Open letter to the UAF repost

Haha - I was just coming to do the same thing!! Here;s my comment on Indymedia........

Thanks for this article. It is much needed. I wouldn't describe Bolton as a "fiasco", some solid people stood firm in the face of police attacks, and managed to prevent another Stoke type event. Aside from that I agree entirely. The UAF leadership have made some serious tactical errors. I'd go as far as saying their entire stance is flawed, nevertheless they do have the ability to pull out numbers, and like you, I've stood side by side with UAF supporters who are solid activists who are prepared to defend No Platform. On the other hand there are also those to the left of the UAF who talk "militant antifascism" but either don't think the EDL need to be opposed, or don't have the ability to oppose them. We do need to have this debate. You should re-post on Libcom too, maybe?

There's another article on Indymedia that will interest you here....

https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/03/448053.html?c=on#c245239

There's nothing really wrong in the article... it's all correct really, but I'm not sure how viable the strategy of taking UAF's "rank-and-file" is.

Remember that the primary aim is to build the class-struggle first and foremost, this is the way we'll defeat both right-wing nationalist fundamentalists (which is essentially what the EDL are) and fascists (the BNP), the main reason I'd oppose the EDL at street level is to defend people and communities from being attacked by those boneheads and let's be honest here, they've targeted random people and obviously those of ethnic minorities and gotten away with it a couple of times now (for instance, iirc, they did beat up one kid quite badly in Birmingham even though overall the left considered it a "win", also they got away with screaming racial abuse and apparently getting slightly physical - although nothing too bad, with people in London recently).

So yeah, I think that mobilising workers in general against them, under no specific localist or "united" banner, is probably a better idea, how to do this? I think it's probably best done via simple callouts spread through firmly revolutionary left-wing groups (again this ties into how well the class-struggle is going, where are our activists from groups like hackney/haringey solidarity, and not notts stop the bnp.. nottingham's anarchist federation section! as well as undercover anarchists from Antifa working more unnoticed etc we need them all present and the workers who like, tend to be loosely connected to multitendency groups like hackney solidarity network for example as "usually inactive activists" to come out and participate in these occasional activities).

I don't divorce these two, the class-struggle and the fight against racist reaction and outright fascism. I think that a lot of people as sincere as they might be in their activism in the UAF, could very easily be supporting New Labour and the Cons and they are not really revolutionaries. I want workers to be united as a class against racist reaction no matter where it rears its head, not simply for the sake of "capitalism is better than fascism ergo we should all be united against it", not that this hasn't happened before with the rank-and-file in the UAF (workers being united with each other/others as a class) but it's happened maybe three times during their entire history? Consider that the ANL parroted the EXACT same slogans but was actually more militant during its existence (Welling 1993 anyone?) despite warnings from their leadership it was going all wrong and they had to back down. In a way I think that people were more united at that time against bureaucratic leadership in the groups because they had to be, the 90s was a pretty bad time for racism. Also remember now that the police SDS unit is present in pretty much every demonstration, the UAF will be totally teeming with them.

There's a comment on this Bristol Indymedia article from 'M' that i like and agree with:

http://www.bristol.indymedia.org/article/692133

I think we need to think about this not just from an ideological point of view (as communal pie outlines) but from a strategic / tactical one.

This is not a hypothetical question - the EDL are at the moment a glamorous, respected movement for a lot of working class men, especially those who live in mostly white areas and looking for kicks and kudos. The 'workers' that we want to mobilise using only 'true' antifascist avenues think that most of us are a bunch of dicks, as we have no left-wing presence in many of their communities.

This is not our fault alone, most of the blame lies with the collapse of the Labour and union activist networks - whatever you think about them ideologically, practically they served a vital role in channeling working class activists from the estates into the movement. Yes, "I blame the government."

So, practically, we now face a working class nationalist movement recruiting from a wide base that we have no reputation with, and therefore do not listen to what we have to say.

Therefore, we need a strategy to deal with that problem, as well as a tactic to deal with EDL street protests and the threat of violence they hold.

