A look into the mind of an EDL supporter

reply to post by waynos


You haven't studied it very well have you.

Originally posted by Mads1987
It could be interesting to get a debate going about what measures a society can take, to combat this kind of ignorance.

However we look at this it come down to education. That's either people becoming educated in the realities of how this country came to be, or educating people to be able to think for themselves.

The biggest problem that I can see is that many of the idiots in this country cannot read, or refuse to read, or when they do read they simply trust what they are told.

However, I also think there should be laws in place to hold tabloid press to account for what they say. There should be a requirement for all papers to offer an equal retraction when something is legally found to be slanderous or otherwise inaccurate. I think tabloids should be forced to state clearly that they are NOT NEWSPAPERS and opinions should be labeled as such.

I know many might disagree and find it unfair of me to say it, but as someone who has followed this story of the EDL (and others) over the last few years, there is a clear lack of even basic intelligence amongst these people.

Yes, people can complain about me saying that all they like, but this is my perception, as enforced by their poor literacy skills, their poor comprehension, their complete lack of independent thought and their inability to debate... these people are idiots, plain and simple.

I think there is a core group of real fascists, and they prey on the idiots, duping them, lying to them, convincing them that it's all about "national pride" when they don't even know the history of their own nation.

The real worrying thing is that there are a lot of these complete idiots, and they all have the right to vote.

Ah the EDL... They tend to be badly educated morons.

reply to post by AngryCymraeg


And Muslims tend to be intolerant terrorists.

You probably disagree with that sweeping generalisation yet make exactly the same type of sweeping generalisation in your assessment of EDL.

Double standards at best.

Media coverage of the recent EDL march in Newcastle focussed on 4 drunken white males chanting EDL yet conveniently ignored the other 2,000+ who were silently protesting - and it is that sort of manipulation of events that help formulate the sterotyped image of EDL and many of it's supporters.

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by AngryCymraeg

 

And Muslims tend to be intolerant terrorists.

You probably disagree with that sweeping generalisation yet make exactly the same type of sweeping generalisation in your assessment of EDL.

Double standards at best.

You're missing the point. The EDL aren't representative of the English public, in the same way that extremist muslims aren't representative of Islam. I can generalise about the EDL and extremist muslims because they've separated themselves from the rest of the pack and each have more strongly shared beliefs.

reply to post by IvanAstikov


How have EDL seperated themselves 'from the rest of the pack'?

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by IvanAstikov

 

How have EDL seperated themselves 'from the rest of the pack'?

By creating an organisation whose shared beliefs the vast majority of the public want no part in.

The EDL is pretty much against anything I stand for, it is (as far as I can tell) riddled with ignorance and racism and and what appears to be a bunch of ex or wannabe hoolies looking for somewhere else to vent their anger.

However,

Instead of relying on youtube videos of drunken EDL members (which will always be the focus of any videos against them - standard propaganda.) to form an opinion, I managed to find an independent report based on statistics from a Yougov survey of British adults in 2012. Whilst I do realise that there is room for error within it, it seems to me to show a definite lean to a xenophobic attitude with a mindset that is not adverse to violence.

"Counter Jihad" Survey

I would also like to add, whilst I am against the morals and values of this organisation I would defend their right to peaceful protest.

reply to post by Truth_Hz

If the EDL want to occupy a park or similar patch of land and hold Englishness Awareness days, I'd fight for their right to do that, but if they want to march through places like Bradford and Oldham in a futile "show of strength" intended to antagonise the locals, I'd be fighting on the side of those who want to stamp them into the ground.

reply to post by IvanAstikov


Hence my highlighting of "peaceful"

anyone breaking the law should be arrested..

Originally posted by Freeborn
reply to post by AngryCymraeg

 

And Muslims tend to be intolerant terrorists.

You probably disagree with that sweeping generalisation yet make exactly the same type of sweeping generalisation in your assessment of EDL.

Double standards at best.

Nope, I can speak from experience and say that all the EVIDENCE I have seen shows them to be - on the whole - barely literate buffoons.

The EDL members I have spoken to on Twitter, Facebook, forums and blogs etc, have all been barely literate, have no concept of national history, cannot debate you when you point out their BNP and C18 links (and yes, I did notice you abandoned that discussion when I presented the evidence of the EDL/Nazi links - yet you still defend them, interesting).

The difference here is that 99.9% of the Muslim citizens being abused and attacked in our country have done NOTHING WRONG AT ALL, and there is no reason to even make the connection between them and terrorism.
On the other hand, we can all go and look at the EDL opinions, Tweets, Facebook posts and so on and see their complete idiocy for ourselves!

It's not a generalization if it's f'ing true!

reply to post by Rocker2013


On May 25th an EDL march took place in Newcastle.
MSM reported 1500 attended, I have heard from people who were there, some just shopping or there for a day out and a handful who attended the march, estimations ranging between 2,000 and 5,000.
I suspect that there may have been slightly more there than the 'official' figure and quite a bit lower than the higher one.

MSM reporting focussed on 4 bald headed, topless drunken men 'singing' EDL - and ignored the 1496+ other's who were marching peacefully.
Of course there were more than just 4, but they were not representative of the vast majority on that march.

The general consensus becomes the image of the minority that is projected by MSM.

Many EDL are complete morons and pathetic wannabe's.
But there is an increasing number of reasonable, well adjusted and respectable people who are increasingly drawn towards EDL simply because they are perceived to be the only group who are voicing the concerns of a large and growing section of our society.

The ignorant, moronic one's are the types who flock to the social media sites to spout their message of hatred etc - and they should be rooted out and treat like the knuckle dragging scum they are.
But it is the silent one's who are searching for a voice who deserve to be heard and acknowledged.

(and yes, I did notice you abandoned that discussion when I presented the evidence of the EDL/Nazi links - yet you still defend them, interesting).

I've never backed down or abandoned anything in my life - I may have missed your post which contained 'evidence', this may come as some surprise but I do have quite an extensive life outside of ATS - please direct me to it so I can respond accordingly.

And I'm not defending EDL - read my posts, I'm pretty clear and transparent in my dislike and disdain for them - I merely trying to point out certain inconsistencies in how they are portrayed and how Muslim extremists are and offer some sort of reasoning and understanding why a growing number of people are being drawn to them.