To ask if you'll be attending the anti fascism protest on 13 September

[Whatafustercluck]

I'd like to go in solidarity with like minded people, but worry about it turning violent. I won't be taking my children and will likely be going alone. Lots of people I know detest Tommy Robinson but will stay away due to the likelihood of trouble, but I really want to help send a message that racism and hatred won't win. Is anyone here considering going, or decided to stay away?

So anyone who just discovered a thread and decided to join in later is, in your book, not entitled to join it late because to make a point in your view you have to have joined the thread right at the start.

Your insulting behaviour will really get you into trouble if you try it on outside the site where you have to say who you are.

God help anyone who crosses your path.

Lizzie, let’s be honest — you’ve been repeatedly rude and dismissive whenever people have tried, in good faith, to explain basic facts to you. Pointing out to me that I’m a British citizen wasn’t “comfort,” it was a way to minimise the very real anti-Islamic abuse and rhetoric that you yourself have been spouting.

And no, I haven’t been “sarcastic.” I mean every word I’ve said. If you don’t like the tone of the reply you got, maybe stop banging on about Sharia law, “rapists,” and other lazy tropes. You don’t get to throw around poison and then clutch your pearls when someone spits back.

Most Muslims I’ve known — in every community I’ve grown up in — are peaceful, respectful, intelligent, and charitable people. That includes asylum seekers. The way you talk about them says far more about you than it ever will about them.

I drove from the West Midlands to Manchester on the M6 yesterday and the England flag was flying on nearly every bridge.

Your behaviour has been far worse than anything I’ve said: dismissive, misleading, and packed with scare-stories. The lies you keep pushing will get you into more trouble than I’ll ever be in, because they don’t survive contact with facts.

And yes, I champion refugees in the real world too — not just online. I’m not “in trouble”; I’m telling the truth. Try it sometime.

If we are all so ignorant in your book, why not enlighten us all to what asylum law is?

It seems you should also write to the government, because they are saying that the boat crossings are illegal and are desperately trying to convince the public they are trying to stop the boats.

1000 migrants entered Britain on Saturday. 1,000 people running for their lives?

That makes 30,000 this year. So in 8 months 30,000 people have fled persecution and war and are deserving of asylum? You think they are all genuine?

30.000 desperate innocents, 30.000 folk running for their lives to UK because all the stops in between are unsatisfactory to them?

All 30,000 mainly young single men. What are they desperate for? Who is persecuting them? Are they fleeing to Christendom to convert?

90% plus of them are young single men, fit, marriageable and of military age. Why would you think so many thousands have come to our shore? Are you actually telling us that they are oppressed in their own countries and unable to find work in places where there is no unemployment benefit, and not enough women to go round?

Did you ever hear the story of Dick Whittington and his cat, how he had heard that the streets of London were paved with gold? They think us a land flowing in milk and honey.

They have heard that Britain has a free NHS. We don't. It is free when we need it, in that we don't pay at the door. That doesn't mean it is free. We pay for it in national insurance.

It is only free to them when they step off the boat will diseases they cannot get treatment for anywhere else. That does NOT make them asylum seekers, though God help up if that is what they think asylum seeking is = free health care and housing.

We are being warned that it may not be possible to have the state pension until age 70 because of the cost. If all those 30,000 people stay here until old, how long will people wait for the pension, age 80? By that time, if any more are allowed to stay, everyone will be on pension credit, not just migrants. You think those 30,000 fleeing for their lives are justified? Innocent? Skilled workers? All fleeing persecution? Rather they are fleeing because where they come from they are expected to work for a living.

There is another consideration: what happens if they do not get what they want? We already have more than enough people stealing from shops. What if enough of them are overwhelming? What if some start shoplifting as a threat? We are told they don't have a lot of money given to them. Crowd shopping?

They come from countries which have no benefit system. They have to work if they want to live, and they think there are enough wealthy people in UK that they pay for everyone who is out of work and migrants to have a house, food, clothing, a phone, everything they need, and free dental, mental, physical treatment, sight tests and a lot more, because they do not have to find their own cost of living.

You think that for the sake of perhaps 1% genuine all should get the best UK has to offer? Watered down by migrants, what, exactly, does the UK have to offer? Wait until the winter, when you are cold and they are toasty warm on your taxes.

Do you really believe that for the sake of one or two, all should be given the best of British?

I can only assume that you are extra wealthy and have nothing better to do with your money than give it away to strangers.

' I champion refugees...' what sort of virtue signalling is this talk?! Why don't you stopfocusing on your 'do gooder' image and look objectively at what really is going on within the borders of your homeland. Arguably people like you are a bigger part of the problem.

“Boat crossings are illegal.”
Wrong. Seeking asylum is a legal right under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which the UK signed. The way someone arrives does not make their claim invalid. The crossings happen because there are no safe legal routes for most nationalities — unless you’re Ukrainian or Afghan under limited schemes, there’s literally no visa you can apply for.

