Because I read a lot of British newspapers, I’ve read a good bit about the English Defense League in them and came to the conclusion that they are a racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, “far right,” “fascist” violent group of thugs composed largely of football (soccer) hooligans and rowdy drunks. That would be the reasonable conclusion anyone would draw from reading the depiction of them in the newspapers. So I was quite surprised yesterday when I clicked on an article about a protest demonstration the EDL was holding in Bolton, along with a counter demonstration by the UAF (United Against Fascism) that included a link to the local Bolton news site that was providing live coverage on the web. Out of curiosity, I checked it out.
One of the first things I noted was the Israeli flag waving in the midst of the EDL folks. Hrm, I thought, what the hell is that doing there? Then I noted the contingent of gays and lesbians marching with them. Funny bedfellows for a group that is supposed to be fascist and racist, I thought. The next thing that struck me was the violence that was occurring and what the police were saying about it…”Today in Bolton we have seen some small evidence of this protest in the form of flag waving and vitriolic name calling – but we have also seen groups of people, predominantly associated with the UAF, engaging in violent confrontation. It is clear to me that a large number have attended today with the sole intention of committing disorder and their actions have been wholly unacceptable. Turning their anger onto police officers they acted with, at times, extreme violence and their actions led to injuries to police officers, protesters and members of the public.” Now when you read newspaper reports covering the incident, you see only the last two sentences of this quote in the coverage.
