Community Solidarity Stroud District invites all our supporters to join us at the Stop the Far Right – Stroud event tomorrow Saturday 10th August from 12noon at Wallbridge, organised by Stroud Love Music Hate Racism.
We have been distressed to see the dramatic upsurge in racist violence recently, as we were reeling from the horrific attack on children in Southport. Sadly, neither of these things have come out of the blue. Racism has been rising in recent years, particularly targetting Muslims and asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants – but as always entwined with anti-Blackness and willing to scapegoat anyone who can be marginalised, as racists aim to promote forms of white supremacy and nostalgia for the days of imperialism.
Our group exists to build community led solidarity in the Stroud district to oppose the hatred of minorities and oppressed people arising from false and harmful information. We launched in January 2022 to challenge the way in which a paper handed out for free in our District and nationally, calling itself “The Light”, had defended a man convicted of inciting racial hatred for broadcasting threats of violent antisemitism.
Since then we’ve written extensively on how “The Light” paper promotes the ideas, organisations, and individuals of the far right – including “Tommy Robinson”, whose work over decades and recent reappearance on twitter thanks to Elon Musk has done so much to stoke the racist violence we have seen in recent weeks. In Issue 31, “The Light” defended a previous protest that turned into a riot against asylum seekers being housed in a hotel in Liverpool, widely known to have been promoted by far right organisations including Patriotic Alternative.
In March 2023, “The Light” sought to suggest that “toxic masculinity”, and men’s “domination and rage” – of the kind resulting in the tragic consequences of the murders and violence inflicted in Southport – “could also be understood as men resorting to their innate biological responses in trying to cope when they find themselves trapped in an insane society.” And in February this year, it published an article that claimed “psychopathic” “elites” were deliberately “destroying” society through a programme of “mass economic immigration of alien cultures leading to the mass rape of young children”.
As This Ends Now said recently, “The weaponisation of this tragedy under the false guise of protecting women and girls is unacceptable, and a phenomenon we have seen before. This tragic crime should not be used as a justification for further hatred, racism and violence. Male violence against women and girls is an epidemic that cannot be solved by racist violence.”
We will be at the Wallbridge protest on Saturday in solidarity with people fearing possible racist and misogynist violence locally, and as part of a national upsurge in anti-fascist activity which is sorely needed.
We know that those of us who oppose the far right, racist and misogynist violence are many. Yet we must not be complacent, nor think that Stroud is immune. And we must remember that it is not only mainstream media organisations and politicians who have pushed racist rhetoric – but publications and people presenting themselves as “alternative” or “independent”. And let’s not forget the so-called comedian Katie Hopkins, who called refugees cockroaches, and who the local far-right brought to Stroud to do her “standup” act. Twice.
In 2010 the far right British National Party attempted to set up their media office in Salmon Springs in Stroud. Community opposition saw them off, but this year we’ve seen concerning developments.
The recent general election featured an “Independent” candidate for Stroud’s MP Saskia Whitfield, a person who publicly shared the most blatant far right content. Her candidacy was supported by the “infohub” that hands out “The Light” paper. She thankfully won fewer than 300 votes, but while that is an embarrassing result of 0.5% of the vote, it is a significant number of people willing to vote for someone who thinks the UK fought on the wrong side in the second world war. And, of course, over 6,000 people in Stroud constituency voted for Farage’s Reform party and its attempt to scapegoat migrants for every problem in the UK (and many candidates with vile views).
Earlier in the year, we saw the grim spectacle of people making excuses for two Nazi themed meetings – one organised to mark Hitler’s birthday, and another to promote the antisemitic conspiracy the Protocols of the Elders of Zion which the Nazis used to justify their genocide of European Jews.
Though the group that had organised these events cancelled them, “The Light” paper has since taken on the planned speaker, John Hamer, as a monthly contributor – giving him a platform to share antisemitic conspiracies about the reasons for the world wars.
In recent years we have seen the traditional far right joined and frequently supported by a new phenomenon – what others have called “the cosmic right”, “mirror world“, “conspirituality“, or “diagonalism” – where conspiracy influencers draw disillusioned, vulnerable, or fearful people to baseless theories and far right bigotry. People interested in alternative ideas, who are critical of how government managed the pandemic, or public services, or the climate crisis, are being preyed on and recruited into movements that dress up old antisemitic conspiracies in new language, and present opposition to feminism and anything that can be deemed “woke” as part of a return to “natural” hierarchies alongside their enthusiasm for “natural” medicine.
As some of you will know, The Times revealed that the millionaire who first spread false information about the man who killed three children in Southport, is known for spreading false information about covid and climate change, as well as anti-trans bigotry. She had been promoted by TalkTV and GB News. The words in her tweet led, following amplification by a Russian fake news aggregator website, and hateful grifters Robinson, Andrew Tate and Nigel Farage (click for a collation of links for more background on this person and their part in the story)
Racist riots and attacks followed, making clear beyond doubt the terrible real life consequences that can follow a few words of misleading, racist content.
Join us, Stroud Against Racism, the Radical Youth Space for Educations (the RYSE) and others at Stop the Far Right – Stroud event tomorrow Saturday 10th August from 12noon at Wallbridge, organised by Stroud Love Music Hate Racism.
More – read the Radical Youth Space for Educations statement on this week’s race riots.
Community Solidarity Stroud District 