“1,000 migrants entered Britain on Saturday… are they all genuine?”
The majority are. Home Office data shows most people crossing the Channel have their asylum claims accepted, because they’re fleeing war and persecution — places like Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan. If they weren’t “genuine,” the Home Office wouldn’t be granting them refugee status in such high numbers.

“30,000 mainly young single men.”
Lazy stereotype. In fact, nearly half are families, women, and children. And even when young men travel, it’s often because they are the ones strong enough to make a dangerous journey first, then apply for family reunion visas to bring wives, sisters, and children safely afterwards. which, if you were paying attention, you would know the home office is in the process of tightening and restricting

“They just can’t find work at home / not enough women.”
Nonsense. People aren’t risking drowning in the Channel because of dating problems. They’re fleeing civil wars, dictatorships, forced conscription, torture, and religious persecution. Try telling a Sudanese refugee that he came here because he couldn’t get a girlfriend that’s an insult.

“They think the streets are paved with gold / want free NHS.”
False. Most asylum seekers know they face hostility here. They don’t get to “jump the queue” for healthcare — they get emergency access, the same as anyone else. And the NHS isn’t free because of them — it’s underfunded by government policy. The idea they’re coming for “free glasses and dental” is tabloid fantasy.

“Only 1% genuine, why should all get the best of British?”
Again, fact-check: Home Office acceptance rates for Channel crossers are over 70%. That’s not 1%, that’s the majority. And “the best of British” is a bitter joke when we’re talking about grim hotels, £6 a day in support, and years stuck in limbo unable to work.

“You must be wealthy to care.”
No, just human. Compassion isn’t a luxury item — it’s a basic moral stance. And refugees aren’t freeloaders; given the chance to work, they contribute in taxes and skills, often in areas where Britain is desperate for labour, like the NHS, construction, and care work.

Every single point in that rant is built on either a myth or a distortion. The crossings happen because the UK closed legal routes. The majority are genuine refugees. They’re not here for “freebies” or women — they’re here to survive. The real scandal isn’t them, it’s the way politicians and people like you twist the truth to stir up fear.

And as for "Christendom" well... most of us consider THAT an archaic word, not relevant any more. What are you, a crusader from the middle ages??

👏 well said (as always) 💙

Are you in charge of who can comment on this thread now? So bloody rude!

Awkwardasfuck you are deluded ...read the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer..you would fit the narrative

of the concept 'stupidity'

I will never understand why they pay so much for their tickets, because that sort of money will set them up in business where they come from.

Something else is going on. Perhaps they are not paying themselves, or their family? Who?

Nor do I think that the government is not doing enough to stop them. Surely someone must know which factory makes all those life vests. Surely those inflatable boats must be made by someone? Who else uses them? If the boats are deflated and brought back by the coastguards, are they thrown away or examined scientifically?

Surely a competent CSI unil would be able to find the makers? If not, then our safety is at stake. Our military and CSI, MI5 et al should be able to discover where they are made and by whom? It makes me feel very vulnerable, that people can come here in boats and life vests which must surely be traceable and allowed in? We deserve better.

Clearly not, its an open forum. HTH

Simon, do you actually know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was? He was a German pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for resisting Hitler and standing against fascism. He literally gave his life opposing the kind of dehumanising rhetoric you’re parroting here.

So if you think calling me “a Bonhoeffer type” is an insult, you’ve managed to choose the worst possible example. Being compared to someone who fought Nazis, sheltered Jews, and refused to stay silent in the face of hatred is about as flattering as it gets. You’ve basically admitted I’m on the right side of history.

And since you clearly didn’t consider this: I’m an atheist. I don’t need Bonhoeffer’s theology to see the value of his courage. The irony is that by dragging his name in here, you’ve shown you don’t even understand the story you’re invoking.

So let’s be clear: Bonhoeffer stood up to fascists. You’re repeating fascist talking points. Quoting him against me isn’t just wrong — it’s the epitome of stupid.

What exactly are you trying to imply here??

I'm not shocked often on MN but this has taken my breath away.

😆it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt....you clearly didn't understand what I was actually referring to here...

I mean, that seems to be the only way of reading their post, yes.

Perhaps simon can explain.

Here's a non sarcastic well meaning factual reply that you will probably once again ignore because you are so hell bent on clinging to ignorance but here goes.

Dinghies and life jackets are mass-produced in China, bought cheaply on the black market by smugglers. You can’t trace them back to a “factory” any more than you can trace a Primark T-shirt. Families pay thousands because smugglers exploit desperation — people sell everything, borrow from relatives, do whatever it takes. And they risk it because there are no legal asylum routes from places like Sudan, Syria, or Eritrea. If there were, they wouldn’t be gambling their lives on a rubber raft. Its very simple.

If you research properly you will understand what is meant by my comment

Let's be clear, everyone is fully aware of what you are saying and it's deplorable.

Your stupidity is dangerous

I have tried and found an excoriating review of a recent film and a Christian website criticising the film. I didn't understand an awful lot of it but it seems his legacy has somehow been co opted by the American Right, erroneously according to Christian Concern.