The United Kingdom woke up Sunday morning to city streets covered in debris and smoldering rubbish as a weekend of far-right, anti-immigration demonstrations — stoked by conspiracy theories spread on social media — erupted into violence in seven cities across the nation.
Police arrested at least 100 people, and riot police wearing helmets and holding shields came out in force as Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to take action against “extremists.”
On Saturday, groups in Leeds waving St. George’s Cross flags, England’s national flag regularly flown by far-right groups, shouted “Muslims off our streets,” pairing it with a slur suggesting they were criminal child abusers. In the city of Hull, rioters threw bottles and smashed a window at a hotel housing asylum-seekers as demonstrators clashed with police.
What started as targeted anti-immigration demonstrations quickly descended into directionless disorder. A library in Liverpool, reopened in 2023 as an “education to employment” service for people of all abilities, was set ablaze.
Just goes to show that conservatives are the single biggest threat to civilised societies everywhere.
How do we deal with them? It should be obvious by now that something needs to be done, but the rest of us can’t just go full conservative and shove them in extermination camps like they’d do to us
Honestly, get rid of the tabloids full of misinformation. Make blatantly false misinformation illegal. Better education. “The more you know 💫” adverts. The biggest problem is the Torries who blame everything they can on immigrants. They need to legally be held accountable for the mountain of lies.
Make blatantly false misinformation illegal
Notably that’d only help if the majority of misinformation is coming from somewhere your legal system can reach
Not to mention that then it’s up to someone in power to decide what “misinformation” is
Honestly, get rid of the tabloids full of misinformation.
In Germany, press law says that if you publish false information about someone, they can sue you to publish a correction – placed as prominently as the original article. Which is how you get front pages like this: Counter-statement by the offended party, to the square millimetre as large as the original title.
Now don’t get me wrong the Bild is still abhorrent. But that kind of accountability through embarrassment does make them think thrice.
Another approach would be anti-monopoly laws. Haven’t looked into the actual ownership structure but by what they’re writing and pushing the British press seems to be basically wholly owned by Atlas-affiliated people.
I hate to be that guy in this context but perhaps a governmental “ministry of truth” isn’t all that optimal.
Free education alone would massage the issue, so would actively combating and preventing foreign states attempts to stoke the flames (China and Russia on Social Media).
Perhaps we shove them into “education” camps instead?
(Like high school / secondary school)
They’ve been to the same schools and have access to the same information we all have, though.
Yes, but did they take it seriously?
The question is do they even have the capacity for taking schooling “seriously”.
Some do. A lot of them don’t – there’s are multiple empirical scientific studies that show conservatives are more likely to be… well, in a word, stupid. Here’s a study I saw someone quote on Lemmy earlier:
- Does Lower Cognitive Ability Predict Greater Prejudice? [T]here exists a solid empirical paper trail demonstrating that lower cognitive abilities (e.g., abstract-reasoning skills and verbal, nonverbal, and general intelligence) predict greater prejudice. We discuss how the effects of lower cognitive ability on prejudice are explained (i.e., mediated) by greater endorsement of right-wing socially conservative attitude. […]
Right-wing ideologies offer well-structured and ordered views about society that preserve traditional societal conventions and norms (e.g., Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, & Sulloway, 2003). Such ideological belief systems are particularly attractive to individuals who are strongly motivated to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity in preference for simplicity and predictability (Jost et al., 2003; Roets & Van Hiel, 2011). Theoretically, individuals with lower mental abilities should be attracted by right-wing social-cultural ideologies because they minimize complexity and increase perceived control (Heaven, Ciarrochi, & Leeson, 2011; Stankov, 2009). Conversely, individuals with greater cognitive skills are better positioned to understand changing and dynamic societal contexts, which should facilitate open-minded, relatively left-leaning attitudes (Deary et al., 2008a; Heaven et al., 2011; McCourt, Bouchard, Lykken, Tellegen, & Keyes, 1999). Lower cognitive abilities therefore draw people to strategies and ideologies that emphasize what is presently known and considered acceptable to make sense and impose order over their environment. Resistance to social change and the preservation of the status quo regarding societal traditions—key principles underpinning right-wing social-cultural ideologies—should be particularly appealing to those wishing to avoid uncertainty and threat.
Indeed, the empirical literature reveals negative relations between cognitive abilities and right-wing social-cultural attitudes, including right-wing authoritarian (e.g., Keiller, 2010; McCourt et al., 1999), socially conservative (e.g., Stankov, 2009; Van Hiel et al., 2010), and religious attitudes (e.g., Zuckerman, Silberman, & Hall, 2013).
Realistically, the only real way to deal with them is counter-protest, but that’s difficult since the right has completely taken over the direct action/protest field in the past 10 years, so it’s a question whether or not the left can organize anymore (unless things get really bad, like how Antifa was very active during Trump).
We can try to combat misinformation and propaganda on the media to try and prevent this from even happening or telling people that it’s all bullshit, but it’s not effective since many popular sources directly benefit from this misinformation (be it in clicks or political goals) and either turn a blind eye or purposefully spread it (notable instance being Twitter).
