UAF Vs. EDL

Seconds out, round seven. Or something.

First of all have a look at the title of this blog post and for a second let us consider the semantics of it. The key word (or to be pedantic abbreviation) here is Vs. which as we all should be well of means versus.


versus;
 
–preposition
1. Against (used esp. to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denote competing teams or players in a sports contest)

(www.dictionary.com)

Today was the highly anticipated, for positive or negative reasons depending your political affiliation/locality/job, marches in Bradford for both the English Defence League and counter group Unite Against Fascism. The English Defence League (or EDL) are pretty much a group of working class thugs who one would presume have shifted from voting left of centre political groups such as Labour, to the far right of the political spectrum. They drum up lies and hate against immigrants within the United Kingdom, but they hold a special place in their heart for the campaign against the Islamification of England. If such a thing exists. Whilst on the other hand the group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) are a group mainly of far left activists who oppose such hate groups as the EDL, as well as the British National Party and other such centres of violence such as Combat 18. UAF have very close links to the Socialist Workers Party.

The marches passed off relatively peaceful as there were only five arrests and by all media reports small pockets of violence and it appears that both groups were as bad as each other. But then I read this; http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2010/08/28/anti-fascists-curb-edl-bradford-despite-uaf which was penned by at least one person who was in Bradford today as part of the UAF.

I'll quote one paragraph that angered me and showcases why a group like UAF should be politically central and taken out of the hands of quite apparent militant activists.

'When a group of one or two hundred broke out from the EDL demonstration to rampage around the city, they got a nasty shock. Most of the counter-demonstration chased them through town before trapping some of them in Forster Square railway station and giving a few a good kicking.
Attempts to attack a local mosque were also beaten back, and some of the EDL coaches were stoned and had their tyres slashed.
Even as it was, with the dominant forces in the labour and anti-fascist movements working with community and religious leaders to prevent a counter-demo, we gave the racists a seriously hard time. We don’t care about the imams, police and Lib Dem councillors. But trade unionists and socialists who did not even join the counter-demonstration once it began should be deeply ashamed of themselves.'

The idea behind UAF I obviously foolishly thought was to educate people of the horror that is the EDL as well as provide a strong unified voice that would publicly and politically humiliate the far-right organisation. However it seems I was wrong and the whole premise of UAF is to kick the EDL harder than they can kick back. This simply pushes these two groups in to a constant fight and with comments like that above give the EDL political validity and undermine the work of UAF. Throughout the press the EDL claim that they are a passive group who do not embark on any kind of violence and that all the riots, fights and pettiness is started by UAF and any action by the EDL is reactionary, not pro-actively. When people read inane comments like those above produced by people at UAF marches, one cannot fail to agree with the EDL in this occasion. In turn this gives them public validity, spreading their message and pushing the EDL into the role of the sympathetic victims. A role which they are all too willing to take up. First the muslims are persecuting them, now the UAF.

To fight groups like the EDL we should not use violence. We are not stuck in the Middle-Ages when the only way was to fight, we as society have progressed from that siege and militant mentality. By exhibiting such tendencies reduces one to the same level as those you are opposing, thus removing any moral ground you percieve to have. Instead groups like these and the BNP should be given a platform to be publicly outed for the violent, racist, far-right narrow-minded thugs that they are. Look at what happened when Nick Griffin appeared on Question Time, he was showcased on national television as being a the slimeball he is. Seconadly with the apparently clear link between sections of the far-left political spectrum and UAF, there will never be a cross party action group that can successfully counter the rise in far-right politics. It will simply be the minority of the far-right fighting the minority of the far-left. In its place we need a centrist organisation combining members and persons who oppose elements of the far-right British politics. Extend the arm out to those who vote Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour, SNP and a whole spectrum more; invite religious figures; councillors and many more and then peacefully, we can successfully eradicate the thuggish EDL. If not we shall be continuously subjected the fights between the thugs of the EDL and the apparent thugs of UAF.

