Loud Proud Passion and Politics in the English Defence League Makes Us Confront the Complexities of Anti-Islamist/Anti-Muslim Fervor
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New Ethnographies ‘These voices of English nationalism make for difficult listening. The great strength of Hilary PILKINGTON Pilkington’s unflinching ethnography is her capacity to confound and challenge our political and preconceptions and makes us think harder. This is an important, difficult and brave book.’ Les Back, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London ‘Pilkington offers fresh and crucial insights into the politics of fear. Her unflinchingly honest depiction of the EDL breaks apart stereotypes of rightist activists as simply dupes, thugs, and racists and Loud proud PASSION AND POLITICS IN THE ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE makes us confront the complexities of anti-Islamist/anti-Muslim fervor. This terrific, compelling book is a must-read for scholars and readers concerned about the global rise of populist movements on the right.’ Kathleen Blee, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh Loud and proud uses interviews, informal conversations and extended observation at English Defence League events to critically reflect on the gap between the movement’s public image and activists’ own understandings of it. It details how activists construct the EDL and themselves as ‘not racist, not violent, just no longer silent’ through, among other things, the exclusion of Muslims as a possible object of racism on the grounds that they are a religiously not racially defined Loud group. In contrast, activists perceive themselves to be ‘second-class citizens’, disadvantaged and discriminated against by a two-tier justice system that privileges the rights of others. This failure to recognise themselves as a privileged white majority explains why ostensibly intimidating EDL street demonstrations marked by racist chanting and nationalistic flag waving are understood by activists as standing ‘loud and proud’; the only way of being heard in a political system governed by a politics of silencing. and proud This book brings a new perspective because unlike most studies of ‘far right’ movements, it focuses not on the EDL as an organisation - its origins, ideology, strategic repertoire and effectiveness - but on the individuals who constitute the movement. Its ethnographic approach challenges stereotypes and allows insight into the emotional as well as political dimension of activism. At the same time, the book recognises and discusses the complex political and ethical issues of conducting close-up social research with ‘distasteful’ groups. The book will be of value to those researching or studying in the disciplines of sociology, political science and anthropology as well as those with an interest in contemporary political issues and the populist and radical right. Hilary Pilkington is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester Cover image: Occupying the heights, EDL demonstration, Birmingham, July 2013 © Author Cover design: riverdesign.co.uk www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk HILARY PILKINGTON Loud and proud New Ethnographies Series editor Alexander Thomas T. Smith Already published The British in rural France: Lifestyle migration and the ongoing quest for a better way of life Michaela Benson Ageing selves and everyday life in the North of England: Years in the making Catherine Degnen Chagos islanders in Mauritius and the UK: Forced displacement and onward migration Laura Jeffery South Korean civil movement organisations: Hope, crisis and pragmatism in demo- cratic transition Amy Levine Integration in Ireland: The everyday lives of African migrants Fiona Murphy and Mark Maguire An ethnography of English football fans: Cans, cops and carnivals Geoff Pearson Iraqi women in Denmark: Ritual performance and belonging in everyday life Marianne Holm Pedersen Literature and agency in English fiction reading: A study of the Henry Williamson Society Adam Reed International seafarers and transnationalism in the twenty-first century Helen Sampson Devolution and the Scottish Conservatives: Banal activism, electioneering and the politics of irrelevance Alexander Smith Exoticisation undressed: Ethnographic nostalgia and authenticity in Emberá clothes Dimitrios Theodossopoulos Immersion: Marathon swimming, embodiment and identity Karen Throsby Enduring violence: Everyday life and conflict in eastern Sri Lanka Rebecca Walker Performing Englishness: Identity and politics in a contemporary folk resurgence Trish Winter and Simon Keegan-Phipps Loud and proud Passion and politics in the English Defence League Hilary Pilkington Manchester University Press Copyright © Hilary Pilkington 2016 The right of Hilary Pilkington to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for An electronic version of this book is also