One thing comes clear from the justifications given by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, for his campaigning - that he takes child abuse very seriously indeed. So he should not be surprised if his critics test his pronouncements against what he has actually achieved in exposing and preventing it.
And that is where the problems arrive: Lennon has exposed very little, if anything, in this area, and has prevented even less. His filming outside courts serves only to endanger trials that are the result of painstaking and costly investigation - which exposes nothing, other than his appetite for self-promotion and disregard for the law.
Worse, his constant pursuit of only one small group of males - those who are Muslims - gives most child abusers a free pass. Worse still is that child abuse was going on under his nose when he was involved with the EDL and he did nothing about it. And yet worse is his excusing all of that by shouting “Quilliam”, when it is becoming clear that Quilliam’s report into so-called grooming gangs is deeply flawed.
Consider all the abuse which Lennon is ignoring. Priests, especially those in and around the Roman Catholic Church, had got away with physically and psychologically abusing children for decades until recently. Children’s care homes across the UK were home not only to vulnerable young people, but also terrible abuse. No comment from Lennon.
But perhaps this is all too abstract, so let’s look at specifics in the here and now. Like Peter Gillett: “Today he was jailed for 12 months at Hove Crown Court after he admitted possessing a Taser … But it can now be revealed that earlier this year Gillett was found guilty of a series of historic child sex offences. After a trial he was convicted of a catalogue of offences against children dating back to 1988 and sentenced to 18 years in jail”.
Or how about Roy Collins? “An ‘arrogant’ Jehovah's Witness subjected two girls under the age of 13 to years of systematic assaults and rapes … Roy Collins, 80, was branded as ‘devious, righteous and arrogant’ by a judge at Swansea Crown Court … He had spent a decade systematically grooming, abusing and raping the two girls”. There was more.
“Collins, of Longford Crescent, St Thomas, Swansea, had previously been found guilty of 26 counts of indecent assault, indecency, and rape at trial when he appeared in the dock at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing”. Not a peep from Lennon on either case.
Worse, those who identify as Lennon’s followers have been targeting one victim: “Rotherham abuse survivor Sammy Woodhouse has come under attack from racists and supporters of Tommy Robinson … It follows an interview with the BBC Newsnight programme where Sammy said that abuse wasn’t just committed by Asian men”.
Has Lennon intervened and told his followers to back off? After all, Ms Woodhouse is entitled to her own free speech, and Tommy is big on free speech, isn’t he? Well, not on this occasion he isn’t. Perhaps it’s because she also said “When you get people like Britain First and Tommy Robinson saying we exposed Rotherham and other places, well no you didn’t … The people who exposed scandals are survivors”.
Stephen Lennon isn’t exposing child abuse. He’s just peddling bigotry.
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9 comments:
Robinson held a sign upon arriving at his recent court appearance stating "Free Melanie Shaw". He was nowhere to be seen during the past 2 days when Shaw appeared in Leeds Crown Court on charges of arson while a charge of sexual assault was dropped. Shaw pleaded guilty to setting fire to her cell twice putting other prisoners at risk. Shaw, who clearly has some mental health issues has a history of arson convictions having previously been convicted of setting fire to neighbors house while they and the children slept. Yaxley Lennon's interest extends to only using others for his own ends and his sheep-like cult followers fall into line.
Another day another article slagging off Tommy Robinson. This is pretty desperate. Compared to the industrial scale abuse of children by organised muslim gangs, wilfuly ignored in order to prioritize "community cohesion"(ie don't upset the muslims) the examples you give are small beer, awful though it still is. Anyway it is outside Robinson's remit which isn't peddling bigotry but trying to get people to realise that Islam is a benign religion but an inquitious ideology that wishes to destroy all who fail to follow it. Robinson isn't anti-muslim, he wishes to free them from their slavery to Islam.
Remember the martyrdom of Ann Cryer? Perhaps you'd be doing a better service by investigating FGM, forced marriages, honour killings, girls disappearing, halal meat being illegally sold unknowingly to non-muslims, the many self-appointed muslim organisations, first cousin marriages all ignored to facilitate "community cohesion". Meanwhile they are trailing a female muslim police uniform . .. ...
Anon: 11.32
You left the caps lock off. Better than average spelling though, although I doubt that Lennon is really trying to get people "to realise that Islam is a benign religion"...
What's this thing about halal meat? It's not bloody vampire blood, eat 3 bits and put on a keffiyah.
And don't tell me it's because you're concerned about animal welfare. Because you're not. Besides, it's the same as shechita (kosher) slaughter and you don't complain about that. The animal's still dead after all.
By the way, bacon isn't bloody kryptonite to Muslims either.
The country is full of people who discovered the concept of animal rights at about the same time as learnt about discovered Halal. Never occurred to them before.
Oh, industrial scale. Well, industrial scale isn't as accurate as it used to be.
The rot set in when Murdoch bought The Sun and started mass producing them.
Even worse today with dodgy sites, like the Guidog Fartes, pretending that they've got an industrial scale when they haven't.
Anonymous 12:20.
You think that's bad?
Read the Old Testament, check out what Christianity did (and does) to "help" European/USA expansion around the world, plus its assorted Protestant V Catholic genocides......Then get back to us about "Islam".
In your own time.
He's not against Muslims. Im a Sikh by religion and I know he's welcome in my home and temple. Terrorists should not be protected.
@Anonymous 12:20
Hmmm. It seems to me the only times Zelo Street ever gets nasty comments from people like you, is on articles about Tommy Robinson. The only articles in which comments like yours are ever seen on this website.
You're calling Zelo Street desperate? Dude, you people clearly spend day in, day out, just looking desperately for anyone not praising Robinson. Supporters of no one else Zelo Street reports on ever do this. You're so desperate your ilk are constantly posting on Zelo Street whenever Robinson is mentioned, but no one else does this. Do you have some kind of software detecting mentions of him?
Now that's desperation!
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