Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
Vol. 5:1 (2017) ► pp.134–155

“Please protect the Jews”

Ideology and concealment in the Britain First solidarity patrol

| Teesside University, UK

This research examined Facebook comments in response to Britain First’s ‘solidarity patrol’ video, in which Britain First is shown patrolling in Golders Green, North London, ostensibly to show support for the Jewish community after the shooting in the Kosher supermarket in Paris following the Charlie Hebdo attack. A Critical Discursive Psychological analysis was conducted on comments. Initial comments were identified as showing support and gratitude towards Britain First; however, comments became progressively anti-Semitic (e.g. by posing the rhetorical question, what benefits have Jews brought to Britain?). Results are discussed in terms of how Britain First has managed to achieve anti-Islamic rhetoric whilst trying to maintain support from the mainstream. This research has identified that discussions on Facebook have transitioned from Jews being constructed as vulnerable at the hands of Islamic extremism, to Jews being problematic and the aggressors.

Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication, Critical Discursive Psychology, far-right, solidarity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data and methods
  • 3.Analysis
    • 3.1“What have poor Jews ever done”: Showing support for Jews
    • 3.2“I say this as a proud British Jew”: Comments from authors who identify themselves as Jewish
    • 3.3“Who cares about the Jews?” comments displaying anti-semitic discourse
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 16 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.5.1.06bur
References
Antaki, Charles
2004 “The Uses of Absurdity.” In Analysing Race Talk, edited by Harry van den Berg, Margaret Wetherell, and Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra, 85–102. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Augoustinos, Martha, and Every, Danielle
2007 “The Language of ‘Race’ And Prejudice: A Discourse of Denial, Reason, and Liberal-practical Politics”. Journal of Language and Social Psychology 26(2):123–141. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Billig, Mick
1978 Fascists: A Social Psychological View of the National Front. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Billig, Mick, Condor, Susan, Edwards, Derek, Gane, Mike, Middleton, Drew, and Radley, Alan
1988 Ideological Dilemmas: A Social Psychology of Everyday Thinking. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Burke, Shani, and Goodman, Simon
2012 ‘“Bring Back Hitler’s Gas Chambers”: Asylum Seeking, Nazis And Facebook: A Discursive Analysis’. Discourse and Society23 (1): 19-33. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Byford, Jovan, and Billig, Mick
2001 “The Emergence of Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories in Yugoslavia during the War with NATO”. Patterns of Prejudice 35(4):50–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Capdevila, Rose, and Callaghan, Jane E. M.
2008 “ ‘It’s Not Racist. It’s Common Sense’: A Critical Analysis of Political Discourse around Asylum and Immigration in the UK.” Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 181:1–16. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Drew, Paul
1978 “Accusations: The Occasioned Use of Members’ Knowledge of ‘Religious Geography’ in Describing Events.” Sociology 12(1): 1–22. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Drew, Paul, and Walker, Traci
2009 “Going Too Far: Complaining, Escalating, and Disaffiliation.” Journal of Pragmatics 411:2400–2414. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Dyers, Charlyn, and Wankah, Foncha John
2012 “ ‘Us’ and ‘Them’: The Discursive Construction of ‘the Other’ in Greenmarket Square, Cape Town.” Language and Intercultural Communication 12(3):230–247. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Eatwell, Roger
2000 “The Extreme Right and British Exceptionalism: The Primacy of Politics.” In The Politics of the Extreme Right, edited by Paul Hainsworth, 172–192. London: Biddles Ltd.Google Scholar
Edwards, Derek, and Potter, Jonathon
1992 Discursive Psychology. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Foner, Nancy, and Alba, Richard
2008 “Immigrant Religion in the US and Western Europe: Bridge or Barrier to Inclusion?” International Migration Review 421:360–392. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Fozdar, Farida, and Pederson, Anne
2013 “Diablogging about Asylum Seekers: Building a Counter-Hegemonic Discourse.” Discourse and Communication 7(4):371–388. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, Pilar
2010 A Genre Approach to the Study of (Im)politeness. International Review of Pragmatics 21:46–94. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Garland, Jon, and Treadwell, James