I think the strategy SHOULD be localism, as this is something that is a PRACTICAL (not ideological) unifying factor between us and the working class communities in our area. We should not be "summit hopping" around the country attending demos, working in streets we've never seen before, being as big a problem to the locals as the EDL.

If that means that there is not enough of us to take them on - suck it up and deal with it, basically. To think that we are the only ones who can and should stop the EDL every time is vanguardism in my eyes. If there's not enough, there's not enough. Maybe the vacuum will be filled by other groups self-organising, like the local muslims being demonised by the EDL and with the most to lose for instance, or people from the afro-caribbean communities with long memories.

There needs to be opposition to the main demo, but strategically this should be non-violent, with a wide cross-section of people and groups - religious, political, old, young etc - all providing evidence of a 'moral majority' opposing nationalism.

If the EDL riot on their demo, let them have a fight with the coppers, get nicked, and crucified in the papers. If the coppers blow it and the EDL run riot, then we should be organised and waiting in the side streets, OUR streets, where we know every blind alley and cut-through. Then we can sort them out and have a much better chance of getting away with it.

We should be working on our local streets, spotting trouble, defending our community from EDL 'outsiders'. Then , when they start going for the trains and the buses we should use our local knowledge there as well.

We should be talking to others (kids on the street, pub conversations, barber shops, union socials) with a simple message: "these bonehead cunts have come here, from all over the country, to tell us how we should live our lives, how we should see our neighbours, telling us they've got all the answers. Well, we're going to get out there on Saturday and kick em out of our town, fancy it?"

Bingo - we build a streetfighting reputation in our own communities, build alliances with kindred spirits in other parts of the communities, and send the EDL home to think again, with their confidence severely shaken and the faders already sloping off from the rear.

Yes, i know, 'localism' is sectarianism, i am aware of the contradiction. But localism is also good for community-building, federalism, recognition of common aims and problems. For me, the ideological problems are out-weighed by the practical benefits.

i forgot to ask an obvious question - this must be going on already, especially in the nationalist 'hot spots' like Bolton etc. Does anyone already doing it have any tips or corrections?

I'm from Bolton - unless its changed in recent years I don't think its a 'nationalist hot spot', just a normal northern town with the normal problems you'd expect.

Good points Steve.

To answer the point about local fighters being hung out to dry without national support, i think this is where we have to be tactical, and in a way, honest.

If you crew up and there are only 20 of you (or even less), then you should work in the best way for that. If you all know each other (especially if you've worked together on things before) then this will allow you to operate in ways that are effective but might involve giving ground, or even clearing out at times. There's no point getting all 'no pasaran' macho about it if you can't make it happen. This is what 'picking your battles' is all about, and in my view is the best way to avoid anyone getting hung out to dry.

I think our long term aim should be to remove the shine from the EDL in the eyes of the working classes they draw support from, and stop them setting the agenda for a state crackdown on migrants / muslims / whatever bogeymen they want to put up. This goes alongside the aim of deepening anti-fascist solidarity, especially in groups where we've gone missing, such as those the EDL recruit from.

If you agree with those aims, then what we do should look to further those aims. We shouldn't get caught up in fighting the police, courting the media, rowing amongst ourselves or anything else that doesn't move us forward in what we want to achieve. We need to look at what will work, practically but never letting the ends justify the means.

I think a strategy that fits these aims is one that presents a moral 'popular front' that allows anyone and everyone to register their rejection of nationalism as the answer to our problems. At the same time, for those that are capable and willing to take the risks, the EDL streetfighters should be physically opposed, and beaten off the streets (or at least back into the main demo, where they will cause major headaches for the EDL spin doctors). The police have kindly volunteered to kettle the main demo and oppose it on our behalf - let them do it, they are saving us a job.

If the 'popular front' counter demo is attacked, the blame will lie at the door of the police, and their legitimacy will be lowered even more than it already is. A serious situation is unlikely though i reckon - one thing we all know is that in set piece situations coppers tend to learn from their mistakes, so unless the EDL numbers get huge or they come up with new tactics, they are unlikely to do 'a stoke' again.

