There was a big English Defence League (EDL) march in Newcastle today. The EDL seems to be a new and pretty offensive anti-Islam movement, populated by British National Party supporters, with a similar ethos to the National Front. I would have liked to have attended the counter-protest by Unite Against Fascism, but I only heard about all this yesterday and didn't get my act together in time. I did go into town this afternoon, but by the time I got there, there was nothing left except for hundreds of police and an empty stage under Grey's Monument. By all accounts, the EDL supporters were outnumbered by UAF supporters, which makes me glad. I worry a little bit about English nationalism in Newcastle. I wonder why the white front door of a flat on Nuns Moor Road, surrounded by Asian businesses, was daubed with red gloss paint a couple of weeks ago, making a huge St. George's flag. I wonder why I had to take an EDL sticker off the door of the squash courts I use last week. Anyway, having missed the marches today, I was reading about them online, and came across this interesting video:
To my dismay, I know the EDL supporter interviewed 7mins 36 seconds in. He works for my landlord, who I believe is a Muslim, in the chip shop beneath my flat!