Sadly I think the EDL are winning this battle on points at the moment.

Have a song

Top 100 of the 00's

Note: Still have most of the best matches of 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 to watch. Never fear. Yet.

Here's my top 20 (19/8/10)

1. Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH 1/3/03)
2. AJ Styles Vs Christopher Daniels Vs Samoa Joe (TNA 11/9/05)
3. Samoa Joe Vs CM Punk (ROH: Punk Vs Joe II)
4. Cactus Jack Vs Triple H (WWE 23/1/00)
5. Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH 10/7/04)
6. Triple H Vs Chris Benoit Vs Shawn Michaels (WWE 14/3/04)
7. Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels (WWE 4/3/05)
8. Low Ki Vs Christopher Daniels Vs Bryan Danielson (ROH 23/2/02)
9. Kurt Angle Vs Chris Benoit (WWE 19/1/03)
10. The Briscoes Vs Motor City Machine Guns (ROH: Good Times, Great Memories)
11. TLC2 (WWE 1/4/01)
12. El Hijo Del Santo Vs Nicho El Millionare (CMLL 6/4/01)
13. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit Vs Rey Mysterio & Edge (WWE 20/10/02)
14. KENTA Vs Suwa (NOAH 18/9/05)
15. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji Vs Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahma (NOAH 16/7/03)
16. Italian Connection Vs. Crazy MAX Vs. M2K Vs. Do Fixer (Toryumon 30/8/03)
17. Keiji Mutoh Vs Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 8/6/01)
18. TLC 1 (WWE 27/8/00)
19. Chris Benoit Vs Chris Jericho (WWE 21/1/01)
20. Samoa Joe Vs CM Punk (ROH: World Title Classic)

Update 1

It is a not so hidden secret that I quite like Hayley Williams and have quite liked Paramore since I first heard of Paramore through Alt.Press way back when in 2005 and I (illegally, SORRY) got my hands on a copy of All We Know Is Falling. Now five years have passed and I have never missed a UK tour they've done, never failed in getting their albums and never failed in supporting a band I love. I was just 18 when I listened to All We Know Is Falling for the first time and I love it just as much now as I do then. Yet there is one problem for me with the band, and it's that typical situation where I hate how popular have become and how Paramore are now a simple band certain groups of people like to fit in.

The fan-base has just got younger and younger. I went to their first Manchester Apollo date and the crowd was now filled with children and young teens, when the first time I saw them play on these shores everybody around me was the same age as me. The same happened at their first ever Arena tour in the UK. The majority of people there were young teens with their parents. I (being 21 and male) was in the minority. With each and every passing year I get the impression that I shouldn't be at Paramore live events because I'm out of place. Couple that with the wrong impression that I only like Paramore because I like Hayley - wrong, brand.new.eyes was my second favourite album of 2009, just behind Wolfgang Amadeus Phoneix - and I generally get the impression and banter from my friends that they look down on me because of it. Here lies another problem: the sex symbol that is Hayley.

Listen to brand.new.eyes and if you take on board the well documented internal problems of Paramore throughout 2008/2009 then it is clear to see that the frustration, alienation and pressure of being famous had on the band. Josh and Hayley were in the process of splitting up and as a consequence the entire future of Paramore was in limbo. At the same time Hayley had become bigger than the band itself, which is a sad indictment of contemporary society, but one that happens all too often with bands. Retrospectively we can argue that Nirvana was all about Kurt Cobain, The Libertines all about Pete Doherty and his 'saviour' to music (please, the guy's a joke. Musically and personally) This awful dynamic drove the band to channelling the animosity, loathing, jealously all together in one pot and out of came brand.new.eyes

Beyond everything I've remained a loyal fan. I'll admit that I don't often part with my money for musicians in this day and age (but that is another blog topic for another location) but Paramore are one of them.

Overall I think I lost the point I was going to make, but damn. I just love Paramore and I hate being made to feel I'm not allowed to by marketing, the press and half the shitty little scene kids.