At the recent alternative march to the presence of the EDL in Luton on May the 5th 2012, there were a number of speeches made by local people, trade unionists and MP's. I have been fortunate enough to get a transcript of one particular speech and have posted here in NNI.
'WE ARE LUTON.
And we are here today because there is an ever-increasing divide in the UK between people of different heritage. This divide is pushed on us by people such as Theresa May and David Cameron. Cameron who last February made a scandalous speech, whilst you were here standing against the oppression of the EDL, when he said that multiculturalism had failed in the UK. This divide and rule is accomplished through the mainstream media, whose sole purpose it seems, is to keep us in a perpetual state of fear and terror of each other.
A Fear and terror that is preyed upon by likes of Stephen Lennon and Saiful Islam.
The challenge is to rise above this daily indoctrination, led by the media, on how we should see one another. Like Martin Luther King I am proud to be “mal-adjusted to a sick society”, a society that stands by and watches as our liberties are eroded daily and the blame laid at the feet of Muslims.
I do not need to be a Muslim to know that Muslims are being targeted today, and let me be frank, it is white males like George Bush and Tony Blair, with the exception of Barack Obama, that have been the biggest terrorists and terror threat for the past 11 years, not Islam. We have to realise we all share a common heritage, the human heritage, that we have more in common with each other than we do differences and it is this fact that has led to me speaking here today.
There are no problems but human problems.
When we start to see ourselves as being human, not divided, not separate races, then we start to realise that we cannot sit idly by and watch as groups get singled out, and not stand in defence of them. It is all to easy to sit and point the finger of blame at everyone except ourselves for not making a stand, because we were too distracted by football or X-factor.
Once we have taken responsibility for the world we live in we have a duty to act.
Tensions in the town are high and it is everybody’s responsibility to do what we can, to undo the damage being done by a minority group of ignorant people that do not truly represent the people that they claim to.
Now I am going to say something that may not be popular but feel it is important. Hating the EDL will neither make them go away nor solve the problem. This goes for all extremist views. The leadership, if you can call it that, of the EDL have ignorant views on society and have been followed blindly by a misguided and ill-informed group of people.
Ignorance breeds fear, for you’ll always fear what you do not understand.
These extremists, like all people, are products of their environment. That is to say that if Stephen Lennon had been adopted at birth by a Muslim family, then I am sure his views on Islam would be vastly different to that of the rhetoric he spouts today.
This is human nurture over nature.
If the environment and experiences of these people are of a negative nature, with regards to different parts of the community, then the extremist views of people like Stephen Lennon and Saiful Islam will find a home to fester and grow.
So long as we continue to be conned into being divided up into groups we will change nothing, Muslims will fight for the Muslim causes, the nationalists will fight for their nations and the ignorant will fight for their idea of race.
Hate will only lead to more hate.
Positive experience is one way we can help to rebuild relations, in not only this town, but across the country. We are all connected in a way that no one yet fully understands and if we do not come together in brotherhood then we will perish as fools. As Jiddu Krishnamurti said “you have to be the light”, this means WE, have to be the light.
Which is why I am proud to stand here today with people coming together to make the change.
To demonstrate in a peaceful way is a much more powerful message than letting it descend into violence and confrontation, so I urge you evoke a spirit of non-violence today and on this note I will leave you with Martin Luther Kings view on non-violence;
"I am still convinced that nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom and justice.” '
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