One of the big stories this week has been that of a young Asian Woman, standing in the face of an EDL leader, smiling calmly.
That woman, was Saffiyah Khan. A Birmingham local who stepped in when Ian Crossland (pictured above) and his EDL cronies were shouting their vile abuse towards a lady in a head scarf. Now you may not find this to be a big deal, but personally, I find it heroic. I find it powerful. Stepping up in the face of adversity in support of another is a powerful thing to do, with this captured perfectly in the picture above.
On the left we have a proud woman, stood calmly with her hands in her pockets, smiling. On the right, we have a middle aged Man full of hate, anger and bile, leading his racist gang with their outdated views on a march through Birmingham. Maybe Mr Crossland was more angry with the fact that he was being confronted by a woman? Even former EDL leader Tommy called the picture embarrassing. That says a lot.
I don't believe in these so called 'protest marches' at all. What do they bring other than anger, violence and racist taunting? Why do we allow such people to carry on this way? Why can they spout their vile tirade of abuse towards anybody who is not the 'same' as them? It is outdated, not wanted and downright disgusting. The people you are protesting against are British. Whether you like it or not. When you single out others for the colour of their skin or because of their religion, it is YOU that becomes the minority. You are the people we do not want to see on our streets, nor do we need it. You do not represent us as a Country or as people. Your brainwashed/brainless drivel is beyond comprehension.
Saffiyah even says herself in interviews since, "if I saw something happening to an EDL member in a situation where it was not fair or they were being intimidated for whatever reason, I'd happily step in". And that is the difference in humanity. Even after being intimidated, she still shows and offers solidarity.
For this lady to stand there, face-to-face with a complete coward and his gang, and raise a smile like that, takes a lot of courage. Courage that should not go unnoticed. I for one know who I feel represents this country best. Well done Saffiyah Khan and keep fighting for everything that you believe in. You are the real reason we should be proud of our country.
This is what we need to see more of in this country. Not hate, not anger, not violence. Just calmness, even when faced with extremities like this. We can not let those that judge others for their race, skin colour etc win. We need to show that we will not be scared. Not be mocked. Not feel intimidated. And most of all we need to show as a country that we do belong. Whether you are White, Black or Asian we are all the same. We are all humans and we should all stick together and drive this moronic drivel from out cities, our towns. There is no place for hatred here.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you find this image as powerful and meaningful as past images in similar situations? Let me know in the comments section or on Twitter.
Have a great day, whoever you are and keep being you.