The real problem with the EDL is the terror and upset they cause away from the main demo, and the fact that these smaller groups see themselves as successful, and act as a draw for ex-casuals and young men wanting to make a reputation.

Our job as anti-fascists is to set ourselves against these groups. From what i've heard they tend to operate in the side-streets of the city centre, or try and provoke violence in muslim areas. In both situations, local groups will do a lot more good, in smaller numbers, than a big group of 'out of towners' who will quickly attract a police escort, searches, arrests etc. Also, local groups will likely know each other, and therefore find it easier to trust each other and work together.

So, aim to cut off the EDL from it's support and reduce it's influence, using a dual strategy of a non-violent 'moral majority' counterdemo, and a practical defence against EDL terror by switched-on local groups who pick their battles.

The Middleton Guardian hasn't noticed this story. Which might be something to do with the office being closed a while ago and the reporters moved to the Evening News offices in Manchester, along with everybody from the other local Guardian Media Group papers. The Guardian has now sold all these papers to Trinity Mirror and operations will shortly be moved to an industrial estate in Oldham. I'm not sure but I'd assume that jobs have been cut. I wouldn't expect much from local reporting around here.

Hi there, just joined the forum to say a couple of things. Firstly I've been involved in antifascist/@ stuff since the early 90s and was 13 years old. I work on building sites for a living, and although I wouldn't go on an EDL march, I can understand completely why many people do.

The English working class have long seen 'their' flag as the St Georges Cross, and in many ways this demonstrates an 'us and them' mentality with the liberal, middle class left. I don't think you'd disagree when I say you don't see many red or black flags flying proudly on council estates.

I'm not saying this is a good thing, just how it is. Communalpie, I presume you are quite young because there is no army of left wing workers waiting to roll out if you call them. The left as it stands is a fucking shambles and we have little to no respect remaining among actual working class communities. It is imperative we all grasp this fact.

Boydell's quote was very accurate in this respect, well done.

Now the EDL is a weird thing, but certainly not Nazi. Its an embarrassment to the BNP party line, and indeed from lurking on stormfront I see they are getting nothing but abuse from the nazis. This coupled with their recent statement and youtube attack on Blood and Honour (which I hear from a good source was followed up by at least one incident of B&H being physically attacked by EDL), and the fact that they have displayed Indian flags, Jamaican flags, Israeli flags and pink triangles, is sending the nazis into apoplexy.

The shifting and fracturing leadership of this new movement are dodgy and must have police infiltrators, but the leadership are irrelevant.

It is the 3000 people that turned up to the EDL demo that we must concern ourselves with. I agree with Boydell's post that the EDLs support is drawn from the working class, this is obvious at a glance. The SWP recently stated that the EDL must be drawing its support from the ranks of the middle class, because that is 'the classic base of fascism!' (Yeah the EDL looked like university lecturers and teachers, as opposed to the solidly proletarian UAF!)

But these 3000 are not NF skinheads, and I promise you that there will be a fair amount there to which the anti-racist message of the EDL has appealed to, and I don't just mean the handful of mixed, black and asian kids on their demos, I mean their white friends too.

Is it beyond the realms of possibility that some working class people join the EDL demo because they are simply against Islamist terrorism? Maybe they have a family member in the armed forces, and broadly support the soldiers while being opposed to both the war and the extremist Islamist demonstrators. Its hard for the liberal middle classes to imagine having loved ones in the forces, so easier to call their families 'nazis'.

I wouldn't join the UAF demo because it is an alliance of establishment party figures, both Labour and Tory, who created the conditions that have led to divided communities, mass poverty and unemployment in the north, and started wars which have led young asians to turn to terrorism. The doctrine of multiculturalism, which led to lots of nice votes for Labour, has been proved bullshit and divisive, but the left still backs it up at the expense of putting class first.

I wouldn't attack a random EDL demonstrator as I don't know their motivation for being there, but if there is solid evidence of fash then whatever.

