Tommy Robinson – banned from twitter

Stephen Yaxley Lennon or Tommy Robinson as he is more commonly known has been removed from a social media platform. 

Stephen Lennon is his name although he is has gone under other aliases and pseudonyms. Even to the point of using someone else’s passport to enter the USA illegally. I have said it before what he is a far-right extremist. He hasn’t done anything positive or made a credible contribution.

His various claims prove he is racist. When you cannot distinguish Islamists with ordinary Muslims you discriminate.

 “We are war with Islam – we have been 1400 years” No we are not. The only ones who claim that are people who cannot distinguish between extremists and ordinary Muslims.

“Islam isn’t a religion its an ideology” Nope. No one claims that. By every definition, in every book, Islam is the 2nd biggest religion in the world. It is 20% of the earth that followers that religion. If it was that bad why do people follow it?

I have seen in numerous videos Stephen Lennon asks ‘What have I said? In what way am I racist?.

Well. Let’s look at a Facebook post of his from a couple of weeks ago. He is irate that someone who has raped an eleven-year-old girl hasn’t been sent to prison. The person assaulted someone. Not rape. Before you jump down my throat yes the person in the article did something terrible, no denial, it’s not a competition.

IMG_0143

I look at facts. The person did a terrible thing. Stephen claims he raped the girl. He didn’t – the article makes no mention of that at all. So it’s lies. Then he goes on to complain that the person should be sent to jail and the reason he wasn’t as his wife doesn’t speak English. Engaging with people to justify anti-immigrant sentiment.

The article is also four years old. It makes no mention that other people are convicted sent to prison. This is what we mean when we say that he lies. He isn’t to be trusted. There are other examples of this. Yet, we are supposed to get out information and opinions about Muslims from him?

I am no angel. I have fucked up. I am not claiming to be an ambassador or spokesperson. What I do know is about religion and peoples beliefs.

Let’s look at some of his supports on twitter who have reacted to his permanent ban.

IMG_0140

A ludicrous statement. If he has done good things why are only a few commending him? Nigel Farage? No other modern politician has made any other credible contribution?

IMG_0138

Again. Another stupid statement. No one should be banned. Really? So I could continue to make threats of violence? Stalk someone etc. It isn’t a public platform. Its a privately owned company. Yet somehow, Twitter has gained monetary support from governments – incredibly stupid and false. Bordering on a conspiracy.

I could continue and give you other ludicrous examples. He has been removed from one social media platform. That’s it. He hasn’t been removed from facebook and others that I know of. This won’t stop his lies and racist beliefs it will compound his conspiracies and fallacies. His silly uneducated followers who don’t look at facts will continue to support him.

Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed Hassan sentenced to life

Teenager Ahmed Hassan is sentenced to life with a minimum term of 34 years after leaving a homemade bomb on a packed underground train.

He just looks like any other teenager. His hair is a little crazy and looks like he hasn’t slept or eaten a decent meal in weeks. But Ahmed Hassan is a convicted terrorist who brought shock and panic to the capital September last year.

4A3EFD7800000578-5505959-image-a-32_1521201126733 2

‘I sentence you to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years. You will have plenty of time to read the Koran in prison. The Koran is a book of peace. Islam forbids breaking the law of the land. Islam forbids terrorism. You have violated Islam and the Koran by your actions.’

These are the words of Mr Justice Haddon-Cave the judge who sentenced Hassan. These aren’t taken lightly and not out of malice. They aren’t words that have been used in the heat of radicalisation or without knowledge and experience. Yet there are those people still in this country who have no idea how and what Muslims believe. They have taken it upon themselves to be educated by tabloid newspapers and right-wing commentators who claim to speak for the ordinary working man.

I have seen all sorts of ridiculous claims over the last few months about misconceptions and blatant fallacies when it comes to Islam. I challenged one person who said ‘They never arrest any Muslims and send them to prison like they do to Britain First leaders’. I gave them numerous examples of how this wasn’t the case; facts don’t matter to them.

