The East Anglian Division of the EDL say they are protesting against Norwich City Council’s treatment of Alan Clifford on the basis of “equality issues.” This is one of the most hilarious statements that I have ever read.
Do the EDL have any idea what other views Alan Clifford possesses? In general, his views on the literal interpretation of the Bible make even the most extreme exaggeration of Islam by the EDL appears more moderate than his fire and brimstone approach.
According to his own words his support for “an eye for an eye” Old Testament Justice was to ensure that only an eye was extracted – well that’s alright then…
As Barbara has suggested, on balance the City Council’s response to Clifford’s leaflet might well have been disproportionate. Banning him has only given him more publicity and has provided the spurious grounds for the EDL demonstration in Norwich.
However, the East Anglian EDL is being completely dishonest in trying to use Clifford’s ban as the justification for their protest.
As far back as 2009, Sam Burgess, Tony Bamford, Andy Reynolds and others of the EDL repeatedly spoke about trying to organise a march in Norwich. Are you now denying that this is true? (Sadly the paranoid vision of a super Mosque in Magdalen Street never materialised..)
So using the ban of the clearly barmy Clifford is an opportunistic justification, isn’t it?
The EDL are legally entitled to organise a protest in Norwich and however repugnant their views they should be allowed to do so. However, if many sane and rational Norfolk folk want to come together under the auspices of We are Norwich what exactly is your problem?
Or, are you saying that the EDL should be allowed to protest but We are Norwich shouldn’t be allowed?
So you support free speech for Clifford & the EDL but not for people who oppose you?
This free speech thing is bloody confusing – when Barbara suggested that on balance Clifford shouldn’t have been banned she was attacked vigorously by a commentator for being anti-Islam, so on this basis the EDL and a pro Islam commentator are on the same side. Barbara is probably pleased to have brought both sides together but somewhat amused that advocates of free speech only appear to want their own voices to be heard.
To reiterate from a personal perspective – the EDL is mainly a racist organisation with racist members and anybody who claims otherwise needs their heads examining. In an ideal world the EDL wouldn’t exist and you wouldn’t be protesting in Norwich. However, if you have a legal right to do so then go ahead and protest, albeit for a Pastor who believes in an eye for eye justice system.
At the same time, it is pretty pathetic to complain that you are being miss-represented by those horrible lefties just because they are annihilating you in the propaganda battle. And this of course is the ultimate irony – every single time the EDL protests in a town or city, the community responds by coming together in an unprecedented manner to show that your basically racist and divisive message has no support.
Norfolk is a wonderful community and in terms of numbers peacefully protesting against your message it will probably exceed any other number yet seen in terms of EDL and protestors.
In case the EDL manage to sound too convincing as men and women of peace . . have a read of this . . .
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This article is a response to three identical messages which read:
From eastangliandivision18 October 2012 17:48
The English Defence League are intending to hold a demonstration in Norwich to protest at Norwich City Council’s unfair treatment to the Norwich Reformed Church regarding ‘equality issues’.
A complaint was made by one member of the public to the Police, who took no action against Dr Clifford, but the Council decided to adopt their own politically correct appeasement to this one member of the public.
Where in this statement does it say the EDL are demonstrating against any ethnic minority/faith/religion? they are demonstrating against Norwich City Council, the only people making an issue of this demo are 'we are Norwich' falsely reporting through pre-conceptions as to why the EDL are there. As you celebrate the citys diversity should you yourselves not be asking the council why they are dealing with cases in such a way?
East Anglian EDL Admin Team
Don't forget the EDL's homophobia - just like Clifford's.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know, in legal terms, what the council actually "did" to the Christian bookstall? Was it banned or was its business license merely withdrawn (if it had one)? It wouldn't surprise me, if the latter is the case, if the council were legally obliged not to grant licenses to businesses that are involved in disseminating hate speech.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I agree with you on is that in an ideal world the EDL wouldn't exist - because in an ideal world the EDL wouldn't need to struggle to win back the freedoms our parents and grandparents took for granted. The freedom to say critical things about points of view one disagrees with, to go into a bookshop and buy books others would choose not to read, to excercise freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of thought...the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteIn Walthamstow a 200-strong group called "We are Walthamstow" (fascist or what?) threw bricks and bottles at the EDL in the name of the 250,000-strong community it claimed to represent. Wouldn't you be surprised if this didn't elicit a response?
