- Leeds Neo-Nazi protest scuffles, Yorkshire Evening Post, October 20, 2008…
The British People’s Party (BPP) are awesome. Formerly known as the ‘White Nationalist Party’, on Saturday October 18, teh bizarros of teh BPP staged a public protest outside a record shop, HMV, in Leeds, England (Land of hope and glory, mother of the free / How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee / Australians all let us ring Joyce / For she is young and free / We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil / Our home is girt by sea / Et cetera et cetera et cetera). The ostensible purpose of the BPP’s rally was to draw the British People’s attention to Ice Cube’s album Death Certificate, his second studio album released in the United States on October 31, 1991 on Priority Records. According to Antifa:
When the ‘British People’s Party’ first announced their plans for an anti-Hip Hop demo in Leeds [August 19, 2008] this coming Saturday [October 18], they boasted of taking back the streets from “the filthy reds”. The architect of the demo, vile Kate McDermody, talked of it being the opening shot in a “Racial Holy War”. As the demo swiftly approaches, and the reality of ‘street politics’ beckons, it is clear that McDermody and her fellow fascist numbskulls are terrified.
The BPP’s budding alliance with elements of the National Front, and with the so-called “Racial Volunteer Force” and “British Freedom Fighters”, lies in tatters. Even McDermody wasn’t thick enough to think that a small group of aging boneheads could protect her from the righteous anger of the people of Leeds. She and BPP dogsbody Kevin Watmough had loose cannon Tony White arrested, and the Toytown Stormtroopers woke up to the fact that they were being sacrificed to McDermody’s ego…
Cruel perhaps, but fair.
In any event, according to reports, the BPP protest was tiny enough to rival the dizzying heights of popularity the (Orstralian) Patriotik Yoof League experienced during its very brief day in the sun. A mad Marxist from a Trotskyist groupuscule, for example, claims a mere eight BPP members and supports attended (mind you, they also claim the BPP is “headed by a man recently imprisoned for making nail bombs and downloading child pornography”; a reference, presumably, to Martyn Gilleard).
The same revolutionary yoof also claims that “Workers Power’s youth group, Revolution, led the demonstration”.
Another account, by sarah_a67, reckons the protest was organised by Love Music Hate Racism. (She also writes that “The police, who had been quite cooperative, stopping cars and stuff on the way, turned nasty when we were standing in the street. I’d not taken part in a march before, nor been at the hands of police brutality, but now I’ve done both.”) LMHR, in turn, writes: “Leeds LMHR & UAF activists were among hundreds in an excellent turnout in Leeds today against a risible protest by the Nazi “British People’s Party” against “black hip-hop”. Report to follow.”
Dave Kirk (of Trotskyist groupuscule, the Alliance For Workers Liberty) claims — correctly, as far as I can tell — that the counter-protest was called by Antifa, and half-heartedly supported by UAF (note that the local Leeds UAF group’s site is dormant). According to Dave, relatively few attended on behalf of UAF, and the majority of those who did take part were young anarchists and socialists (the trade unions having no formal presence). On the other hand, elsewhere the AWL claims that “Workers Power and ourselves [should] take credit for making sure that [the] political level was raised by [our sloganeering] and indeed that the counter-demo took place at all”.
In any event, in the absence of UAF control, the counter-protest was a little more lively than it might otherwise have been, and the 17 — yes, that’s right: seventeen — neo-Nazis organised by the BPP to mope about outside a record shop were massively outnumbered, both by police and their political opposition. Had the BPP not arranged for police protection, it’s highly likely their re-emergence on the streets of Leeds would have been short and sweet. The BPP itself claims “Twenty one, yes a mere twenty one, BPP members and supporters stood tall amongst hundreds of Marxist scumbags in Leeds city centre yesterday.”
Today Leeds HMV; tomorrow, the world!
Among those who attended, in addition to the comical leader of the BPP, Kate (Mc)Dermody, was an 11 year-old grrl. She angrily demanded ‘White Music For White People’ — apparently — although I suspect HMV has sold out of Prussian Blue. Sadly, in disappointing news for spotters, Wigan Mike didn’t brave the Marxist hordes in Leeds: his absence, presumably, an exercise in solidarity with his neo-Nazi comrade Tony White. Unfortunately for Tony, he was recently arrested by police for possession of racist material — allegedly as a result of information supplied to them by the BPP. As for the hundreds of police temporarily recruited by the BPP as their security detail, they came at a price, as the Party’s fuehrer provided ZOG — ZOG! — with the names of all those attending.
As ever, the most entertaining and informative account of the BPP’s practical demonstration of White supremacy on the streets of Leeds is provided by Antifa. In summary: “What we saw in Leeds yesterday was the reality of the BPP’s attempt to “take back the streets”: a pitifully small, ramshackle collection of aging neo-Nazis, hiding behind a huge police presence, not even close to a member of the public, moaning half-pissed to each other for 45 minutes, then scuttling off like a nonce beneath a blanket”. Equally comic is Kate’s take:
After thinking about yesterday I have remembered a few things that I just wanted to mention. First off was Jess, the eleven year old boy who showed us all what pride is all about when he went straight to the front and stood on top of the barrier with a flag flying from his hand and screaming ‘red scum’ at the degenerates gathered ogainst us. He was an absolute inspiration to every Nationalist in this Country.
Brings a tear to your eye doesn’t it?
…and the other mob
Of course, the BPP is merely the poor retarded cousin of the British National Party (BNP), and while Kate (Mc)Dermody may one day be transported to the colonies for her many crimes against common decency, good taste, logic, reason and the English language, Nick Griffin, the BNP’s Fuehrer-for-Life, is in the process of applying for a visa to enter Australia in December. A newly-formed leftist thinktank called Catalyst is calling on the Australian Government to deny Griffin a visa. On October 17 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans released the following statement to Catalyst, which merely reiterates the legal situation:
All non-citizens who wish to enter Australia must satisfy the requirements of the Migration Act and regulations, including the character test.
The character test includes provisions to ensure that a non-citizen will not vilify, incite discord in or represent a danger to the Australian community, or a segment of that community.
Griffin has not yet applied for a visa. If and when an application is made it will be assessed against the character requirements.
The Labor Party strongly opposes the fostering of extremism, hatred, division and incitement to violence.
Elsewhere, Irfan Yusuf has expressed his opinion on the question ‘Nick Griffin: to visa or not to visa…’, (Crikey/Planet Irf, October 16, 2008).