available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC) Licence. ISBN 978 1 5261 1401 3 open access ISBN 978 1 7849 9259 0 paperback First published 2016 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Typeset in Minion by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire To the future, which may, or may not, last a long time Contents List of figures viii List of boxes ix Series editor’s foreword x Foreword by Anoop Nayak xi Acknowledgements xv Introduction: Transgressing the cordon sanitaire: understanding the English Defence League as a social movement 1 1 The contagion of stigma: the ethics and politics of research with the ‘far right’ 13 2 Tommy Robinson’s barmy army? The past, present and future of the English Defence League 37 3 Doing the hokey-cokey: everyday trajectories of activism 60 4 ‘Not racist, not violent, just no longer silent’: aspirations to non-racism 92 5 ‘Their way or no way’: anti-Islam and anti-Muslim sentiments 125 6 ‘Second-class citizens’: reordering privilege and prejudice 154 7 ‘One big family’: emotion, affect and the meaning of activism 177 8 ‘Loud and proud’: piercing the politics of silencing 203 Conclusion: passion and politics 222 Appendix 1: Observed events 232 Appendix 2: Respondent set 234 References 238 Index 247 List of figures 3.1 Age of respondents 62 3.2 Declan: standing proud 63 3.3 Matt and Casey: teamwork 65 3.4 Educational status of respondents 66 3.5 Connor: ‘Ain’t bothered’ 68 3.6 Employment status of respondents 69 3.7 Ethnicity (self-declared) of respondents 71 3.8 Lisa: seeing red 73 3.9 Rachel: fighting ‘two-tier justice’ 81 3.10 Jack: paying a high price (source: EDL News, http://edlnews. co.uk/index.php/latest-news/latest-news/853-edl-walsall- demo-turns-into-violence) 84 3.11 Kurt and the infamous flag 86 4.1 ‘Not racist, not violent, just no longer silent’ 93 4.2 ‘Racist EDL’: counter-demonstrators’ placards, Manchester demonstration 97 4.3 ‘We love Hindus and Sikhs’: EDL placard, Rotherham protest camp 100 4.4 EDL Angels ‘stand beside their men’ (courtesy of the EDL) 120 5.1 ‘No more mosques’ flag, Leeds demonstration 138 5.2 Islamophobic and proud (courtesy of the EDL) 149 7.1 Crusaders? 188 7.2 Rachel’s EDL tattoo 189 7.3 Chas in his Union Jack onesie 190 7.4 Being seen for who you are: personalised hoodies 191 7.5 Performance in protest 192 7.6 Symbolic violence in protest 194 List of boxes 1 Feeling the affect… Walthamstow, 1 September 2012 18 2 Help? The questions ‘informed consent’ cannot answer 25 3 Declan 63 4 Matt and Casey 64 5 Connor 67 6 Lisa 73 7 Rachel 80 8 Jack 84 9 Kurt 86 Series editor’s foreword At its best, ethnography has provided a valuable tool for apprehending a world in flux. A couple of years after the Second World War, Max Gluckman founded the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. In the years that followed, he and his colleagues built a programme of ethnographic research that drew eclectically on the work of leading anthropologists, economists and sociologists to explore issues of conflict, reconciliation and social justice ‘at home’ and abroad. Often placing emphasis on detailed analysis of case studies drawn from small-scale societies and organisations, the famous ‘Manchester School’ in social anthropology built an enviable reputation for methodological innovation in its attempts to explore the pressing political questions of the second half of the twentieth century. Looking back, that era is often thought to constitute a ‘gold standard’ for how ethnographers might grapple with new challenges and issues in the contemporary world. The New Ethnographies series aims to build on that ethnographic legacy at Manchester. It will publish the best new ethnographic monographs that promote interdisciplinary debate and methodological innovation in the qualitative social sciences. This includes the growing number of books that seek to apprehend the ‘new’ ethnographic objects of a seemingly brave new world, some recent examples of which have included auditing, democracy and elections, documents, financial markets, human rights, assisted reproductive technologies and political activism. Analysing such objects has often demanded new skills and techniques from the ethnographer. As a result, this series will give voice to those using ethnographic methods across disciplines to innovate, such as through the application of mul- ti-sited fieldwork and the extended comparative case-study method. Such inno- vations have often challenged more traditional ethnographic approaches. New Ethnographies therefore seeks to provide a platform for emerging scholars and their more established counterparts engaging with ethnographic methods in new and imaginative ways. Alexander Thomas T. Smith Foreword Two years ago on a rare, sunny afternoon in North East England, I headed towards a seaside town where I had been conducting research with young Bangladeshi Muslims. As this was a weekend I would normally be going there for a coastal walk or bike ride.