After Saturday’s disappointing turnout for the EDL in Dewsbury, the EDL tweeted a picture of Leicester member, Glen Warren, along with the caption “#BlackandWhiteUnite”.
It’s not the first time the EDL have pushed forward one of their non-white tokens in an attempt to show that they’re not racist. Nottingham’s Guramit Singh was given “leadership” status and a platform at demos until the fact that he had his own ideas led to him being sidelined by the real leadership of Tommy & Kev. And who can forget poor Abdul, the rather simple anti-Catholic sectarian from Glasgow, who was pushed forward at Bradford. But this tiny handful of figures can’t detract from the fact that the EDL is an overwhelmingly white movement and the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments of its followers are often founded on racist ideas. The eagerly exploited Glen Warrens are the exceptions that prove the rule.
But let’s look a bit more closely at this new poster boy for racial unity that the EDL are pushing forward. Glen is clear about his own background: “I may be 1/2 nigga but atleast I aint Afiscum”. Although he has been made to feel ashamed of his background he still tries to assert his superiority over what he thinks of as inferior races. Indeed, Glen comes in for quite a bit of stick for his racial identity from other nationalists who post stereotypical pictures of black people on his Facebook page and when Glen jokingly posted “wish i was a packi”, replied “You are lol” and “lucky you get away with what ya are” (along with jokes about “taigs” and racist murder).
Warren is an unapologetic racist himself making jokes about “Niggers”, threatening to “send the filthy muzzrats home” and writing the song “IF YOU ALL HATE IMMIGRANTS CLAP YOUR HANDS”.
Warren is not afraid to use violence to get his way even going as far as to proudly post about having knocked someone out on his Facebook profile. The violent approach extends into misogyny as well. He reposted “Take your ex out tonight (One bullet oughta do it)” with a smiley.
Glen Warren is a typical EDL member: virulently anti-Muslim, seeing the world through crude racial stereotypes, getting his way through violence and treating women as sexual objects. It is very fitting that the EDL are using him as a poster boy. But “Black and White Unite”? I don’t think so.
