Anti-Fascist Network

Report on Saturday’s far-right Rotherham demo from UK Aktion blog.

Well it unsurprisingly transpired that the EDL National Demo in Rotherham yesterday was a shambles. Some sources put their numbers at 500, some at 1000+ maybe more; it is fair to say that yesterday Rotherham was a petri dish of right-wingers, crawling all over this issue like flies to shit. Without going into too much detail about the consequences of the hijacking of a public, emotional issue (as it has been addressed in the last couple days by both the Anti-Fascist Network and by ACABrighton, both posts are reblogged below) it is useful to have a quick summary of their day in town. The guest-list to this depressing party included the sordid likes of the NF, the BNP, the laughably the tiny crew of Infidels, as well as a couple jokers from Casuals United (aka. the Pie and Mash Squad). A report included in Malatesta’s blog states that the BNP “were spotted on the outskirts of town at a roundabout, such were their numbers I was unable to take a photograph. We passed the 7 of them in a split second and I hadn’t even got the cover open on my phone.” Yet, bizarre points of the day go to far-right extreme religious nutjobs, The World Church of the Creator, described here as “formed in the United States by a paedophile named Ben Klassen”, adopting “Adolf Hitler as their God!”.

Although the lack of an antifascist presence in Rotherham this weekend is regrettable – and represents a larger failure of antifascists to respond to the needs of our Northern comrades, mirroring the age old British geographical divide between North and South – it does allow for the spotlight to be shone on the interplay between different far-right groups, as well as the standard drunken, violent EDL behaviour so commonly seen on their street demonstrations. However, it is clear from yesterday’s reporting that various fights went down across Rotherham. The details blurring as large, badly-tattooed men threw down on street corners, no doubt the glints of bald heads coalescing with crimson streaks looked akin to their beloved St. George, causing all sorts of confusion for them.

Scuffle action, right-wing style.

Poor quality image, just like their public one.

But here’s how it looks from here. The EDL, being the drunken louts they are, alienated other far-right groups, and vice versa, as did they to the EDL types who don’t go in for the Hitler admiration fan club and 14 words bollocks. The IB Times discussed Hope Not Hate’s reports of the demonstrations, here, in which “English Defence League protestors in Rotherham were attacked by National Front protestors.” It’s difficult to say who started which fight, and honestly it’s rather irrelevant as in this case each group is claiming a different story – and to me it’s all scum on scum anyway. But, watching the online aftermath of each group blaming the others just tickles me.

So when the day’s events had winded down, the weary Britain First (all 5 of them) got back to their second-rate propaganda machine to release a statement. In it they describe the “shocking scenes from Rotherham today as several arrested or injured as EDL rally descends into violence. Boozed up National Front/Infidels/BNP factions battle it out with EDL drunks in town centre” (And, no I will not link here to their page, you’ll have to take my word for this one). The EDL were reported to have been screaming ‘Hitler lovers’ and ‘Nazi scum’ at the NF, who it seems had joined forced with the Infidels to up their numbers, whilst chasing Britain First out of Rotherham for a second time. Online EDL propaganda vehemently declares how super-duper grumpy they are with the rest of the far-right.

A vaguely illuminating facebook thread, showing the disappointment and embarrassment that many attendees to the Rotherham march felt.

Eventually they got into scuffles with the police, who undoubtedly had little clue about who was who in this right-wing acronym soup of a protest. It was reported, here, that police “from as far away as Devon and Cornwall were drafted in to help keep law and order in Rotherham before, during and after Saturday’s EDL demonstration”, and that the “cost of the policing operation – the biggest the force has organised for years – is still being worked out”. A video, which can be found here, shows the EDL even fighting their own stewards in an attempt to push forward to police lines.

Rubbish attempt at shoot-the-gap, nil point!

Yesterday’s shenanigans showed without a doubt that the far-right is more concerned with teaching their comrades the true meaning of nationalism whilst arguing with drunk racists or Nazis, depending which side is doing the shouting. What can we take from this? The far-right is a disorganised clusterfuck of balding men, vying for top spot in the vanguard of British nationalism and the “war to save the white race” – well, we already knew that, but at least the pigs gave them a run around and vice versa.

Scum on filth on scum. Fuck em all.

No Pasaran

ACAB

Anti-Fascist Network notes: There was an anti-fascist presence in Rotherham on Saturday. There was a trade union/UAF rally held in the town. Credit to all those who turned out to make a stand against the far-right.