Dear All
It is not unusual to see groups walking the streets parading
their beliefs, we see this all the time with anti racism marches, ‘Gay’ Pride
marches by the homosexual community and various other people such as CND. Along
with marches we have things such as black history to celebrate the achievements
of the black community.
If you get elected as councillor and sit on the committee
which deals with marches you can on occasion have to make hard decisions on
whether or not to allow a march to take place.
Public safety being a prime consideration, you listen to
advice from the Police and other people in making that decision. What you are
not supposed to do is allow your prejudice to interfere in making a just
decision. Lots of councillors shy away
from sitting on the parades committee because if you pass a march which your
party doesn’t support or is deemed unacceptable, you may face abuse.
Today, I have come across something which following the London attack raises the
classic moral maze questions.
Would you allow a Scots White Pride demo?
Would you allow a Scots White Pride demo on the day that hundreds
of Sikhs hold a procession?
White Pride is tainted because the people are associated
with being extremists and then there is the continued references to Nazism; and
of course some of the demonstrators don’t tend by enlarge to come from the
higher end of the IQ scale. In the latter half of the last century’s the
National Front was a big thing, they were connected to soccer thugs and had a
tendency to slash people with open razors and Stanley knifes.
One of the famous thugs of the era was Charlie Sargent, he
wasn’t a role model for anything but violence. When people think of Neo Nazis,
he sits right up there as a case study. Here is some info from him.
Sargent was released from prison last year after being
convicted for the murder of Chris Castle in 1997. He was also a member of C18,
or Combat 18 as they known for extreme violence.
So, there is a long history in trying to establish what some
people call ‘White Pride’ in the UK because of the people it attracts and how
they conduct themselves, and also who turns up to oppose them.
Usually when groups like the ‘Anti-Nazi_League’ or ‘Unite
Against Fascism’ turn up to protest, there is trouble, which is why there is
generally a big police presence at these events. Here is something on the Anti
Nazi League, they were setup by SWP, the Socialist Workers Party, these people
spread their message on University and College Campuses.
The White Pride crowd plan to stage a 'static demo' in Edinburgh which
effectively means they can go ahead without any official permission being
sought. If there is a clampdown on ‘static demos’, this would undermine the
democratic right to protest in this country which would be a bad thing.
Nearby the Sikh group, Guru Nanak Gurdwara Edinburgh who
are doing their thing, say they will be carrying on as normal and having
consulted with police, they do not fear any trouble.
And to be honest, no one really expects trouble from the
Sikh community who have integrated very well into UK
society and have done since they came to the UK .
One National Front Scotland circular about the White Pride demo
says it is a time to "gather together with white pride flags and flags of
white nations, to celebrate the great history of the white race and to speak
out against anti-white racism. A must attend day for any white activist!"
These people are a million miles away from Identitarian
movement, who are also branded under the far right label.
Skin colour isn’t a think to be celebrated; rather the culture
of a country which the identitarian use is seen by some as much better. The identitarian
movement is basically a European construct which is big in France and developing in places like Austria .
identitarians like Martin Sellner make it quite clear that
they don’t want racists in the identitarian movement or to be associated with
them. The National Front, the BNP, the EDL or Scottish Defence League don’t
attract the kind of support they would like because they basically don’t know
politics, how to play the game and how to win hearts and minds of communities.
You could say this is a blessing in disguise; ignorance can sometimes come in
useful, provided it is the other side using it.
In the interests of public safety it would be better if
everyone who wants to demonstrate static or marched worked with the police to avoid
problems, this however is unlikely to happen.
A National Front Scotland spokesman said:
"We will not be silenced by Cultural Marxists or those
who wish to deny us our right to Freedom of Speech and Free Assembly!"
The Council say at least 28 days notice of the event which must
be given and then will be considered by officers and police. Council sources
say if no notification was received any march would be essentially illegal. If
necessary, the council has the power to prohibit a procession but mostly
council are reluctant to exercise that power because everyone has a right to
have their voice heard in a democracy even if their views are against
everything you stand for.
Since the White Pride crowd don’t intend to march, a police
source confirmed they were aware that there would be a static demo happening and
that there was "no legislative requirement" to seek permission. You
would assume that police will be there in case one of the various anti racism
groups turn up to start violence. These people are easily recognised, they are
the ones wearing the masks.
So, back to the moral maze questions, if you were a
councillor.
Would you allow a Scots White Pride demo march?
Would you allow a Scots White Pride demo march on the day
that hundreds of Sikhs hold a procession?
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
4 comments:
Nasty pieces of work. Thing is though, we've allowed Islamist parades to be conducted in Luton and Wooton Bassett, so if we ban the NF mob but accept the freedom of speech for the Islamist mob, it's a bit hypocritical. Also, it gives them enough rope to hang themselves.
That said, when these events are allowed go forward, they really do need to be handled carefully for the protection of the public. It's a tricky question George, because I hate the idea of white power parades in the UK as much as the aforementioned Islamists.
nope
Sturgeon hates the Scots
The 'white power' blokes marching around with placards, singing and chanting are more a source of amusement - and nowhere near as dangerous as the separatist infection raging out of control in that eyesore at the foot of the royal mile. Yet people will get worked up over the former and not the latter.
We inhabit a strange world.
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