I wouldn't join the EDL demo because their current strategy is just too incoherent and attracts too many casual racists. However if they do begin to go further with the anti-nazi actions, and had the intelligence to court the moderate muslim community who are against Islamism, we could be looking at something very different. Should that day come, then I think the place of any class struggle anarchist should be on their demo weeding out the right wing of the EDL. Unlikely though.

Demos aside, building strong local working class organisations like the IWCA or Haringey Solidarity is the only way to go forwards at this point in time. But we have to engage with people on their terms, and start listening after 40 odd years of telling. We are rebuilding a left movement from nothing, after all.

Like Billy Bragg says in the Progressive Patriot, it might be necessary to reclaim the St Georges Cross for the left. I hate nationalism as much as the next man, but the red and black flag just doesn't wash with the English working class. And if there could be a way of leaving the middle class liberals on the other side of the fence, all the better.

You might want to read
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/17/multiculturalism-diversity-political-policy
http://www.iwca.info

sorry that really dragged on a bit

The BNP and I've heard (though am not entirely sure of the validity of this) the EDL too are heavily financed from the 'middle-classes', regardless of who's going to their rallies.

??

What's the alternative? And how is that not putting class first (ie. the international working class).

That sounds like you're encouraging anarchist entryism into a group that probably has virtually 100% anti-immigration stance, a decent proportion of more explicit racists, and some known fascists, and whose tactics involved marching and intimidating areas of densely inhabited by people from ethnic minorities. I can't see how that would advance anarchism, or encourage working class (not just of the so-called "English working class" either) solidarity or struggle.

Again, that phrase "English working class" I do not like. But more importantly, if anarchism isn't popular, and racism is, then surely we should make the case for anarchism better, not ourselves embrace racism?

How are you defining middle class liberal?

The following quote is from an EDL supporter, replying to an anti fascist comment on a YouTube video. It gives you an insight into their mind set. I think anarchskin posted some valid points. Though I certainly don't think we should be tempted to enter EDL demos to pick out the decent people from the fash. They are not a progressive working class force. We'd do much better to act locally to explain that nationalism offers us nothing.

A quick glance at EDL supporters on Facebook, YouTube etc soon reveals what they are about. Thoroughly nationalistic, but also racist, and eager to spread bullshit and encourage division in a generalised attack against ALL Muslims, not just the extremists or bigots like Anjem Choudary.

Anyway here's the quote...

@Tobias;

I'm not sure where the EDL get their funding either; As I said, Im not talking about the leadership, but who might turn up to their demos, their motivations and if they are actually all motivated by racism, as it is assumed.

EDL Statement on Blood and Honour

That is the EDL anti-racism that I was talking about. Maybe just all a ploy but I find that hard to believe if they are taking so much flak from the nazis because of it. They could have easily got away with not doing this and appealing to the BNP's racist voter demographic.

I think you read the first and last sentences of my paragraph and ignored the middle. Would you like to re-read it and comment again.

Of course I don't think anarchism should embrace racism to become popular. Ever.

When I say 'English working class', I mean working class people in England.
May I ask why you don't like that phrase?

Hmm... By middle class liberal I mean the SWP University types and their creation of united fronts based around identity politics. They have a hierarchy of oppressions and so make blanket statements like 'white people cannot be the victims of racism'. They are proponents of multiculturalism. Please see again the Kenan Malik article I linked if you do not understand this term. They support liberation struggles all over the world, and pay lip service to working class revolution.

However they also get a bit scared when they see a man with an England shirt driving a white van, because they absolutely do not understand working class culture. If they see a few hundred of them together, they'll probably think its some kind of nazi rally.

RE: the content of EDL. It's a (currently?) non membership organisation, which holds open demos and its own self-representation of its message is probably drowned out by that of the press, the UAF and - apparently - football firms. I find it frustrating that people like the UAF, various anarchoids and EDL members themselves try to argue that they're "definitely" one thing or the other, when quite clearly, they're about as coherent as a voicemail from Mark E Smith. Some people are clearly practicing far right entryism, which some others consider to be a real issue, whiel some more others aren't bothered and consider them more bodies for their firmism.