Unless some sort of magical fairy-tale leftist revolution happens where most people get rallied under class issues and inequality rather than race and shared bigotry, this will probably continue happening more and more.
On Reddit, the UK subs got extra racist.
Maybe they’ve always been and I’m too thick of an American to understand. But top comments strongly hinting at violence was at the top.
The racists are getting louder because people like me are leaving Reddit. It’s fast becoming a nazi bar.
I got permabanned from reddit for calling out zionist bullshit.
I’m sensing some Israeli astroturfing going on. Many people are seeing Israel for what it is from since last year. In all this, Israel could use some diversion of attention.
And what better place to concentrate your efforts on other than the rise in islamophoia along with racism in current events. Help dehumanize your enemy abroad. Although the killer wasn’t even a muslim, they are still being targeted, even after the facts came out.
Seems very suspicious to me and Israel isn’t new to brigading and astroturfing. They in-fact have state-run programmes for it.
as does Russia. As does China. it’s in everyone’s interest to create shit sandwiches for the Brits to eat.
We aren’t all racist. Far right are just incredibly vocal. It’s the same everywhere. Left leaning population are also quieter.
They have always been. I had the option to move to England permanently and decided not to. The reality there is not pretty. If you’re a 100% white local you probably won’t notice.
If you’re 100% white you probably won’t notice.
100% white, cis, and straight.
There’s this transmasc / enby / bigender “influencer” (Eddie Engels) who’s planning on moving to the UK (and not exactly to what anybody would call a liberal-minded area either iirc) to be close to his currently long-distance boyfriend, and I feel sorry for the guy. He’s just such a quintessentially queer character that it’s likely he’s actually not going to be safe there, and I really don’t know if he’s thought this thing through too well…
the things we do for love 🤷
Edit: I had to check because somebody asked, but it was actually Bristol he’s moving to, which should be completely fine. Vague memory was vague, heh
I saw a young Asian-Canadian twitch live streamer visit one of the worse areas and he had no idea how close he came to being killed (at least until it was almost too late). A gang of teens with knives came after him. The second they pulled masks over their face I knew he was probably finished. Thankfully some cops saved him and dropped him back near his hotel in a tourist area.
Where did he move to?
Hasn’t moved yet. I did a quick search and turns out he’s moving to Bristol so it’s not as bad as it could be, I had a vague memory it was more up north
Bristol is great as long as he finds a nice area there etc he should do just fine. Generally very friendly, accepting etc. Obviously has some bastards around the edges but yeah. Has a green MP etc etc.
Oh yeah every place has its bastards, but like you said Bristol should be OK. I honestly remembered it was Birmingham or something, heh
What’s Birmingham like these days? Ages since I was there tbh.
Are they quintessentially Arab too?
Uh, what?
Sucks we ceded all social media to the racists and advertisers that encourage them because of how much more engaged they are online
Theyre european.
And europe as a whole is crazy racist. Just bring up roma, north africans, or middle easterners.
Gets real “they dont belong here” real fast
It’s not, it’s just that people with extreme views get a lot of attention/coverage. Those people exist, and there’s more than I’d personally like there to be, but they’re still in the minorty (those at the ‘crazy’ level, there is a lot of ‘racist lites’ of course). Just as an Englishman that I am, seeing the US being portayed as chock full of far right Trump worshippers wanting to overthrow democracy. Not least mention, Mexico.
Racist racist or “they disagree with me on this issue therefore they’re racist!”?
I dunno man. Depends on if “Typical immigrants” is racist to you or not. (Spoiler: it is)
"The latest demonstrations follow a week of riots in the country after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the town of Southport. At the center of the demonstrations was a conspiracy theory, spread on social media, based on a lie that the perpetrator was Muslim, an asylum-seeker or both.
Less than three hours after the attack on the girls, AI-generated images were shared on X by an account called Europe invasion, depicting a man in traditional Muslim dress waving a knife outside the U.K.’s houses of Parliament. The post has since been viewed over 900,000 times.
A TikTok account with no previous content that called for protests near the attack site also amassed almost 60,000 views within hours, a spokesperson for Tech Against Terrorism told The Guardian."
Wow it didn’t take long for ai to cause massive panic. Expect to see this kind of thing ramp up.
It was obviously gonna happen sooner or later, tbh I’m surprised it took this long
Where are all the children falling over themselves to defend China’s Tiktok? Surely there is a reason why this is totally okay.
Big shout out to the Punk Festival that organized a counter protest on the fly and helped clean up the shit heads. Truly fucking punk.
Protestors clash with police as Pro-Britain rally moves outside Rebellion Punk Festival
Later in the video, the crowds are seen up at St John’s Square, as the rally - which was partly about anti-immigration - moved outside the Winter Gardens, where Rebellion Punk Festival was taking place. Festival-goers can be seen amidst the protestors, some who were counter-protesting with anti-fascist banners while some helped to clean up the mess - including broken glass from bottles that were thrown.
Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
Friendly reminder Belfast is part of the UK and had similar violence
Article failed to mention that
When I read UK, I automatically assume it includes Northern Ireland and Scotland. Otherwise they would just say England.
You would be supprised how often they don’t when it’s shitty news
You should probably read different media.
Thankfully UK news isn’t that relevant to me.
I’m not up on UK politics, please explain to me why that needs to be pointed out.
Northern Ireland is on the Isle of Ireland, but part of the UK. Ireland has a fraught history with the UK. Look into “the troubles” if thats a new term to you.
I’m aware of that stuff, i just don’t see why it’s relevant to this current event
Because the headline talks about far right violence across the UK but fails to mention Belfast, which is a major city in the UK.
This is standard SOP for people to ignore NI in general, and im trying to highlight the “missing info”
Though there’s nothing happening in Wales or Scotland that I’ve read about.
Older I grow, more I understand that Mark Twain was right when he said that the only way to make human beings from some people is with a rifle.
While obviously the above shouldn’t be taken literally, they however should all be arrested, sentenced, locked up and keys thrown away.
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.
I’m surprised it hadn’t happened sooner tbh.
The police said “we don’t believe this to be terrorism related”, which seems to be code for “the suspect is not white, and Tommy Robinson is on the way”. Or he would have been had he not fled the country so he didn’t get arrested for something else.
There’s a lot of hate for the illegal immigrants that have been shoved into run down hotels up and down the country, often in the poorest areas. I often check my local Facebook groups, and no matter what happens (ducks found dead, dog missing, theft, rape) the response is always “Probably one of the Novotel lot!” It wouldn’t have surprised me in the slightest if rioting kicked off here as well. I suspect the only reason it hasn’t is we’re just not a big enough town for any of them to organise it.
The incident sparking this wave isn’t even for that fire. It’s a British guy who snapped. But people don’t care. It’s just an excuse now for a show of force.
It could all have been avoided by hiring more people to process applications back when the numbers started ramping up, but here we are with hundreds of thousands of immigrants awaiting decisions with nowhere else to go.
For a hot second there I thought the Bottle Blonde was one of our Howler Monkeys… and like … “oh good the UK arrested that bitch….” But no. It’s not Howler Monkey #2 (aka Marjorie Taylor Greene)
im astounded they were arrested
usually these news articles end with “and the police did nothing at all until a black teenager was spotted holding a churro and shot into a fine mist by 30 officers on scene”
This is in the UK, not the US, police aren’t as heavily armed there.
America dominates my news feeds to the point that I just assumed law enforcement was an internationally fascist agency
The climate protestors should take advantage of the strain on police resources to also riot.
So politcans not providing enoigh resources to process refugee climas …get elected and the hapless refugees get blamed ?
I guess it better then the outright repugnanucy that Australia does and just leaves people in offshore jails to die. Better being relative.here.
Refugees will only get much much worse under climate Change, so AI powered robot machine guns, like in Aliens, at the border ?
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/far-right-riots-erupt-uk-wake-child-murders-rcna165046
I just want the Stop Oil people to see what attention-getting protests look like to everyone else.
Hate-spewing riots?
Didn’t know just stop oil was doing that, last I checked they put cornstarch on Stonehenge which washed off a day later.
No it’s the throwing soup on paintings, vandalizing museums, gluing themselves to the street, blocking the only road to the airport, etc.
There are a few people who don’t see those acts as stupid and counter-productive. When that is mentioned they go right to “you’re just like southern whites who hated the civil rights protests” which - i do hate the stupid stop oil protests but I don’t hate positive protests, in fact I like them. The stupid selfie protests are not them.
It is suggested the attention-seekers are successful because we’re talking about them. My point is - yes, as idiots. If it wasn’t written in big letters on their shirts I’d have no idea what they were doing.
They will not be moved. Throwing soup in a museum is a brave, uh, act I am assured. I suggested blowing up a bus but they never got back to me.
Disruptive protests help activists causes:
Nearly seven in 10 of academics surveyed rated disruptive protest tactics as “at least quite important” to success of a movement . . .
. . . The results also contradict public opinion: polling by YouGov in February shows the vast majority (78%) of Britons think disruptive protest hinders activists’ causes. (emphasis added)
Well when academics are the only political force, then I’ll agree.
“I’m okay with racist protests based on misinformation, but I draw the line at throwing soup on a glass encased painting!!!”
No
I don’t get what you’re trying to say? Is this pro-rioting? Or just against protests in general? There’s really no comparison between the two, no?
I’m consistently informed that stop oil protests are successful because they attract attention.
I disagree. As a counter-example, here are some protests that attract attention, and yet I think we could agree they’d be hard-pressed to call them “successful”.
That’s the only connection.
Okay, but that still seems like a call to inaction so far. Do you have alternative suggestions?
I’m pretty sure stop oil protests are planned and paid for by oil companies
