Sunday, June 02, 2013
Badgering the far right
There were three demonstrations in London yesterday, there was a rally by 50 extremists from the British National Party and the English Defence League, a counter=demonstration by hundreds of activists from anti-extremist groups including Unite Against Fascsim and Hope Not Hate and a much larger contingent of protestors campaigning against the English badger cull.
According to the International Business Times, the far right got more than they bargained for:
Shortly after lunch, a die-hard core of around 50 BNP and EDL supporters was confronted outside parliament by hundreds of activists from anti-extremist groups including Unite Against Fascsim and Hope Not Hate.
But in the event, both groups were upstaged by agitators of a different stripe. Decked out from head to toe in black and white, the group that won the day were campaigning for neither for race war nor ethnic equality, but an end to the government's cull on badgers.
And it was the pro-badger campaigners who appeared to steal a march on the political activists.
Young women dressed in fake fur were seen chasing doughty nationalist supporters down London's Whitehall as a large number of security forces in iridescent jackets looked on from police lines.
Led by Queen guitarist Brian May, protesters in fancy dress demanded an end to the government's cull of badgers, brought in to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
They chanted: "Smash the cull! Smash the BNP!"
One protestor summed up his feelings in a tweet:
"It's a shame we can't just cull the EDL and let the badgers march. Who wouldn't want to see marching badgers!" said protester Ian Power
Watching the EDL and BNP being chased by people in badger costumes would have been a sight worth seeing.
According to the International Business Times, the far right got more than they bargained for:
Shortly after lunch, a die-hard core of around 50 BNP and EDL supporters was confronted outside parliament by hundreds of activists from anti-extremist groups including Unite Against Fascsim and Hope Not Hate.
But in the event, both groups were upstaged by agitators of a different stripe. Decked out from head to toe in black and white, the group that won the day were campaigning for neither for race war nor ethnic equality, but an end to the government's cull on badgers.
And it was the pro-badger campaigners who appeared to steal a march on the political activists.
Young women dressed in fake fur were seen chasing doughty nationalist supporters down London's Whitehall as a large number of security forces in iridescent jackets looked on from police lines.
Led by Queen guitarist Brian May, protesters in fancy dress demanded an end to the government's cull of badgers, brought in to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
They chanted: "Smash the cull! Smash the BNP!"
One protestor summed up his feelings in a tweet:
"It's a shame we can't just cull the EDL and let the badgers march. Who wouldn't want to see marching badgers!" said protester Ian Power
Watching the EDL and BNP being chased by people in badger costumes would have been a sight worth seeing.