Generally speaking, peopel who try to define and box things in such a reductionist fashion do so for some hidden, disingenous agenda.

Y'know, if you wanna go out and wave your cock at people in public, you could always just join the hooligan firms yourselves?

Well I was with you until "I wouldn't join the EDL demo because their current strategy is just too incoherent and attracts too many casual racists. However if they do begin to go further with the anti-nazi actions, and had the intelligence to court the moderate muslim community who are against Islamism, we could be looking at something very different. Should that day come, then I think the place of any class struggle anarchist should be on their demo weeding out the right wing of the EDL. Unlikely though."..

This is inconceivable to me, what a ridiculous thing to suggest. They may not be "Nazi Fascist" etc etc but they are in no way progressive class-conscious workers, plus the argument that capitalists are just as bad as fascists when it comes to things such as this in my opinion, stands very strong. The above poster(s) raised excellent points.. that the EDL is funded by a middle-class scumbag from Highgate, I think that's a good point, remember that they started off in Haringey, in Wood Green as well. This is not a complete 'class movement' as everyone seems to think, it is yet another mobilisation of the working-class by the ruling-class, people should remember that.

Building the IWCA up in my opinion is a flawed tactic because the IWCA organises around identity politics, of course many will disagree with me here and I'm not saying the IWCA does not have good militants in it/has not done valid work, but the point stands up very well I think.

On an aside, I'd agree with Django that localist thinking is a bad idea..

Really, the EDL is much more like English loyalism than fascism - but then a lot have people have been saying Ulster loyalism and fascism are the same thing for years (usually in the service of what Caiman has called a disingenuous agenda).

Like has been said before the EDL is a disparate organisation that is riddled with various entryists. While some anarchists might have a negative reacton to the white working class I think that this is a bit of a straw man.

you're taking a small group, incidentally the far-right bogeymen, when you start to talk about this.

I do agree with you that these people are in the wrong but my enemy's enemy is not my friend. In fact there is no 'enemy' certainly not in the working class. It's true that many people are opposed, some violently, to ideas of social justice because of the ay that they are dressed up but on a fundamental level anarchism can only work if it can make people support it. This is not the same as going along with people. If you want to build a real woking class movement based on anarchist priniciples then you have to be honest about it and you have to trust in people.
I'm from Haringey and my best mate growing up stood as a bnp councilor and a lot of the people I used to drink with are supporters of the BNP. When I was younger I challenged these views but I also let a lot go because I understood how people felt. If you think that the anger felt by working class people is something that needs to be harnessed then you're right, but if you hink that pandering to ideas of the 'left-wing' bogeymen and ignoring racism is going to help then you're sunk. As far as I can see the EDL's primary objection to the neo-nazis and fascists is not their politics it's their affiliation. Anti-german racism and pride in Britain as a nation that fought the nazis seems to inform this objection rather than any understanding of what was wrong with the nazis.
I am also at a loss when faced with the likes o the EDL, but I know that an organisation based on defending 'englishness' can never be progressive and is basically ludicrous.
This is all a bit rambling and I'm sorry for that.
I'd appreciate more info on the Haringey/Wood green base for EDL. Wodd Green is a part of Haringey btw, it's whiter and has a higher income iirc

I think that what is happening here is something which is very common among the left/anarchists and their obsession with anti-fascism.

And that is, basically being obsessed with anti-fascism. Whereas the majority of the working class, black, Asian or white, don't give a shit about it.

And this is because it is not fascists which are attacking black, Asian and white workers, it's the labour government (hand-in-hand with the unions) and the employers. I think it's by focusing on our fight with the employers and the government that we demonstrate that we are one class, and that we can achieve more united than fighting against each other.

it is this focusing on single issues largely irrelevant to everyday life rather than our concrete, material existence which is keeping anarchist/libcom ideas so marginal.