One remark of yours summarises your outlook entirely - "this freedom of speech think is bloody confusing".
Its obviously necessary to state the obvious again, multi-culturalism is disastrous and it'll take generations to recover from the crime and ghettoisation we've suffered already.
ReplyDeletePerhaps take much longer than that - some communities could remain stand-offish and racist towards us for a 1000 years and more, judging by their current behaviour.
This generation of Brits now faces a crises of expectations, but there are much bigger dangers ahead, perhaps including a population crash by mass-starvation.
We must be bonkers to sail into these uncertain times on a ship so divided. The next British journalist kidnapped by British jihadis won't be ransomed and he won't be released. He'll be murdered - our society has started to turn upon, and eat, itself. Kiss goodbye to democracy and the jury system and the NHS if we let this carry on ... and that's only the start of it.
James, according it seems the clergyman had his permit to distribute leaflets taken away by the Council on the grounds of a complaint his leaflets incited hatred.
ReplyDeleteBerry, you are very pessimistic in your speculations. We are facing tough times, and now is when we need to work together to solve our problems, not against one another.
HnH - get a grip. If you believe in Global Warming then 60 million people in the UK are exceptionally vulnerable to catastrophe.
DeleteWe cannot feed ourselves now except with unlimited supplies of cheap energy - what if it fails and we need lots of agriculturally hungry and expensive bio-fuel? At the same time as sea-levels rise and wipe out most of our agricultural land? Everywhere else in the world expects a food-growing bonus from higher temperatures - no such luck in the UK since the Gulf Stream is liable to slow or fail.
With this disastrous scenario looming over the British, you're determined we be further divided over people who are determined not to be part of wider society.
Its bonkers and in your Heart of Hearts (HoH) you know its bonkers. But you're carried away by your own rhetoric and you think its good fun at the moment.
When Palestine was over-run by land-hungry immigrants the natives failed to protect themselves. We know the result, they're being punished to the 5th generation and beyond - do you believe the British will be as suicidally neglectful?
Hello Joe - thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteI was, of course, being ironic with my comments about the EDL and the eye gouging, Gay hating, abortion banning, Pastor being on the same side promoting free speech.
I agree totally with your comments about free speech and would happily join a protest to support what you describe. Unfortunately, EDL protests are not peaceful protests supporting free speech are they? I have been to observe a number of them in person and they are largely about hatred, racism and quite frequently violence. This is pretty much undeniable and there are countless YOUTUBE clips to prove it as well.
I would estimate that approximately 1/3rd of EDL protestors are football hooligans (let's call 'em what thet they are, not "Casuals", a 1/3rd are current or former far right supporters of the NF/BNP/BM etc and 1/3rd are people who are genuinely concerned about the direction that multi-cultural Britain is taking. Unfortunately for the EDL the 66% are getting the other 33% a very bad reputation.
Even within the East Anglian EDL two of its leading members are football hooligans so not surprisingly people in Norfolk will question who the real EDL are?
I wasn't at Walthamstow but I will take your word for what happened. But you have to look at the circumstances - the community felt under verbal and physical attack from self-proclaimed anti Islam protestors who's protests in other places such as Walsall have been violent. If you put pigs heads on Mosque walls you can't expect local Muslims to be welcoming can you?
At the same time, I would never condone or support attacks on anybody, whether the EDL or people protesting against them. Violence only ever begets more violence and is no solution to the problems that Britain faces today. This blog supports dialogue and attempting to break down barriers, not a pair of house bricks on the head, thrown by whoever...at the same time, until the EDL stops organising street protests that communities fear threaten them and enter the political arena it is inevitable that their actions will cause others to protest against them.