UK far right trouble July/August 24

[Alan Harper's Tash]

To be fair, is there any better outlet for national pride and flag shagging than the Olympics? And yet riots still happened right in the middle of it.

The Euro 2021 final at Wembley did similar…

 

[hilts]

The Farage supporters though don't want to admit the truth and meet in the middle. The biggest concerns for them are actually the same things that concern everyone such as the state of our schools, NHS, transport etc. The problem is they're being taught to blame immigration for those problems when there is very weak evidence for it. The rest of us know that immigration to some level is necessary and acceptable.

The crazy thing is that Farage has even admitted that immigration is used to grow the country but therefore surely that also equals increased spending to solve problems? I don't understand why people want to end immigration and by admission shrink and damage the country, IE, damage their livelihoods.

His primary policy is also to reduce the nation state which surely by logic would mean more underfunding and the problems get even worse? So he may shutoff immigration and people will be happy about that, but then who will these people blame when nothing improves? Brexit has gone the same way, it's now not discussed because it has been a failure. It always ends in tears.

For people to be taken in by this rubbish is just ridiculous however Farage knows that the heart speaks much louder than the mind. This is just proving that logic and reason is irrelevant because ideas that prey upon our biases and prejudices are far more powerful and are coming to dominate the political landscape.

There is a lot of contradiction in that post tbh and unfortunately because immigration cannot be discussed sensibly in this country it makes some pretty despicable fuckers gain more support.
Unfortunately peoples simplistic ideas on immigration and need to close down debate are embolding the very people they would prefer to see the back of.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

This is a brilliant episode

 

[Marklr]

I read that. Whilst I can go with the issues raised being a source of dissatisfaction for many English voters, I can't see them being at the heart of the current problem which seems to be far more about migrants. At its heart I blame the last government for creating the atmosphere where such hatred festered and burned. Farrage and his mates are a national bloody disgrace as well. Maybe the Scottish and Welsh governments have been far more inclusive in their ethos towards migrants and created a somewhat friendlier environment in the respective countries. I don't really know hence my question to get others views - especially English.

I'd read about protests in Wales and Ireland well before this recent unrest.

Scrapped asylum seeker venue in Wales reopens as hotel after protests

The Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli was due to house around 200 asylum seekers but the plans were shelved in October after protests and concerns around community tensions.

news.sky.com

 

[Vic]

To be fair, is there any better outlet for national pride and flag shagging than the Olympics? And yet riots still happened right in the middle of it.

Barney Ronay making a connection...

Money into elite sports while youth clubs closed...

Do not adjust your reality: how slick Team GB played its part in dividing Britain | Barney Ronay

Managed decline or managing victory? In the bubble of Paris 24 it has felt as though the fear and fanfared medal pursuit are trying to tell us something

www.theguardian.com

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

The Euro 2021 final at Wembley did similar…

Yet look at 2012 - Bradley Wiggins winning the TdF, all those gold medals at the London Olympics, even in peak austerity Britain there was a moment of really positive national pride and hope for the future that summer, it was palpable.

But the oiks got their decadal looting fix out of the way the summer before I suppose.

 

[Vic]

There is a lot of contradiction in that post tbh and unfortunately because immigration cannot be discussed sensibly in this country it makes some pretty despicable fuckers gain more support.
Unfortunately peoples simplistic ideas on immigration and need to close down debate are embolding the very people they would prefer to see the back of.

Of course immigration can be discussed sensibly. Just go and talk to a rioter.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

I'd like to say thank you to those people on here who were supportive at a very dark time for me this week. It means a great deal to me.

One of the reasons why the City bug bit me back in the early 80s was I felt like i belonged.

I'm 60 next year, was born in this country, and I've never been scared to go anywhere in my life (including several interesting away matches over the years) until this week.

So much so that I didn't go to watch my daughter play for Wednesday Reserves at the old Millmoor ground. She's not noticeably dark skinned and unlike me, so my partner took her.

I didn't want to get dragged out of my car and get lynched by sone racist knobhead.

Some people make you feel like a foreigner when you aren't, not that there is a problem for me with foreigners.

Anyway I went out for the first time in day on a leaving do in Sheffield last night and things hopefully have calmed down with excellent work by the Police and swift justice thanks to our Government.

Thank you again. You made me feel a bit better and I was so proud of the peaceful protesters who occupied the streets. I felt like I should be there like I felt like I should be supporting our girl. I will be there again tomorrow hopefully.

Hopefully...

Hopefully the trouble will ease and as many of those Farage Right rioters are prosecuted.

Respect and all the best. You're the best.

Mate.

Reading that brought a tear to my eye.

Nobody should have to live in fear for even a split second because of the colour of their skin.

You’re more British than all of these mindless thick thugs put together.

Now most of them are being hoisted into jail where they belong - they’ll never amount to anything in their lives, whereas you and your family have and will continue to.

You’re having the last laugh here blue.

 

[Vic]

Maybe we could learn something from Scotland and Wales? They have more mainstream political outlets for their 'flag shaggers' in the SNP and plaid cymru. This probably serves to keep the idiots off the streets, whereas we (in England) tend to recoil from overt nationalism/extremism although the last decade has seen an uptick in conservative and labour politicians appearing with the union flag as a backdrop. Maybe if Reform can become our version of plaid/SNP then it will diffuse the perception of the flag shaggers here having no voice.

Reform has given them a voice, and it's not turned out well.

 

[Johnny Mars Bar]

Maybe we could learn something from Scotland and Wales? They have more mainstream political outlets for their 'flag shaggers' in the SNP and plaid cymru. This probably serves to keep the idiots off the streets, whereas we (in England) tend to recoil from overt nationalism/extremism although the last decade has seen an uptick in conservative and labour politicians appearing with the union flag as a backdrop. Maybe if Reform can become our version of plaid/SNP then it will diffuse the perception of the flag shaggers here having no voice.

I was thinking of this recently when listening to one of the politics podcasts when they were discussing why the riots didn’t really happen in Scotland. Might’ve been the news agents or rest is politics.

Anyway it came to me that in Scotland they have a more “positive” vibe towards their flag and nationality. It’s not seen as a dirty symbol as it is here in the UK.

There’s a real problem of the St George’s cross in particular being hijacked by the far right and I’m not really sure what the answer is.

It’s fine to say you’re a proud Scotsman, or Italian, or American, etc etc but if someone says they’re proud to be English, it leaves a bit of a strange taste.

It shouldn’t, but it’s definitely there in our national psyche for some reason.

Whatever happened to Cool Britannia, if we could capture a bit of that positivity it’d do the country a world of good.

I guess the early days of Southgate were the last time we had a sense of positive national pride and unity!