The fascists and the EDL are merely a sideshow irrelevance - although they are useful for the left and labour to point to as terrible bogey men to try to mobilise support for themselves...

i basically agree, but i think you're swinging too far the other way. 'anti-fascism' as a self-contained politics is a sideshow, but opposition to the far-right, physically if necessary, needs to be part of any working class politics. there have been incidents recently with far-right activists coming to lefty events/places - fash trying to get into a social centre in Liverpool, visiting the Cowley Club in Brighton, the EDL incident at the UAF meeting in Bristol (probably exagerated by SWP).

for the most part they're irrelevent, but we shouldn't be complacent and if we can prevent them organising we should. an emboldened far-right would be an asset for the bosses, i know people who remember when you couldn't hold a lefty meeting without organising security... even in Brighton i've been confronted by a white nationalist when collecting for Vestas ("fuck foreigners, what about British Workers!" ). if that became more common it would present problems for picket lines/collections/meetings etc. currently the far-right are unable to organise publically in Brighton and i think it's worth keeping it that way.

even wrt the UAF shit, if the EDL rock up outside mosques and no white liberals oppose them, only the local youth will, giving the far right the spectacle of 'race war' they crave. although for the most part i'm happy to leave the spectacle to the Trots.

well, pre-emptive self-defence. the point is not to throw all anti-fascism out with the popular front/macho subcultural bathwater.

I don't think confronting fascists or the EDL in the streets when they do their thing is pre-emptive self defence. If anything, that is likely to escalate conflict which can become like a gang war completely detached from the working class.

Self defence such as you outline above, is eminently practicable and of course I would support it where necessary. I do not believe that in most instances at present it is necessary in any case...

i know the critique, but what do you think 'self defence such as that outlined above' involes if not confronting them in the streets. i mean on saturday David Irving was run out of town, known fascists were planning to attend and people mobilised to stop them. should we wait until they're more established and capable of threatening us before we 'defend' ourselves?

imho the chances of a detached gang war are much higher if we let the fascists organise openly, since that's how they're seeking to become more than a rag tag gang of misfits, holding meetings, drawing in the kind of people drawn to the EDL etc. i'm told in Manchester anarchists have trouble finding venues because of (largely idle) fascist threats. i think it's prudent to prevent them getting to even that level of nuisance since we can.

I think thats a bit of an exagerration. We got a threat once years ago, which led to nothing. We've never had any trouble doing distros or street stalls. We have more trouble finding venues because people run a mile when they hear the word 'anarchist'.

I more or less agree with Steven here. I went out and opposed the EDL in Manchester, but felt pretty conflicted about going to Bolton - on the one hand its my hometown and the idea of the rightwing equivalent of summit-hoppers pitching up to antagonise local Asians pissed me off, on the other I suspected (and was right) that it would largely be a spectacle, and I'd end up stood in a pen in Victoria square doing very little, and certainly not challenging the far more widespread, day-to-day racism in society. In the end other things came up and I didn't go.

The EDL can have the effect of intimidating asians in towns like Bolton, especially given the coverage on a local level - my brother is a secondary school student there and said the amount of hype the day got through school from the cops was insane, so imagine what it'd be like if you were getting it through your mosque and "community leaders" too. I think this is less likely to happen in somewhere like Manchester or Birmingham. But a lot of this only happened because of the hype it got from both sides who are increasingly only existing to oppose each other, and the kind of racism which does permeate both 'communities' in towns like Bolton and which has far more concrete implications for people's day to day lives will continue to exist irrespective of these big, noisy events. The EDL are only an outgrowth of official ideology anyway - their enemy is the official one, Islamism, their grievance is that the government isn't fighting the war hard enough.

The obsession with the EDL among anarchists worries me slightly, especially given as we're experiencing the largest groundswell of industrial action in several years in the UK. In my own organisation this has received much less internal discussion than the 'need' to respond to fringe groups like the EDL.

@communalpie

Again, you don't seem to know what you're talking about here so I won't waste time repeating earlier posts.

@joseph

Yeah a good point Joseph. I can't see the UAF disappearing and allowing that to happen, I too would leave them to it. On the other hand I still find it embarrassing and generally damaging to our cause that they are happy to make bed fellows of extremely right wing muslims, who are basically just as fascist as their white counterparts; yet the lack of any Left criticism of this feeds the right demonisation of an 'islamist/communist axis' in UAF.

