrackers being thrown." A number have been arrested, but no figures have been released as yet.
Watching the video of the EDL march below, it seems that an estimate of 300 individuals would be about right. The recent decline in turnout at demonstrations would seem to suggest that a rather clearer rationale needs to be provided for any particular protest that the group stages. Having previously provided an overview of the treatment of this EDL protest by the press and its opponents in the lead-up to the demo, a summary and analysis of press and opposition post-event reactions will appear within the next week or two.
The blogger Quiet Man claims that some reports estimate the number of EDL supporters to be in the region of 1,000. Once the police figures become available, which are invariably the most accurate, they will be posted here.
On Thursday, I highlighted how the mass media uncritically accepts accounts from the self-styled "revolutionary socialist" Left such as the SWP in its slanted reporting of officially sanctioned pariah groups who oppose Islamism, multiculturalism and mass immigration. Today, true to form, the Metro report on the Walthamstow EDL demo and counter-protest has done just this, only allowing quotes from groups opposed to the EDL to appear in its story. Moreover, it quotes directly from the SWP's online piece about the opposition to the protest that it helped to create in the lead-up to today's events.
The SWP front group "We are Walthamstow" (WAW) appears to have been successful in its objective of whipping up an atmosphere conducive to violent confrontation, with this small but influential sect of the "revolutionary socialist" Left managing to mobilise a reported 3,000 individuals (some ideological fellow-travellers, others naive dupes) into turning out against the EDL. Given the numbers, the police were faced with the unenviable task of seeking to prevent the violent faction within the WAW crowd from attacking the EDL, and unfortunately, the Waltham Forest News reports that a group of the former managed to break through the police lines making it "to the Bromley Road turning where fighting started with bottles, flower pots and firecrackers being thrown." A number have been arrested, but no figures have been released as yet.
Watching the video of the EDL march below, it seems that an estimate of 300 individuals would be about right. The recent decline in turnout at demonstrations would seem to suggest that a rather clearer rationale needs to be provided for any particular protest that the group stages. Having previously provided an overview of the treatment of this EDL protest by the press and its opponents in the lead-up to the demo, a summary and analysis of press and opposition post-event reactions will appear within the next week or two.
Got reports that the demo site was changed at the last minute and that the UAF morons we're trying a sit down protest to prevent moving to the new site which was/is filling up with muslims. Got a few reports that say 1000 EDL are in the area.
ReplyDeleteThanks QM. I shall update the above post.
DeleteI was at the anti-EDL demo, as I am a local resident in this multi-racial, multicultural borough, and we certainly don't want this bunch of fascist knuckledraggers in Waltham Forest. The counter-demo was NOT just babout the SWP: if it was, I wouldn't have attended. There were all shades and allegiances there - SWP, SP, Labour, Christians, Muslims, Greens, you name it. In fact, we had just lne thing in common; we don't want a bunch of far right thugs anywhere near our homes. Waltham Forest is a great place where all races live in general harmony; we will not let them ruin that.
ReplyDeleteAnd, incidentally, our lot won.
"Waltham Forest is a great place where all races live in general harmony; we will not let them ruin that."
Deletewait until YOU are the minority...............
Wouldn't it be simpler if those who opposed mass immigration and those who support it could have discussed this openly in the past and even now without having to resort to name calling and violence. You are happy living in a multi-racial borough - I am not. Why do you want to deny me the right to say so. I believe in democracy and if the majority of "White British" as we are classified and established immigrants, were happy with becoming part of a multi-cultural society, then that would be my hard luck as far as I'm concerned. But you use the term "we" when referring to residents in Waltham Forest. How do you know that the majority are happy with this situation or are you like all the true facists and just speak on their behalf while making sure that anyone who opposes your way of thinking is terrorised into silence?
DeletePS: I never have had or will have anything to do with the EDL
Constip
Constip, it would have been preferable had such a debate been permitted to have taken place in a civil manner, but this was not what happened, and we cannot change the past (although some people do, as we all know, attempt to rewrite it). As for the present, this debate is not permitted to take place, for the advocates of one of the positions - the pro-mass immigration, pro-multiculturalist one - do not deem our stance to possess any legitimate grounds, and moreover, consider it to be ‘immoral’. Thus, they invest an immense amount of negative energy in demonising those of us who take the opposing view; hence the widespread “no platform” policy, and the predictable deployment of slurs, insults and insinuations intended to elicit a reflexive hatred of those who consider mass immigration and multiculturalism to be damaging and destabilising.
Deletethe EDL seems to be drifting now that Tommy is not in charge.
ReplyDeletei do not think that getting involved with the BFP was/is a good idea.
also, the RMT are now going to dicide who uses the trains?
what are the management going to do about that, i wonder.
that would surely count as illegal,(in industrial law), action against law abiding people as there was no valid reason to withdraw the labour of the union members involved.
It does seem to be the case that the tie-up with the BFP has backfired. When I wrote last year about the EDL and the rumours connected to it potentially fielding candidates, I cautioned against it entering electoral politics, believing this to be a tactical mistake. It would be better off remaining as a single-issue pressure group with a tighter focus.
DeleteAs for the actions of the RMT, don’t expect to see its members held to any sort of account for attempting to prevent supporters of the EDL from travelling to Walthamstow.
Anonymous. 'Waltham Forest is where all races live in harmony'
ReplyDeleteGood, nothing wrong with that. But for a start religion is not a race. EDL are opposed to fundamentalist Islam and there are many of their type in Stow. Perhaps you should get out more!Your lot only 'won' because of violence. SWP , Unite Against Freedom and Muslim thugs combined to deliberately bring disorder to your streets and deny the right of free speech and assembly to a peaceful protest march. I would suggest you are deluded and one day will come to regret your misguided support for totalitarian socialism and totalitarian Islam.
However religion require people to commit acts of worship, and people do belong to a race. Fact.
Deletebut the two are unconnected.
Deletefact.
Too true: religion is not synonymous with race. This falsehood is something that the proponents of the bogus term 'Islamophobia' have been trying to foist upon people for years, and some are taken in by it. There are, unfortunately, a fair number of misguided indigenous converts to Islam for example. To assert that criticism of a set of beliefs, or of the negative traits and attitudes displayed by the followers of a particular ideology, is a form of 'racism', is intellectually dishonest and utterly without foundation.
DeleteI agree bilbo. As I understand all religions have supporters from across the globe irrespective of their race. The left have deliberately linked the two in order to legitimise their campaigns. They are able to use the emotive racism issue to manipulate politically immature college and university students further into their authoritarian intolerant Marxist Leninist agenda.
ReplyDeleteThat's precisely what they have attempted to do SBD.
DeleteThere is no magic that transforms Islam into some wonderful religion when it crosses a border. If you want to see what this religion brings to a society, all you need do is look around the world. Every society on earth with a significant Muslim population is struggling against militant Islam. And you can see the results of those societies that lose this struggle. These are states like afgjanistan under the Taliban, Iran, Saudi, and on and on. Its not about the many Muslims following only parts of the ideology, its about those Muslims that follow all of it. Simply put, there are always "radical Muslims" because Islam itself is radical. Anyone that doesn't understand this would do well to learn more about Islam.
ReplyDelete