2010 “ ‘No Surrender to the Taliban!’: Football Hooliganism, Islamophobia and the Rise of the English Defence League”. Papers from the British Criminology Conference 101:19–35. [URL].
Goffman, Erving
1981 Forms of Talk. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Goodman, Simon, and Burke, Shani
2010 ‘‘Oh You Don’t Want Asylum Seekers, Oh You’re just Racist’: A Discursive Analysis of Discussions about whether it’s Racist to Oppose Asylum Seeking’. Discourse and Society 21 (3): 325–340. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Goodman, Simon, and Johnson, Andrew
2013 “Strategies Used by the Far Right to Counter Accusations of Racism.” Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines 6(2):97–113. [URL]
Heritage, John
1998 “Oh-Prefaced Responses to Inquiry.” Language in Society 271:291–334. [URL]
Jackson, Clare
2013 “ ‘Why Do These Peoples’ Opinions Matter?’ Positioning Known Referents as Unnameable Others.” Discourse Studies 15(3):299–317. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Jefferson, Gail
1990 “List Construction as a Task and Resource.” In Interaction Competence, edited by George Psathas, 63–93. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Jewish Times
2015 “British Jews Say ‘No Thanks’ to Nationalist Group’s Support.” Last modified 14th February. [URL].
Kirkwood, Steve, McKinlay, Andy, and McVittie, Chris
2014 “ ‘Some People It’s Very Difficult to Trust’: Attributions of Agency and Accountability in Practitioners’ Talk about Integration. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 24(5):376–389. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Lynn, Nick, and Lea, Susan
2003 “ ‘A Phantom Menace and the New Apartheid’: The Social Construction of Asylum-Seekers in the United Kingdom.” Discourse and Society 14(4):425–452. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Pomerantz, Anita
1986 “Extreme Case Formulations: A New Way of Legitimating Claims.” Human Studies (Interaction and Language Special Issue) 91:219–230. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Rhodes, James
2009 “The Banal National Party: The Routine Nature of Legitimacy.” Patterns of Prejudice 43(2):142–160. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Richardson, John E.
2013 “Radical Populism in British Fascist Discourse: The Case of COMBAT and the British National Party (1960–1967).” In Analysing Fascist Discourse, edited by Ruth Wodak, and John E. Richardson, 181–202. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Richardson, John E., and Wodak, Ruth
2009 “The Impact of Visual Racism: Visual Arguments in Political Leaflets of Austrian and British Far-right Parties.” Controversia, 6(2): 45–77. [URL]
Sacks, Harvey
1992 “ ‘Hotrodders as a Revolutionary Category.” In Lectures on Conversation Vol I, II, edited by Gail Jefferson, 169–174. United Kingdom: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Treadwell, James
2012 “White Riot: The English Defence League and the 2011 English Riots.” Criminal Justice Matters 87(1):36–37. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Treadwell, James, and Garland Jon
2011 “Masculinity, Marginalization And Violence: A Case Study of the English Defence League.” British Journal of Criminology 511:621–634. DOI logo.Google Scholar
van Dijk, Teun
1995 “Discourse Analysis as Ideology Analysis.” In Language and Peace, edited by Christina Schäffner and Anita Wenden, 17–33. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing.Google Scholar
Verkuyten, Maykel
2013 “Justifying Discrimination against Muslim Immigrants: Out‐group Ideology and the Five‐step Social Identity Model.” British Journal of Social Psychology 52(2):345–360. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Wetherell, Margaret, and Edley, Nigel
1999 “Negotiating Hegemonic Masculinity: Imaginary Positions and Psycho Discursive Practises.” Feminism and Psychology 9(3):335–356. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Wood, C. and Finlay, W. M. L.
2008 “British National Party Representations of Muslims in the Month after the London Bombings: Homogeneity, Threat, and the Conspiracy Tradition.” British Journal of Social Psychology 471:707–726. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Burke, Shani, Parisa Diba & Georgios A Antonopoulos
2020. ‘You sick, twisted messes’: The use of argument and reasoning in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic discussions on Facebook. Discourse & Society 31:4 ► pp. 374 ff. DOI logo
Foster, Russell David & Xander Kirke
2023. ‘Straighten Up and Fly Right’: Radical right attempts to appeal to the British LGBTQ+ community. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 25:2 ► pp. 277 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 2 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.