Leads on nicely to Steven's quote:

@steven

Yes I basically agree with you Steven. I see this as the consequence not only of the multiculturalist ideology, but also the obsession with anti-fascist politics from a pre-racially diverse age. The left has yet to realise the implications of this and in my eyes is losing ground because of it. Similarly Nick Griffin realised that his side had to make major changes, and did so accordingly and successfully. Ironically a lot of the ground the extreme right are picking up is by using left wing, class based arguments for its working class voters, yet keeping the propertied ex-tories happy too; the BNP are 'effortlessly riding two horses at once' as a commentator put it.

The fact that the left is becoming more out of step with the aspirations and fears of ordinary working class people. Islamic fundamentalism IS a real fear for a lot of people, and I believe not without reason. Many young muslims talk (with varying degrees of coherency) in the language of Jihad, sharia law for the UK, and violent muslim supremacy. Integration to western values is looked down upon, and those that do (girls particularly) find their unelected representatives in the Mosque unhelpful. These same unelected reps have been courted and given carte blanche by labour over the last 23 years.

Also muslim MP's claiming to represent 'the asian demographic' have been eagerly lapped up by the establishment, but have in many cases favoured their own religious community first, and within that their own propertied classes, at the exclusion of poorer muslims, and of course other asian minorities.

There has been no left response other than 'no to islamophobia', which is proving a pretty weak phrase, and demonising opponents of multiculturalism as 'racists'.

The multicultural policies of the last 20 years have effectively encouraged the muslim working class to believe they have more in common with their 'own community' at the expense of seeing the very stark class divides there. The muslim middle class has done very well out of business and property, but can use the multicultural argument to the muslim working class to say 'you are deprived because of your race.' Broadly the left is not challenging this message, so aiding the muslim propertied class and the fascist equivalents in the muslim community.

So much of what passes for liberal - left analysis now is born of white middle class guilt that it is drawing the whole left movement into a dead end while the extreme right (both white and muslim) are becoming more appealing to the divided working class in their now increasingly seperate communities.

I see our job as being more vocal about opposing Sharia Law and extremist islam and getting muslims onside as well to prove to the non-muslim working class that Islamism is not something universal in the UK. However, we're not going to get the working class onside whilst pretending that their lot has been bettered by labour's divisive policies on race.

The EDL have got a bizarre anti-'communist' tirade against workers on strike on their site:

Needless to say, its incoherent rambling madness, but shows how misuided seeing their politics as in some way class-consiouss is.

i wouldn't sharply separate 'political' and 'working class'... fascists getting organised is as bad news for pickets as it is paper sellers. the Labour Party attack the working class via control of the state, Stalinists where they exist through control of union positions, fascists typically with street violence/attacks on meetings/pickets. we combat these with the appropriate means given the nature of the attack and our capabilities.

yes lots of anarchists effectively take anti-fascism as a single-issue activism which carries all the same problems of detachment from everyday life and class struggle of activism per se. thus i'm not saying fascism is something to obsess over, nor saying we should all form single-issue anti-fascist groups or go on UAF chant-a-thons, simply that the far-right are one of a number of anti-working class forces and if we can prevent them organising openly we should do so. it's hardly the most important thing, and i've certainly spent far less time on it than supporting local strikes, occupations etc. but it's not something that can be totally dismissed either.

i don't think saying 'self-defence is fine' covers it, fascists won't threaten us until they've got their act together, developed a public profile, held meetings and events, drawn in more footsoldiers etc. this is a well-established pattern of street-based fascism. i think it's a good thing they've been prevented from doing this in Brighton. fwiw i'm not including the EDL as fascists here, they're obviously heterogeneous and include fascists, but their only real politics is English nationalism. they're a different kind of phenomenon to the kind of groups who attack the houses of immigrants, lefty/union meetings, picket lines etc imho, although there's scope for cross-over (especially as Django points out the logic of nationalism being anti-strike etc).