Perhaps the singular qualification a gay pride organizer should have is not having “skinhead” on his resume. But that’s what Raymond Berry, an organizer of East London Gay Pride, does as a former member of the English Defence League, the radical and violent anti-Muslim group. After his fellow organizers learned of his racist beliefs, Berry resigned from the pride group, which was established after all those “gay free zone” stickers started popping up. Oh, and the group’s planned April event has been called off too. What’s next, NYC Gay Pride bans fellow proud Islamaphobe Michael Lucas from even watching from the street cub?
Fagburn
“After his fellow organizers LEARNED of his racist beliefs…”
Yeah, right.
This whole thing stunk from start to finish.
ousslander
I read that he left the skinhead org because he no lnger belived in what they stood for. The parade was cancelled because the other organizers were afraid it would upset the muslim population.
ridiculous all around.
Cam
Why would they cancel an event? They found out about that one guy, he left, but the fact remains, that there was an organized anti-gay effort including bashings in those neighborhoods and that needs to be addressed.
Tim_Wood
@cam, the anti-gay stickers had dubious origin. There was plenty of justified speculation that they had been put there by the very far right organisation of which the organiser was a part. The event itself was only ever going to be a protest against Islam and an attempt to make Muslims somehow solely responsible for homophobia in the East End of London. This is patently false, as anyone with even a basic intelligence would be able to point out. Things are a little more complicated and messy than the organisers of this “march” and their supporters would like to believe.
Devon
@Tim_Wood:
Yeah, there must be an evil, oppressive, white male to blame somewhere.
It’s not like Islam has a well-deserved reputation for being anti-gay or anything like that. I mean the Muslim world is the most open and free society for gay people the planet has ever seen. I don’t see why anyone would assume Muslims were anything but our best of friends.
Lefty
If they were put up by far right extremists to stir up tension then those far-right groups are just as homophobic and dangerous to us as Islamic extremists.
It’s starting to look more and more like these were put up by such people and the links between the East End Gay Pride march and the EDL is deeply suspicious.
What’s also worrying is that some gay people seem to want to ignore completely the possibility that this was instigated by the EDL.
tallskin2
WOW, I wouldn’t have believed that people are so gullible as to still think fascism bad but brown-skinned fascism good!
Amazing, you lefties seem to learn nothing.
Our bearded nazi muslim friends have marched through central london with banners demanding death to gays
They have previously handed out leaflets demanding gays cease and desist their sexual activities. So, we know certain muslims have done this before.
We also know that muslims gay bash in the east end of london.
Yet, mysteriously, suddenly, with no evidence whatsoever the EDL are put into the spotlight as the ones who put this latest batch of leaflets out there. And no-one, but no-one, has any evidence to support the accusation that the EDL did this.
StevenW
No-one has any evidence that ANY group were responsible for the initial homophobic poster campaign. To stand around pointing fingers is pointless – ignorance is always the enemy.
Until there is prrof either way, I laud the counter poster campaign response – much more constuctive.
Fagburn
@tallskin2: No prizes for guessing what your politics are.
This isn’t about who put up the stickers by the way, did you notice?
Lefty
@tallskin2: “still think fascism bad”
Still?
“but brown-skinned fascism good!”
Interesting turns of phrase.
Not sure where anyone said that fascism of any kind was good, but that seems like a moot point after reading your post, tbh.
RedickkJohnson
Using that guy’s past was just an excuse to cancel the parade. It was irrelevant. They are cowtowing to the Muslim population. Welcome to the beginning of a new Europe.
ousslander
The organizers especially Peter Thacthell, don’t wanna upset the muslims but have no problem getting in the face of christians. It’s simple hypocrisy, because one group is more likely to come at you.
ousslander
A man arrested and later released for the stickers was Asian. I doubt the EDL has many Asian members
RedickkJohnson
Two reasons, ousslander. The Gay Community still tries to push down everyone’s throats that foreign=good because it means precious diversity (no! foreign or “diverse” doesn’t always = good ). Also, they’re cowards when it comes to real confrontation against adversaries who actually will physically attack.
Fagburn
Ayone else get the feeling this has just gone up on the EDL messageboards?
Lefty
@RedickkJohnson: Yeah, dontcha hate it when the gay community tries to push their junk down everyone’s throats.
Soupy
Max, that is the exact equivalent of saying “we must destroy gays or gays destroy us.”
tallskin2
Fagburn you are SUCH a pompous and self-righteous fucking arsewipe with your boring, opinionated blog. You don’t know what my politics are. But I will say I am not concerned with appeasing brown skinned fascists who would put me to death given half a chance.
I will ask you again, cos you constantly fail to provide any evidence. Where is the evidence that the EDL put these homophobic posters up??
Can you give me an answer? No, of course you can’t.
When I was in OutRage! we constantly had arsehole lefties like you trying to spike our guns, obsessed with “issues around racism or working class solidarity” rather than fighting homophobia. We were constantly called racist by brain dead SWP lefties like you because we tackled all kinds of homophobia.
