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The violence that has afflicted many UK towns and cities over the weekend has left the country appalled, with mobs steered by hatred committing violent acts against people of colour. Violence first flared after three girls – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven and Bebe King, six – were shockingly stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday camp in Southport.
After the northern English town in mourning held a peaceful vigil, a group of far-right agitators ran riot in scenes that have been repeated for a week. Conspiracy theorists were quick to float the idea that the Southport attacker was Muslim and a migrant. Neither is true of his identity. The suspect has been named as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana. Suspects below 18 have automatic anonymity, but judges decided to identify Rudakubana, in part to stop the spread of false information. He is a British national born in Wales, reportedly to Christian parents from Rwanda. Despite attempts to debunk the provocateurs, it was too late. The damage had already been done as hate filled riots and Islamophobic attacks spread across the country, fuelled by disinformation online..
A range of far-right factions and individuals targeted mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and hotels housing asylum seekers in London, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Sunderland, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Rotherham, Hartlepool, Aldershot, Middlesbrough, Belfast and Hull. Rioters mobilised support through Telegram channels and WhatsApp groups with slogans such as “enough is enough”, “save our kids”, and calling to “stop the boats”, an anti-migrant slogan touted by the Conservative government.
The images of people attacking and setting fires to hotels housing refugees. men, women and children who’ve fled horrific violence like torture – are proof that divisive rhetoric inspires hateful acts. This violence is a direct result of years of divisive politics, scapegoating, demonisation and dehumanisation.
As far-right mobs threaten mosques, intimidate and harass people, and throw Nazi salutes, we must offer our utmost solidarity to people of colour, and Muslim communities in particular. These riots are not about protecting children.What is happening in the streets of our country are not protests. There can be never be "justified concerns" that cause people to attack minorities and places of worship. Let's call them what they are: Far right race riots. and are a racist outpouring from a vile underbelly in British society that are currently terrorising Britain’s streets and must be stopped.
Imagine being the parents of one of these killed kids, not only grieving but also having to deal with your kids death being hijacked and turned into nationwide far right riots The people who encouraged this need jailing, the likes of Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson who couldn't care less about those poor children. They simply stoke hatred for their own political ends. They are a danger to the security of this country and are a disgrace. Literally the most far right figureheads we’ve seen since Adolf Hitler and Oswald Moseley.
There’s little doubt that social media has plaed a significant role in stoking tensions. However, the threat of the far right is not new, and many of their views entered the political mainstream long before the domination of social media.
What's happening in England can also be linked to Gaza. When Arabs and Muslims are being murdered on a live feed for 10 months, with British bombs, and called "terrorists" because they don't like having a colony of European Zionists on their land, then this emboldens far righ rcists to behave like thugs and attack any Arab or Muslim they see. After all they are simply mimicking the violence of the state and the media. As anti-war and pro-Palestinian protests have been the focus of hateful anti-Muslim comments in British media and politics since the start of the Gaza war, many believe that the long-standing rhetoric has set the stage for the rise in hate.
Even in their responses to this violence, our Prime Minister and Home Secretary fail to centre Muslim people, or call out racism for what it is. What we are seeing unfold is more than ‘thuggery’, it is violent racism and islamphobia.
Police have emphasised that these riots over this weekend were significantly more violent than any mass gathering in recent years. These recent riots, in the words of one police constable, were “about trying to frighten communities, damage property and attack police officers,” not promote any unified or specific cause.
.Far-right violence hasn’t come out of nowhere. It is the result of anti-migrant rhetoric from mainstream politicians who scapegoat refugees.. Islamophobia nurtured and made mainstream by the media, mainstream politicians and commentators. It is sad that things like this are so normalised. The far right have no place in this society ! No immigrant has taken your job. You were laid off by a capitalist who required cheap labor and took advantage of that immigrant to increase his profits, and nothing makes him happier than to hear you blame the immigrant and not him.
Defeating the far right doesn’t stop with ending the violent riots on the streets, the politics that inspired them must be beaten too. We beat the far-right and the race riots by finally tackling a quadruple of evils: racism (especially Islamophobia), the demonisation of immigrants, poverty and inequality.These acts of violence and hate have no place in our society.
The full force of the law" is not what's going to stop emboldening fascists and reactionaries What will is a public discourse that stops mainstreaming their politics through increasingly less subtle dog whistle and pretending they represent "the people" We must encourage everyone to stand against racism and discrimination and support efforts to build a fair and just world for all.
It is hard to believe that all this could happen in our country in 2024 – but it is a reminder of the scale of prejudice that exists in our country still, and that we must continue to stand against the emerging Far-Right threats. The media needs to stop giving them airtime. Hate needs de-normalising.It is pure poison and infiltrates everything. It seeps into daily life and damages everything it touches. Politicians and Brexiteers ruined the UK not refugees or asylum seekers.
There are reports that over 30 locations will be targeted tomorrow evening and groups including Stand up to Racism are organising counter-protests to protect cultural insitutitions and our diverse communities.
Stop the far right events in your area – Stand against the fascists and say refugees are welcome here.Unity is our strength, and we must stand firm against those that aim to pit different communities against each other. We are the many, they are the tiny minority. No parasan to fascism in all its forms. https://standuptoracism.org.uk/
