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March against the BNP disaster

Red wreck | 22.06.2008 08:28

What an awful day!

Several hundred turned up, not the 10,000 the Swappies are claiming.
The speeches were boring and patronising.
Utter waste of time. For God sake this was supposed to be a national mobilisation against the BNP!
Most people drifted off after a while, with many of us retiring to the pubs to get away early from the SWP androids.

Red wreck

Additions

True

22.06.2008 11:20

have to agree with you - although I would say there were 2,000 rather than hundreds

RPG

agreed

22.06.2008 11:30

few pics at:

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/smash-the-bnp-yawn/

riotact
Homepage: http://johnnvoid.wordpress.comy

Recruitment

22.06.2008 11:33

the march was more about the SWP trying to recruit more members than any serious attempt to counter the BNP. Numbers weren't great but not a low as a few hundred. I reckon a good half the people on the march didn't bother to hand around the Square for the speeches (we certainly didn't).

least it didn't rain

Kentanarchist

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Why this event now?

22.06.2008 11:26

It seems a bit random to have this event now. Wouldn't it have been more effective before the elections this year? Although I am agains the BNP, I just don't think they are much to be worried about when the 'moderate' Tory/Lab machine is doing such terrible things to the world.

Ruby

definately recruitment

22.06.2008 19:46

Got this from an SWP bloggers blog comments:

"len len, i think me and you need to have a word in private! For a start, well done for the pics, I certainly had a smashing time. However, as a lenblog regular, don't you think it is high time you splashed my face on your blog whilst I am at it! For instance, I recruited 1 new member today, sold loads SW, a few of Chris B's new pamphlets and shouted my lungs out on smashing the BNP. I was so happy that in my desperate attempt for publicity I agreed to be interviewed by a capitalist journalist. Given the fact that I made a pact with myself never to partake in the British capitalist publicity machine after the guardian banned me for telling the emperial dog Nick Cohen the truth, to my shame I gave in today. But thanks to slobadanmbaqanga the god of Zeus, the capitalist journalist was from South Korea. Sadly, she does not know our sister party "All Together" nor my best friend C J Parker.
"

-

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2008/06/anti-bnp-protest.html

fly posters

Come and smash the RWB instead!

22.06.2008 22:17

Yes, a boring SWP-fest by all accounts. For some *effective* mass mobilization against the BNP, be at the demo against the BNP's Red White & Blue festival in August - a real chance to give the BNP a (metaphorical) bloody nose!

See

http://nobnpfestival.wordpress.com/

Be there!

Marie Warner

Want to give the BNP a (literal) bloody nose?

22.06.2008 23:44

Think the BNP can be defeated by voting Labour or for some middle-class tourist standing on a left-wing ticket?

Want to waste your time on pointless marches waving a lollipop or standing behind police lines shouting trite slogans at the BNP, instead of going in and dealing with them directly?

Fancy being bossed around by clueless ‘stewards’ who collaborate with the cops?

Want to be recruited into the Socialist Workers Party?

If so, you should contact the UAF.

If you want to get on with the job of smashing fascism contact your local Antifa group.

Now mobilising to stop the RWB.

...
Homepage: http://www.antifa.org.uk

how dull

23.06.2008 09:29

that march looks proper gash. I wonder what PR consultants the UAF has that suggested a march would be a good idea, they are clearly 14 years behind the BNP.

March = no indication of anything, huge expense and potential embarassing washout.

But there's the chance to recruit!!!!

except, is there even? I wonder how many people you can be recruting when your marches are getting so small. I guess it's just a revert to type after losing so much over the RESPECT debacle - back to square one comrades, march and grow, march and grow!

PS - yes please get involved with disrupting RWB where there will actually be some fascists.

L&S

Trying to recover from past failure.

23.06.2008 12:58

I went to the antibush demo to find Parliament square virtually empty, with a cluster of about a 1,000 people around a platform with boring speakers and recruiting stalls in every corner. And the antiwar rallies have been smaller and smaller every time.
Someone at the SWP must have thought that a good way of regaining momentum was to organise another demo around an issue that would be popular, in this case antifascism.
The fact that this has not been successful either only shows the sorrowful state in which their strategy of marching and listening to your local leader speeches has put the left in. They truly have wrecked it by boring every one out of their commitment.
And they have no one else to blame other than themselves.

AFer

2-3000 isnt that bad, about as many as at last RWB& with less funds etc

23.06.2008 14:55

2-3000 isnt that bad, as many as at last RWB& with less funds etc. Nice to people that went, nazi scum

Jamie

rolf

23.06.2008 21:07

"that march looks proper gash"

I have been having a shit day, you put a smile on my face with that. nice one.