The EDL organises a poorly attended march

A few anti fascist types organise to shout at them as they pass

Both sides wildly exaggerate the numbers attending and the impact on society

The British public ignore both and simply get on with their lives

To be honest more locals were put off opposing the EDL, by Anti-Fascist Network encouraging their supporters to do a "bloc" (wear black hoodies and balaclavas etc), coming across like a bunch of nutters, than were encouraged to support the counter-protest

AFN spoke about "community" opposition but the visual message AFN actually sent to that community probably did more harm than good

do these muppets look like "the community"

I think you'll find the reason anti-fascists wear black and masks is purely to avoid identification, either by the state or by fascists. Although with the surveillance society we now live in, that becomes more and more difficult.

I'm sure they wear "regular" clothes at other times when they are in the "community" and opposing fascism in a less confrontational situation, as part of their day to day lives.

The government and their friends are still the most dangerous enemy - EDL are just useful idiots to them, chasing after scapegoats like Muslims. EDL are small-minded people, scared of change and of anything different. They aren't the brightest bulbs in the box, and people do tend to have a inbuilt fear of what they don't understand.

If you are some old Etonian pulling the strings of power and money, what better than to get the people who should despise you to instead join with you against a perceived common enemy?

The left say its ok for these kids to cover faces to avoid identification, but the same people then go away typing away slating fascists for covering their faces. Makes us look silly. Obviously the fash cover their faces for the exact same reason

"I think you'll find the reason anti-fascists wear black and masks is purely to avoid identification"? No shit Sherlock! From time-to-time I need to avoid identification too. The point is the advantages of that have to be weighed against the disadvantages of looking like an invading horde of fucking thugs (thugs who, in the eyes of ordinary locals, look about as trustworthy as most of the EDL), and either way the "avoiding" identification routine rang pretty hollow when black-bloc style uniforms mark anti-fascists out for the kind of mass arrests that saw several hundred activists nicked and (as a result) IDENTIFIED by the cops at the last Tower Hamlets demo!!

Subtle... the Anti-Fascist Network are not!!

Sometimes the easiest way to avoid identification is just to blend in

The other problem with the black-bloc is it's a very easy place to hide Fascist agent-provocateurs, right-wing journos and cops