Who are we? Who cares?

Often, on anti-EDL type demos, as well as at football matches, the chant goes up “who are you?”  In Brighton, on their annual day out, the EDL decided that they knew everyones’  genealogy by declaring to the anti fascists, “you aren’t English anymore? Why? Because anti-fascists refused to bow down to the new master race promoters of the far right.

Now without going into a lengthy thesis, which others who are far more knowledgeable on this matter, have written, it is worth pointing out the obvious. The English have always been part of a multi-cultural society, going back to the year dot. There never was such a thing as pure English. There never has been and never will.

The last time someone tried to establish a master race, we all know where it ended up. Yes it is about class not race. Race is and always has been a myth, created to maintain an authoritarian, dictatorial and racist state. Zionism is just another version of this particularly obnoxious reactionary nationalistic creed, resulting in social, economic and political oppression of Palestinians. Apartheid South Africa similarly used the “ pure blood” excuse to maintain a bloody system based on separation of the races.

Nationalistic flag waving represents a false consciousness, adopting an allegiance which only goes to serves the bosses and the ruling class, dividing working people from each other. International class solidarity is the only effective response there can ever be to the international capitalist crisis. Reactionary nationalism has always been used as a divertion , resulting in wars, barbarism and national oppression of other people. Ofcourse Socialists must distinguish between this form of nationalism and the struggle of oppressed nations, in their fight for self determination and liberation from both imperialism and colonialism. As Marx correctly pointed out," a nation that oppresses another nation can not itself be free".

According to Professor Bryan Sykes, the British are descended from a tribe of Spanish fisherman. The DNA found in Celts , (the indigenous population of Britain), have an almost identical genetic “fingerprint” to a tribe of Iberians from the coastal regions of Spain. They crossed over from the Bay of Biscay around 6,000 years ago. He considers that the evidence suggests  “the majority of people in the British Isles are actually descended from the Spanish." You could imagine the BNP equivelents of the day saying, "oh no, not more Europeans coming over here?"

A team led by Professor Sykes  spent five years taking DNA samples from 10,000 volunteers in Britain and Ireland, in an effort to produce a map of our genetic roots. The most common genetic fingerprint belongs to the Celtic clan, which Professor Sykes has called "Oisin". After that, the next most widespread originally belonged to tribes of Danish and Norse Vikings. Small numbers of today's Britons are also descended from north African, Middle Eastern and Roman clans. For the anti-immigration groups in so-called ancient times, the news just went from bad to worse.

A Roman geographer, Ptolemy,wrote a description of Britain, listing the names of at least 26 British tribes!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/iron_01.shtml

So do be gentle when breaking the news to those who consider the defence of race and nationalism over class comes first, second and last. It may come as a shock. Cameron has also pinned a great deal on the end of multi-culturalism as a vote winner. As the old slogan goes:

Unemployment and inflation are not caused by immigration.

Bullshit, come off it, the enemy is profit.


In summary-we are all immigrants!