Attempted murder in Croydon

I hope they gave all those policemen a cup of tea. That would be even more annoying to the thugs.

I read about it. I agree - it looked great. Apparently it had more attendees than the EDL rally. There's hope yet!

Daphnedill - on the day of the EDL's visit to Birmingham the Birmingham Central Mosque held a Tea Party, open to and attended by Brummies from all walks of society. Great idea!

These thugs are already being protected by the police.

I think the police are trying to protect a potential future trial where eye-witnesses who identify attackers will form part of the evidence. Isn't it usual practice to ban photos in such cases?

No. Not many people are unaware of Cliff Richard.

If the pop singer had been charged would he have had a fair trial?

If there were cameras outside their houses, they would get off on a technicality of not having a fair trial.
I want a fair trial and someone to end up in prison for what happened.

These thugs are already being protected by the police. No publicity, no tv cameras at the homes of those arrested but no problem with the police tipping off the BBC. to film them searching the home of a pop singer .

Totally agree with daphnedill's views about media (ir)responsibility. Not to mention the Twisted Cow.

Rather late in the discussion, but I probably live closer than anyone here to where the attack took place - a few streets up the road from our house. Had no idea it had happened until the following day.

I was as disgusted as anyone to learn of it and feel for the young victim who had thought he was in a safe and welcoming country.
But until the perpetrators are charged, tried and found guilty it's pointless to speculate on their skin colour or whether they were in a gang or not. There are gangs in most major towns and cities in the UK and I'm not sure where Croydon ranks in the gang league, but we've lived in a suburb of Croydon since 1983 and have never felt unsafe.
The biggest worry is the rise in hate crime and racist crime in the UK and what can be done to stop it. In the meantime I hope there is real justice for the young man in hospital. Presumably that would have to be a prison sentence, where the perpetrators might well learn to do it 'better' next time...

I notice that even Piers Morgan retweeted that photo, daphne.

This is the response from the EDL person in the picture I posted above. Mmmm! What a fine example of an English patriot!

I doubt whether anyone would report you.

KH really is a twisted cow (am I allowed to write that on GN?)

A march in Croydon as well. This is what Katie Hopkins thought of it.

www.thecanary.co/2017/04/08/croydon-just-united-reker-ahmed-katie-hopkins-stuck-boot-anyway-video/

Thank you for the reply Anya.

I agree with you that they probably haven't a clue about politics. It does seem that there has always been a mob/gang mentality and I'm not sure what can be done.

I was querying whether the attackers were black, because I don't think most of them were. I'm also wondering whether it's relevant anyway in this case. It doesn't appear to have been one ethnic group against another, as happens sometimes.

On the face of it, it appears to have been about being against asylum seekers and I think the media should be more responsible about the environment it creates with its headlines and language it uses. Not everybody is as discerning and rational as we are.

I would think those who took part in the attack were a gang but their reasons for the attack seem racial hatred, or immigrant hatred which ever one chooses to call it. Brexit didn't turn these thugs into racists, that the public felt free to speak out against immigrants during the campaign and after the result reinforced their belief that immigrants have no place in this country. Racism is so often learned in the home.

I was reading up about the gang culture in Croydon DD to answer your question.

This picture, taken in Sweden in the 1980s, is a classic. Maybe it will inspire a few of us grans!

Ah! Am with you now daphne Misunderstood.

I'm not claiming that the behaviour wasn't extreme and am sorry if that's how you read my post.

I was suggesting that ideas and values, such as demonising asylum seekers and all immigrants (especially Muslims) are becoming normalised, as evidenced by many tabloid headlines and comments on social media. To an extent, those extreme ideas are becoming the norm, although I doubt most people become thugs. The trouble is that the gormless thugs read the headlines, so their behaviour is justified in their little brains.

I loved the expression on this girl's face at today's EDL march in Birmingham. Well done, that girl!

In what way is attacking someone on the grounds of race/colour/faith/sexual orientation not xterme?

It concerns me that what Pen describes as extreme nationalism is becoming normalised. Whilst the behaviour is certainly extreme, I'm not so sure that the attitudes can still be described as extreme.

I do agree with both of you that they probably don't have a clue about the theories behind Brexit.

I don't even know that this was an organised gang. I guess the police will try to establish that and what motivated them.

PS. I know this is slightly off-topic, but yesterday I saw one of the sickest Tweets I've I've ever come across.The former EDL leader, Tommy Robinson, posted some pictures of the aftermath of the latest Stockholm attack with squashed bodies and body parts on the road. In a way, that's no worse than pictures of the dead children in Syria, but the comments he posted with the photos were quite clearly intended to be inflamatory and a "call to arms".

I'm not sure that being black makes any difference. It just means that various groups are integrated and maybe have a common hatred of newcomers or certain racial groups.

In any case, do you know how many were black? I know some attackers were under 18, so can't be identified in the press, but nearly all the pictures I've seen appear to have been of white people.

I doubt these read anything Pen TBH and just get their ideas from what they hear around them. Agree completely with your last sentence.