Talk:Red Action

message: Someone added the comment that Red Action usually lost their fights with right-wingers. This is certainly not what I've heard, nor what they say. Unless someone has substantial new information, I'm changing this page back.--XmarkX 04:35, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm fairly sure claim is correct (can't remember details) but not sure it is important to the article. More good editing Spylab! BobFromBrockley 17:27, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Back to the original question. Yes, the BNP, NF and Blood & Honour were very aware of Red Action attack and RA were very good at 'squadism'. They would do a lot of intelligence work prior to an attack, attack the fascists feroiously and get out of the area quick. They seldom got turned over. There's an interesting 1993 Searchlight publication by a guy called Tim Hepple, who infiltrated the BNP back in the early 90's. The pamphlet is called 'At War with Society' and there's a bit by an early BNP activist called Jim White where White talked of his fear of Red Action assault and warned Hepple to be very wary. Whatever you think of Hepple and Searchlight this book is worth tracking down as it gives a good view of the atmosphere back then. Irisismykid (talk) 19:22, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Uncited claims

message: Didn't some of this group's founders come from the Socialist Federation? --Duncan 07:31, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I've never heard that, but certainly they moved in the same circles - both left the SWP and developed libertarian critiques of SWP-style vanguard parties. I googled a bit, and only thing I came up with was this:  BobFromBrockley 10:55, 9 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Socialist Federation 

message: Nothing major just...
From Red Action "They earned notoriety for ... their support of Anti-Fascist Action."
From Militant anti-fascism "In 1985, Red Action and the anarcho-syndicalist Direct Action Movement launched Anti-Fascist Action (AFA)"
This might need just a change of wording in the Red Action article or a correction in the Militant anti-fascism article. --Aimaz 13:13, 11 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: They remained seperate orgs, and RA preceded AFA, but RA "noteriety" (if that's the right word) did come from AFA activities. BobFromBrockley 10:59, 16 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Discrepancy with [[Militant anti-fascism#1970s|Militant anti-fascism]] 

message: While I appreciate that they have fought the far right in physical confrontation in the past since 2002 at least most of the articles on their website have been attacking non whites (blaming them for everything from race hate crimes (Something that going by Red Actions website is a crime that doesnt exist unless it is commited against a white person) almost every form of crime you can think of, attacks on white males (While almost condoning brutal beatings of sudanese immigrants) even blaming non whites for 'impregnating white girls'!!!
It would seem Red Action are now buisy trying to "Out BNP the BNP" as their political ideology (Aside from Red Actions support for the IRA and Republican movement who seem to be excluded from their attacks on ethnic minorities in the UK) Seems to be one and the same.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.204.191.158 (talk) 00:19, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Anonymous: I searched the Red Action website for several variations on "impregnating" shortly after spylab posted his first reply, and found nothing, so it seems to me unlikely that some assidous Red Action webmaster was scouring wikipedia's talk pages and was so intimidated by your comments as to remove the page immediately. I knew many Red Action members for many years, and never heard phrases like that. Their critiques of multiculturalism is controversial (I for one oppose it), but it is not in any sense an attack on non-white people. Similarly, their support for Irish Republicanism is also controversial (and again I oppose it), but they have been very clear about opposing sectarianism. Their Celtic fanzine is very much anti-sectarian, not pro-sectarian. As Spylab says, these positions cannot be seen as undermining the claim that RA are anti-fascist, by any sensible definition of fascism and anti-fascism. Please doo insert referenced, encyclopedically-worded statements about the contentiousness of Red Action's positions on multiculturalism, race attacks and Republicanism. Please don't add vague unsubstantiated slurs. BobFromBrockley 14:26, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

text: I don't think they actually exist any more. If you are desperate to speak with somebody in Red Action I suggest contacting the Independent Working Class Association as some ex-RA members have joined that. I have read recent IWCA articles online and they are very similar in theme to that produced by RA Irisismykid (talk) 22:24, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Red Action Anti Fascist? 

message: While citing the group itself is highly problematic, citing an anarcho-syndicalist weblog (posted by 'Steve') as source seems utterly unjustifiable. The Squicks (talk) 05:34, 26 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citing sources 

message: Look, I don't wanna get into a big Lefty sectarian battle over this but does this group still actually exist as an organization on the ground or is it defunct? I feel like changing the opening sentence from "is a" to "was a".
Their website, while still up, apart from a short obit, hasn't been updated for many years and they seem completely absent from any activity what-so-ever, even during the recent heightened activity against the EDL and BNP. They were always a tiny group and I am under the impression that most of their members had either dropped out of politics or went into the IWCA about a decade ago.
Any views before I edit (if indeed I do) ? Irisismykid (talk) 18:58, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Do they still actually exist or are they defunct? 

message: I've noticed today an onslaught of tweets concerning this article, specifically an edit made at 12:06, 19 Aug 2018 by IP 91.110.85.199, quoting Andrew Gilligan in the The Sunday Times: "Jeremy Corbyn came to the attention of police after becoming involved with Red Action" and "Corbyn spoke at at least three Red Action meetings between 1985 and 1992 and the group sometimes met at his then constituency office, ex-members said."
Many of those on Twitter seem especially irate at the timing of the edit, which they misconstrue as coming "5 minutes after the Times published." Some see this as proof of conspiracy between The Sunday Times and our own anonymous editor IP 91.110.85.199 to defame Jeremy Corbyn.
However, the 5-minute proximity is false, caused by confusing BST and UTC. Gilligan's article posted online 19 Aug 2018, 12:01am BST, which was 18 Aug 2018, 23:01 UTC. The Wikipedia entry was saved 19 Aug 2018, 12:06 UTC. In other words, the WP edit came 13 HOURS and 5 minutes after Gilligan.
I offer this as a heads-up to editors to beware of poorly sourced revisions that may likewise confuse BST and UTC. KalHolmann (talk) 00:42, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  BST/UTC confusion