Left Unity Hull says: “Don’t let the racists and fascists divide us!”
The brutal killing of Lee Rigby in Woolwich has led to a media frenzy about “Muslim terrorism”. Thankfully, however, horrific incidents such as the one in Woolwich are extremely rare. We in Left Unity believe that it is necessary to question why the debates in the media about “Muslim extremism” are framed in the way that they are. We also believe that it is vital that ordinary working people do not fall prey to the divisions amongst ourselves that racists and fascists try to whip up.
Why is it only “the Muslim community” that is told that it must engage in soul-searching if someone who happens to be a Muslim does something bad? After all, there are often items in the news about horrific acts committed by non-Muslims: Nazi psychopath Anders Breiivik killed 77 people in the space of a few minutes on his shooting rampage in Norway in 2011; white-supremacist Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people in the Oklahoma bombing of 1995; David Copeland (who, at the time, had recently been a member of the BNP) killed 3 people and injured many more when he planted bombs in London in 1999. The Catholic church has been rocked by scandals in both America and Europe about the covering up of the activities of paedophile priests and there are more and more revelations about celebrities being shown to have committed rape and sexual assault. At no point, however, has any of this lead to headlines in the media asking what it is about the “white, Christian community” that has led it to produce such people.
Racist and fascist groups like the EDL, the BNP and the NF try to cynically take advantage of such tragic events as those in Woolwich to further their own sinister agenda. They pretend to voice the concerns of ordinary people, but in reality the fascists are only interested in leading us down the dead-end of hatred and division. When it comes to things like the campaign against the bedroom tax, the fight to defend the NHS, or the struggle to defend jobs, wages and public services, it is socialists, trade unionists and community activists who take up these issues. In Hull just a few weeks ago, at the Greencore cake factory, working people from many different ethnic backgrounds showed what unity can achieve when they went on strike, joined together on the picket line, and won significant improvements in pay. In contrast, the EDL has launched violent attacks on trade unionists and the leader of the EDL “Tommy Robinson” (the businessman whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) has made threats against students protesting against fees and cuts in education. This shows that the real agenda of the EDL is the same as all other fascists throughout history – they want to prove themselves as useful bully-boys for the rich and powerful. If the fascists ever came to power, they would institute a brutal, militarised One-Party State, with no democracy, no trade unions, and where anyone who was deemed racially or religiously “inferior”, or indeed anyone who disagreed with the government, would be sent to die in a concentration camp.
UNITE TO DEFEND JOBS, HOUSING AND PUBLIC SERVICES
DON’T LET THE RACISTS & FASCISTS DIVIDE US!
Left Unity Hull, Unite Against Fascism and other campaigning groups including Hull Trades Council are joining together on SATURDAY 8TH JUNE @ 1PM IN VICTORIA SQUARE. This follows the EDL march last Saturday which was dominated by Nazi groups. We want to show that there are plenty of positive campaigns in Hull that reject racial hatred. Please join with us in unity to defeat the Nazis. We need the maximum possible turnout so make sure everyone in your network knows.
Hope to see you there.
LEFT UNITY HULL
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3 responses to “Left Unity Hull says: “Don’t let the racists and fascists divide us!””
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Well said Hull Left Unity. At this time of racist/anti migrant worker /Islamaphobic hysteria it is of the utmost importance for the Left to stand firm against any “accomodation” or concessions to the divisive siren calls , including senior figures in the Labur Party, to scapegoat ethnic minorities – as if they have any role or responsibility for the capitalist crisis and the bosses Austerity Offensive attacks on our living standards.
There are even confused voices , claiming to speak “from the Left” (including posts on this Left Unity Website), advocating that “to gain credibility with the (white) working class” the Left needs to concede the need for immigration controls – as if this would somehow “placate” the racists within the white working class – and draw them to “socialist politics”. This is of course dangerous political poison for the Left. Racist mythology and bigotry conceded to simply fans the flames of division and bigotry all the more – as the terrible experience of Greece clearly shows – the concessions to anti migrant hysteria made by the labourite PASOK Party, and the other “mainstream” parties , simply building the credibility of the racist scapegoating of immigrants as somehow “responsible for Greece’s troubles” – and directly unleashing the current tidal wave of Golden Dawn Nazi growth.
you are going to have no purchase with working class people unless you denounce the extremists of both the far-right and the religious fundamentalists. The UAF have been an absolute disgrace over the Woolwich affair. Peter Tatchell has a principled stance that LU should learn from…don’t be duped by the SWP groupthink.
are you aware that the edl march will be starting at brittania house and going down spring bank