Counter-protest in Lancaster. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Seeing the other side: Mary Winter’s Thought for the Week
‘Why is it so hard to have amicable conversations with people we don’t agree with?’
As I write, police in British cities are braced for more discord. A refugee friend reports that a colleague who wears the hijab is afraid to come to work. Lancaster organisation East Meets West has cancelled an outing, for fear of intimidation. A friend whose son is a police officer is consumed with anxiety. But that’s not all. On Sunday 4 August, a couple of hundred members of the public stood on the steps of Lancaster Town Hall, holding signs indicating their support for refugees and other migrants (above). The planned demonstration by the English Defence League fizzled out. In Blackpool, those attending the city’s annual punk festival challenged far-right demonstrators and helped clear up the mess afterwards. Following serious rioting in Middlesbrough, police were overwhelmed by support from the public, who brought food and thank-you cards.
