Wales says no to hate
posted by: Nick Lowles | on: Saturday, 17 October 2009, 07:19
Later today hundreds of anti-racists and anti-fascists will take to the streets of Swansea to reject the latest football hooligan attempts to whip up hatred on our streets.
Yesterday the Western Mail published a letter written by the HOPE not hate campaign in conjunction with Searchlight Cymru objecting to the planned protest by the Welsh Defence League.
It was signed off by representatives from all the main political parties and 750 local people. Here's the letter:
Show Wales stands up for hope not hate
SIR - We are shocked and appalled by the activities of the "Welsh Defence League" - a collection of football hooligan gangs and thugs who have come together to attack the Welsh Muslim community.
All summer, their allies have been using "protests" as an excuse for mass brawls in town centres across England.
Now we fear that the violence will spread through our own towns and communities - only in the past few weeks worshippers were attacked at a mosque in Swansea, culminating in a 60-strong pitched battle. Now the Welsh Defence League want to go back again.
If these thugs are allowed to continue bringing fear, hatred and bloodshed to our streets, we will all be the victims. That is why we have united as local people to stand up against them and defend our community. Let us all send a message that their brand of hatred is not welcome here. Other local people who believe in hope, not hate, can join us at:
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/standupforwales
Wherever the Welsh Defence League tries to take our streets and divide our communities, we will speak out.
Together, we can defeat them.
IAN TITHERINGTON, LORD DAFYDD ELIS THOMAS AM, MIKE GERMAN AM,
MARK ISHERWOOD AM, HUW LEWIS AM and LEANNE WOOD AM
Searchlight Cymru
Posted: 17 Oct 2009 | There are 6 comments
Comments
Comment 1 | From: anne greagsby | Date: 17 October 2009, 09:40
Agree entirely. Love diversity. Hate BNP Apalled by the fear and hatred the BNP bring to our community. I'll be there today even though I'm rather scared.. Anne Greagsby Cardiff and the Vale Green Party .
Comment 2 | From: A working class heore | Date: 17 October 2009, 20:58
Your going to lose; its only a matter of time time until your socialist middle class views fall victim to the patriotism that you so despise! Welcome to the 21st century Brtain - WE WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR ANTI BRITISH IDEOLOGY ANY MORE! WAKE UP!
Comment 3 | From: Chris Whitmore | Date: 18 October 2009, 08:45
There is nothing British about hate, nor about fascism; the greatest test of British patriotism was in the fight against european fascism in which our fathers and grandfathers fought, our mothers and grandmothers worked in factories to ensure that the kind of hate you wish to spread has no place on these isles. After the war it was the working class who rebuilt Britain, and that working class was made up of all those we have welcomed to our shores who have worked to build our nation. There is nothing middle class about the values we defend, they are the values of community pride and self-help which are found at their strongest in our working class communities. The problem with EDL and their like is that they think you can advance at the cost of discriminating against others. They add the hate born of their ignorance to their lack of answers and it boils onto the streets. It helps noone, and is being rejected across the very communities they claim to represent, as in St Helens in Barnsley last week where working class voters turned away from their moronic appeals to a bigoted so-called patriotism. As Nick Griffin squirms to recast the BNP as an inclusive party- an impossible task given the hatred that runs through its veins- the EDL will become the dustbin for all those morons driven by hate. They will have to be driven from our streets by all those who choose not to pass by on the other side. Anti-British? Nope. Just ordinary decent working class folk who prefer a community united to a community divided by a long discredited ideology of hate. If you want to see the results of communities divided, come visit the former pit villages of Yorkshire where the BNP and EDL have nothing to offer but their racist menu of hatred. Middle class- how dare you make that assumption. The coalition which opposes the EDL and like-minded scum is a broad one with its roots in worker self-organisation.
Comment 4 | From: Hate the BNP | Date: 18 October 2009, 13:46
Hello, I'm sad to say Hitler isn't dead! No instead hes taken the form of a racist party. So Just To Say BNP are a load of crap who are as bad as Hitler Trying to get rid of the jews. So BNP just ask Your self do you want to be remembered as racist idiots. Because your doing a good JOB!!!!
Comment 5 | From: Wendroid | Date: 18 October 2009, 16:01
Working Class heore (sic) - I am patriotic. I'm proud of the cosmpolitan and tolerant society I live in and proud of the fact that decent people who oppose the thuggery and intolerance perpetrated by the BNP, WDL and EDL and their ilk far outnumber people like you. Perhaps it's you who needs to wake up to 21st century Britain.
Comment 6 | From: Yaman | Date: 18 October 2009, 21:58
Are you serious 'A working class heore' your comment is ridiculous & has nothing to do with what those deluded fascists did today ! I totally agree with the anti-fascists ! Oh & learn how to spell !
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