I went to the huge counter-protest in Normanton. It made me proud...
THE DERBY TELEGRAPH’S GEORGE ALLEN WAS AMONG THOSE WHO GATHERED IN THE CITY TO PROMOTE LOVE AND KINDNESS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT
IMUST admit, I was a bit scared. I had never been to a protest before, never mind a counterprotest against potential far-right violence. My friend and I walked from the city centre to the Grove Street car park off Normanton Road.
We’d been tipped off that it would be the location of the Stand Up To Racism demonstration.
Worryingly, I had heard that it was also the place where the far-right would meet.
As we traipsed through various jitties I couldn’t help but size up passers-by. Which side were they on? It’s funny what runs through your mind when you’re anxious.
As soon as we got to the car park it was clear that a lot of counter-protesters had turned up. Normanton Road was packed along either side of the street, and we were told there was another group of the same further down the road.
People of all stripes, too, including many white people alongside many other ethnicities.
In the middle of the road were a small group of masked youths, with only their eyes visible from behind face scarves.
How odd that that muchmaligned type would be standing up against racism - on our side.
It was strange to feel that the sort of people who’d make me cross the road in any other circumstances actually, in this moment, made me feel safer. But 99% of those in attendance did not have their faces covered.
I saw a tweet today which asked when we would see “Britain’s first female community leader”.
They were trying to make a snide point about alleged sexism among Muslims. Well, at Normanton’s counter-protest it was indeed a woman holding the megaphone. She told the males among the crowd that they should not leave their wives and daughters at home.
She encouraged them to attend demonstrations like these so that they could see the support that’s out there, so they would not feel scared.
A group handed out free bottles of water and cars passing through
Normanton Road beeped their horns in approval.
There was nervousness, for sure, but there was also a celebratory atmosphere.
Despite the endless barrage of hatred we see online, it turned out that there were quite a lot of sensible people willing to stick up for what they believed was right. The point was made several times by those in the crowd that Derby is exceptionally multicultural.
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing, because of what we see from loudmouths on social media, that our country is a horribly racist place.
In fact, a recent study showed that across the globe the UK is seen as the least xenophobic country.
That message was brought home to me when I saw the sheer number of people at the counter-protest. We were simply not going to have it.
There are grievances - of course there are. Multiculturalism is a modern experiment and there will always be problems, if not outright faults.
We must work out these issues with moderate, civil and frank discussions. That is the way to do it. Not setting fire to hotels, assaulting people in the street and looting.
That’s why I was so proud of how the people of Derby turned out.
We weren’t looking for a fight; we weren’t storming shops and stealing stock.
We were calmly, carefully and optimistically turning out in large numbers to make a point that we stick up for the minority.
Because, as we all know, they come for them first and then they come for us next.
The far-right riots we have seen have been fuelled by misinformation.
There has been deep anger, too. A long-stewing anger which will not go away quietly.
These people feel that the country they once loved is slipping through their fingers due to a fundamental demographic shift that threatens their values.
But which values are the most important? That is the question we must discuss when the dust settles.
Despite the hatred online, it turned out that there were sensible people willing to stick up for what they believed in.