I think by copying and pasting an opinion will illustrate the difference between our two world views- from the Pink Paper debating this very issue:
“@paddy you are the one missing the point. Your arrogance and ignorance regarding the real issues affecting us queers in London are frightening. I was quite active with Outrage and QueerEruption back in the 90?s and we did not thought twice to invade a church, boycott a conference and stage a march to fight for our civil rights so now we have to put up with idiots like you who are in fact racists (racism of the small expectations, eg if it’s homophobia from non whites it’s ok) and their double standards who instead of defending the gay community prefer to
side with homophobes. You are a disgrace.”
Yep, fagburn, you are a fucking disgrace.
Fagburn
@tallskin2: From my first post on this
“Of course, there is a strong homophobic current among Islamists.
Last month five Muslim men were arrested in Derby for distributing a leaflet that called for the execution of gay men.
So we shouldn’t be surprised if some hate-filled Islamic f-ckwits have been plastering east London with these posters.
But equally I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out the EDL were behind it…”
http://www.fagburn.com/2011/02/anti-gay-posters-in-london-is-edl.html
Thank you.
Soupy
Max, you are homophobic lesbian who sniff ass. Read something.
Soupy
OMG! This must be love!
Soupy
@Max
Gazoink! crenecktra!
tallskin2
I think this comment from the Secular Society sums up my attitude to this abandoned march and the pain-in-the-arse lefties who tried to stop it.
Note: all religion is bollocks and fucks people’s minds.
http://www.secularism.org.uk/east-end-gay-pride-and-islamopho.html
East End Gay Pride and Islamophobia
“ADRIAN TIPPETTS looks at the culture clash in the (east) London Borough of Tower Hamlets
An attempt to stage a gay pride party, scheduled for 2 April in Tower Hamlets failed this week when it was revealed that one of the organisers, Raymond Berry, was a co-founder of the anti-Muslim group, the English Defence League (EDL).
The party was called in reaction to the appearance of stickers in Whitechapel and Shoreditch, declaring a ‘gay free zone’, complete with verses from the Koran. Faced with such intimidation, a group of locals decided enough was enough and it was time to hold a party, with drag queens and no politics from either extreme left or right.
The cancellation of East End Gay Pride (EEGP) was welcomed by local gay groups including rival pride organisers OutEast, the Muslim group Imaan and Tower Hamlets’ LGBT ‘community forum’, Rainbow Hamlets, who had been seeking its cancellation since the event was announced a month ago.
It should go without saying that the involvement of the EDL is not wanted. Their leadership demonise all Muslims as extremists; the rank and file have been filmed indiscriminately attacking Asians, including women and children.
However, even without the EDL link, far-left elements would still be seeking to sink the event now. For OutEast, the very consideration of a festival immediately after the sticker campaign “risks antagonising and scapegoating Muslim communities.”
It probably says more about OutEast’s contempt for the Muslim community’s sense of decency. Ever since the gay liberation movement started, the whole point of pride was to confront head on infantile prejudices about homosexuality. Asserting yourself, and saying “we’re here, get used to it” is always going to be confrontational, and for murderous thugs who regard our very existence as obnoxious, any rainbow flag will always be offensive.
It should be remembered where the intimidation has been coming from in recent years. The East London Mosque has been hosting and promoting a string of hate preachers calling for the replacement of the State with a Taliban-style Sharia government, and who have called for the death of gays, Jews and non-Muslims. Despite this, Rainbow Hamlets and others were perfectly happy to make a joint statement to condemn homophobia last month, without even asking for an apology.
EEGP’s decision to ban anti-fascist group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) from the event, also left the far left seething. This is ironic, since UAF stood on platforms with Islamic extremists. At a demonstration in June 2010, its members joined forces with hardliner Anjem Choudary, who called for sharia law executions to deal with adultery. These associations put East End Gay Pride’s EDL links into the shade.
Most disappointing is the LGBT left’s abdication of commitment to universal human values. OutEast seems more concerned that gay liberation and feminist movements are an excuse “to stigmatise migrants and Islam as a monolithic culture or Muslim people as uncivilised, barbaric terrorists or hateful invaders.”
No rational mind is attempting to stigmatise a whole group. But if we are to deal with the issue of homophobia and oppression of women within the Muslim community, the first step is to be honest about the problem. Sweeping it under the carpet will not help.
The gay Muslim group Imaan goes further, and seeks to drive anyone who should seek the abolition of Sharia law out of the LGBT movement, despite the overwhelming evidence that judgments passed on inheritance, child custody, divorce and domestic violence reinforce women’s subjugation.
The questionable alliances and collective denial about the problem of Islamic extremism in the borough cannot continue. Meanwhile Rainbow Hamlets blames the sticker campaign on the EDL.
Yet the sticker campaign is only one of a long series of acts of intimidation and violence against LGBT people, who have suffered assaults, harassment and abuse at home or on the street, causing some to leave the borough altogether.
Furthermore, homophobic hatred is but one manifestation of Islamic extremism in an area where a female councillor faced death threats for not wearing a headdress and a religion teacher’s face was slashed for teaching Muslim girls about other faiths. Shaw says this is due to ‘poverty’. Perhaps, when young minds are given the impression that kicking a defenceless young man to a pulp and slicing a knife through his neck was the holiest, most devout and dutiful thing to do, there is a danger they might act on such vile preaching?”