English Defence League.

Tomorrow the EDL will be marching through Newcastle and the UAF will be there, leading a counter-protest. It will be interesting, to say the least. The couple of protests I've been in which have had counter-demonstrations haven't been particularly constructive- they've essentially been a lot of shouting on both sides. Apparently this time, though, it could be different.

On the EDL website, it harps on about how the protest will be peaceful and how the police have obliged to their requests and it's implied that the police are totally behind them- but the reality is different.

Apparently the police have been warning people to stay indoors because violence could potentially erupt on both sides. I found this on the Unite Against Fascism website (which is, granted, probably biased but it's commentary so can't be that unaccurate):

"When the EDL came to Manchester in October, Muslim graves were desecrated. When the EDL came to Stoke-on-Trent in January, the words "Islam scum" and "EDL" were daubed on a mosque."

I wanted to go clothes shopping with my mum tomorrow but she refused because of the march (she's Muslim and wears a headscarf). It's just sad that they can cause so much fear considering they just seem like a bunch of thugs (and yes, I have looked through their website, though you can pretty much deduce everything you need to from their members). I told her that by not going out, she was submitting to what they wanted, but I really don't blame her; who would want to go out and face people who see you as sub-human and a worthless entity and who are vocal about it? She retalliated by saying that it's better to ignore them (which is incidentally a parenting method for naughty children) as the whole point of their march is for attention which is a fair point, but I still think that ignoring a problem does not make it go away.

I'm all for freedom of speech and criticising Islam (same stands for any religion or political stance) but pissing on graves is really not a great way to do so. Engage in debates, write books, leaflet, campaign and for God's sake, accept the responsibilities that come with rights.