Sunderland police station set on fire

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

It appears that the rioters have set Sunderland police station on fire

news.sky.com/story/southport-violence-stabbings-attack-riot-london-hartlepool-misinformation-sky-news-blogs-13186819

If these people are so patriotic, why aren't they inside watching the Olympics and supporting GB?

I don’t disagree with you but if we are going to prevent this happening in the future we have to understand what people see in the far right. We can call them thugs, scum, racist and believe me I’ve watched parts of my city on fire tonight and I’ve called them all these names. Why else would this unrest be predominantly in the north and other deprived areas? We’re not more predisposed to violence and racism up here so there must be more to it.

Muslims, apparently.

They have a tendency to meet at/near mosques.

Probably because some of the GB team are not white enough.

@TattiePants FWIW I think the north has more poverty and these people need people to blame for their poor fortune and misery. They scapegoat the foreigners and say that it's due to them draining resources, taking jobs etc that they are less fortunate. There are community tensions and they're driven by the blame game.

Right wing type organisations — used to be National Front but could be called anything these days —- are revving people up on SM to riot. All very racist. There are a lot of not very bright people, a lot of people hyped up on drink and drugs, a lot of people who just like violence & running amok. They’re probably hoping that being one in a crowd they won’t be arrested.

Some years ago when Boris was London mayor he bought 3 water cannon but they were deemed illegal and never used. I don’t like Boris but water works well at dispersing crowds. They just get wet and a bit of vegetable dye in the water does a good job of marking them…… Minimal risk to police, police dogs.

They are looting as well

https://x.com/TeesPix/status/1819470461073608937

Free vapes, that will show them Muslims we want our country back.

The fact that some people have a different skin colour. HTH.

and protecting children apparently, with some new trainers

Oh yes,I stole these trainers for our children. That will stop the boats.

I live in the North and I'm Asian married to a white guy.
Trust me when I say there's a lot of well off middle class people who hold these views. They might not be the type to yob off in the street but they certainly vote to the right and don't want immigration/blame immigration for a lot of their problems.
The EDL move and mobilise in different parts of the country - they may not even be from the north. I actually think the Southport ones were from London listening to their accents.

Alot of people who are racist don't know many Asians or Muslims and swallow what the media tells them.

A recent report actually said 75% of our economic growth in the last decade was down to immigration but you'll not hear this. In fact I had to re-read this a few times to understand it as the media and govt paint a different picture.

@PeapodRas I did wonder if the rioters were definitely all from the north. It makes sense transport may have been organised for some from London. Could be gang involvement, I don't know, given the amount of youths in some of the footage.

How will that help? Don't feed their victim mentality. The police will deal with it.

I stay in a small coastal town in Scotland. Where I live isn't terribly multicultural, though diverse heritage isn't unusual - I've grown up with friends and neighbours whose parents/grandparents moved to Scotland from places like China and India.

I've always thought multiculturalism was one of the UK's strong suits - we're far more willing than much of Europe, and I think the friends and neighbours I have would say they feel very much part of the community.

I hear what people are saying about racism, and it absolutely IS an issue. Undoubtedly it motivates many of these protestors. Is there more to it though, ie are there valid concerns which the extremists exploit? As someone who doesn't live in a very diverse location, my question is not about race but about culture. I read and see a lot of assertion online that there is a sizeable instance of people from Islamic countries moving and living in the UK with no intention or effort to embrace local culture. Is this just a far right lie being peddled online, or is there truth to it?

I might be confused but I thought EDL had gone the way of the BNP - into oblivion.

So the references to EDL being involved... is that literally true does anyone know? Are they back? Or what?

Maybe I'm confusing them with some other gang of racist thugs.

I think the large vote for Reform have emboldened their most thuggish supporters to actual violence, and the false rumours about the Southport stabber kicked it off.

They want free tattoos on the NHS for unemployable white men and a bit part in any movie for Laurence Fox.

Depends if you believe Suella and Tommy 10 names.

They’re one and the same really. The far right doesn’t have a proper organised group or mission, they’re mainly about riots and sharing things on Twitter. They’ve always had their surges - I remember a big one around 2007/8 I think, when the leader of the BNP was (unless false memory?) on Question Time and a shitload of BNP councillors were elected. It’s sort of shapeshifted over the years and around every 5-10 years there’s a kind of resurgence before they fade off a bit which is what we are seeing now.

Well that's my question. Is it a far right lie, or is there truth in it? I'd like to hear the reality from people who live in diverse (densely populated) areas/cities.

I live in a very diverse area. The real issues they exploit is poverty, disadvantage and people fucking struggling a lot while the middle and upper class do not care.

It would be discrediting to say there are absolutely NO issues around immigration in the UK - most countries have some kind of issue, whether it’s the volume, integration, practicalities (services and houses mainly), human trafficking and so on. South Africa has had a few issues lately, as have Kenya etc. It really isn’t purely a ‘white’ issue and making out it is shows a massive lack of knowledge around globalisation and other cultures. I was listening to a podcast yesterday about girls trafficked from Uganda to work in Baghdad as cheap labour (really sad, and shows how desperate for work many are they would allow themselves to be transported to a very unsafe place for the opportunity to earn money).

I think we do have to face up to the issues in the UK which are purely numerical. Our population is too large for the space we have. How we solve that is anybody’s guess as immigration is needed in some areas, and we must stay as a globalised country that isn’t shut off from the world, especially in light of Brexit. But, like transgender issues, it’s too sensitive to discuss and later on everyone will be wondering ‘why they didn’t do anything about it at the time’.

Well apparently it's because no one is listening to them. I mean we can't hear what they have to say because of the sound of breaking glass!

That Question Time incident is such an important an example of why platforming someone in a way that makes them appear legitimate proliferates their views even if they are thoroughly disproven in the process. The whole ordeal made the BNP look stupid but still boosted their polling. It’s really important that when the media discuss issues like this it does not present these racist thugs as legitimate politically in any way.