Islam is a religion of peace. I will say that until my dying day. It is those who chose to distort, lie and make up their own rules to suit their interpretations of Qu’ran. You can take any holy teachings or writings and mangle them to your own way of thinking. You will see the world how terrorists and right-wing commentators want you to see it that process is called radicalisation. You are believing misconceptions, biased opinions, perverted and altered for their own ends.

I want peace, calm and tranquillity. I want unity among people of different faiths, religions and practices. I want to live in a world were people of different backgrounds and countries can learn from each other. I want to know how and why people think they way they do and educate myself. Make myself a better person and not shutting myself off from other human beings. This planet is an amazing place. It is full of decent, wonderful, hardworking people who make a great contribution to it. Closing your mind to the world is ignorance.

Tommy Robinson – Finsbury attack

Tolerant, caring and loving. Wouldn’t you want to live in a society that promotes these values?

The reaction on social media to Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) was some of the blame and support. What is apparent is that he doesn’t promote harmony and togetherness, he promotes hatred.

“How am I a racist?” I have heard him ask time and time again. If you blame ALL Muslims for extremist actions, you are discriminating. I wouldn’t blame all white people for the attack that happened near Finsbury Mosque. I would say that their beliefs, whether they are born out of a warped distorted of a religion, is the same as an ideology that promotes segregation and hate.

I utterly condemn violence against innocent victims in Manchester and Westminster bridge. I utterly condemn violence carried out again the Muslim community in Finsbury Park. I want to live in a tolerant, caring society. Those who hold extremist views don’t.

Robinson’s views are abhorrent. They do nothing to stop the views of Islamists carrying around appalling acts. In all the years he has been campaigning, what has he actually done to constructively tackle these extremists? Shouting and ranting in places after something has happened is ignored by 99% of the country. People know he is misguided, ill-informed and does these for his own agenda and not for the common good.

I will stand with the Muslim community. I stand with these people. People who have been persecuted and blamed for far too long.

Why are people radicalised?

After coming to terms with the shock that another terrorist attack on British streets we often ask the question why. There will always be a blame game. Someone will say that the government and security services are at fault, others will say that allowing so many ‘non-British’ people into the UK has caused terrorism. If only things were that a simple then life would be much easier.

I was born in Durham, England. I grew up near Newcastle and then moved to Chester-le-Street in 1976. I attended the local comprehensive school and had many friends during my youth. I became a part of a local church and associated youth group, and that’s where I met my closest friends, people who have been a part of my life for over thirty years.

My parents never divorced, although I begged them to, on the whole, I was brought up in stable environment surround by decent friends. I did a lot of voluntary work in my teens and eventually went off to university gaining a degree in Religion and Sociology.

If you haven’t known an environment where you are supported, and you don’t have a positive network around you, then you are open to someone else coming in taking their place.

isis-twitter-main.jpg

To someone who has no perceived prospects and belonging, joining a group such as ISIS can seem attractive. You can see this trend that takes place when young men and women join groups that are bordering on criminal. Unstable family environments, poor employment prospects, lack of education all contribute to radicalisation.

A simplistic view of cutting out all immigration or pandering to fear isn’t the solution to radicalisation. You need resources and education on ground levels. You need to give people, whatever their background, the chance to get qualifications and experience to join the world of work. Preparation and training, for those disaffected, so they can contribute to society rather than feeling they should battle against it.

agq_feb16.jpg

Mrs. Thatcher once said ‘There is no such things as society’. In my opinion, she was talking bollocks. Mrs. Thatcher was interested in self-serving individuals, who were there to make money and use enterprise to better themselves. I am no communist and I have never voted Labour, but Thatcher was deluded and wrong. We ALL have a part to play, whether you are in the government or whether you are working class and ‘just about managing’.

We all have a responsibility to make sure that others don’t get sucked into extremism and poisonous ideology. Challenging views that are not compatible with freedom and democracy. If you are a Muslim and brought up in a home in the Islamic religion and you recognise that someone is in danger of radicalisation you should have the balls to stop it. I would do the same if I thought someone who I knew was planning to harm or murder someone else. Burying your head in the sand or looking on with a pacifist gaze isn’t an option.

 

the barefoot tree

Still grumpy

Gari Wellingham

UK-based musical theatre geek previously living with a brain tumour!