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Action! Race War To Door Wars - a Review

An ex-AFA member | 03.06.2009 11:28 | Anti-racism | Liverpool

A review of Joey Owens's book, from an ex-AFA member

ACTION! RACE WAR TO DOOR WARS - A REVIEW

I had thought that anyone with any sense would take Joey Owens' so-called autobiography ('Action! Race War to Door Wars') with a very large pinch of salt. However, some people who should know better have proved that this is not always the case. So, here's a review of sorts.

First, I will admit that I haven't a clue about Owens' early life. I also don't know a huge amount about his life as a bouncer (which is half the book). I'm not his mum, so that isn't surprising. I do however, know a fair amount about the mid-1980s in Liverpool, so this is the bit I'll concentrate on. I think it's fair enough to judge Owens' book on this period for two reasons: First, for any book, if one part is rubbish (or just plain dishonest), it doesn't say much for the rest of the book. Second, the mid-1980s - the confrontations between the BNP and anti-fascists - is why Owens says he is writing the book (apparently in response to the book 'No Retreat' by two Manchester anti-fascists). So, here's why I wouldn't spend any money on this (I've looked at the free download version).

Early on in the book Owens states that the situation in Liverpool "was a battle for dominance between two opposing ideologies each determined not to retreat. This decade-long war saw people arrested, hospitalised and imprisoned. It was ten years of conflict which saw the eventual triumph of the nationalist will..." After reading this, you would expect that, at the end of the ten years, Liverpool BNP would have smashed all its opponents into the ground. The "nationalist will" would have triumphed. So it may come as some surprise to find that Owens describes the exact opposite. An increasingly violent and arrogant BNP is met head-on in the mid-1980s, and collapses. Owens suddenly finds he has better things to do.

Most of this information is found in the chapter "The End of Politics". This is the period from early 1986 to 1988. At the beginning the BNP is apparently growing. At the end all the main BNP members left - and Owens also left, to begin life as a bouncer. What caused this collapse? Owens sort-of hints at what happened. Owens admits to a "war" with the anarchists. However, according to Owens, these anarchists are all a bunch of smellies, who run away "screaming" while forever being hit over the head with iron bars by victorious fascists. These anarchists are "concerned" every time they visit their centre. Yet they force all the BNP to resign. Funny that. Something doesn't quite add up.... About the only time Owens comes close to how it really was - back in the mid-1980s - is when he describes a fight outside the left wing bookshop News From Nowhere. As Owens admits (seeing as he lost a tooth) it wasn't a walk over. What Owens doesn't explain is why the BNP (including Owens) stopped harassing or visiting News From Nowhere around this time, and why they stopped selling papers in Church Street (their 'spec' in Liverpool city centre).

According to Owens: "Never did reds drive us from our pitch on Church Street even when they had double our numbers. It was only when they outnumbered us five to one or more". Sounds good - but Liverpool BNP wrote something very similar in the 'British Nationalist' magazine back in 1987. I know this because, in 1987, four BNP paper sellers in Church St, including the local organiser, were confronted by four anti-fascists - mostly anarchists. All the BNP papers and magazines were ripped up or confiscated. The article was in the free magazines. The BNP said they'd be back next week in force - but didn't turn up then, or in the long weeks and months that followed.

The BNP lost it in the streets - and not to vast mobs of 'reds', though you'd never guess this from Owens' account. The BNP could have tried to even the score by paying a visit, at any time, to the anarchist centre in town. Instead, rather than risk a head to head, they chose to repeatedly attack the home of someone Owens calls a "witch". Owens obviously knows a lot about these attacks, and says the "witch" should have been slashed "across the face". Yet nowhere does Owens admit he's talking about a teenage schoolgirl. I never knew her personally, but I do know she was young (15 or so, maybe less) living at home with much younger brothers. No-one should be surprised at this. The BNP were just acting like usual fascist scum - not the heroes Owens would like the reader to believe.

Owens ends this period with a claim that, after the BNP collapsed, "the owners" of News From Nowhere (ie 4 women) were beaten up in their shop, at night, by friends of his. "The owners" had apparently taken to sleeping there to stop fascist attacks. Owens writes how everyone was arrested, red-handed, but mysteriously no-one was charged. There are a few things that can be said about this - like how come no-one heard about this attack at the time? And how come no-one from News From Nowhere had any actual injuries? Fascist attacks on the bookshop - including arson - ended long before the BNP collapsed, as the BNP were forced onto the back foot. Shortly after the BNP collapse News From Nowhere moved from Whitechapel (near Victoria St) to Bold St. What Owens is actually describing is anyone's guess. Fascist victory against "the reds", at this time, I don't think so.

I'll end with one final point. Owens says he wrote this book as a response to the book 'No Retreat' - which deals with the many physical force defeats inflicted on violent fascists by Anti-Fascist Action and its predecessors. Owens, in the introduction, says he can't believe the authors of 'No Retreat' hadn't heard of him or the trouble he gave the left in the 1980s. So, you would expect Owens' book to give an account of how Liverpool BNP whupped the collective ass of Liverpool AFA. Except he can't say this as the total opposite occurred. In fact, the words "Anti-Fascist Action" never appear in Owens' autobiography with regard to Liverpool. This is despite all the anarchist anti-fascism of the time - from the mid-1980s well into the mid-1990s - being under the AFA banner. Funny that.

An ex-AFA member.

FURTHER NOTE
This review has previously been sent to the Nerve magazine in Liverpool, and Kate Sharpley Library. As this is a review - a response to fascist writing - it is anti-copyright and may be distributed and re-published freely.




An ex-AFA member

Comments

Hide the following 14 comments

At last

03.06.2009 11:51

At last a review of the ''infamous ''nazi hitmans'' exscuse for a book from people who were actually around at the time, always wondered why no mention of The Liverpool AFA,considered one of the most solid and militant branches in the country ,can't wait for the ''Hitmans'' response,sure it will be a load of bollocks.....COG [ ex AFA Leeds]

concerned of gipton


Response

03.06.2009 17:53

The Liverpool bnp collapsed after attacks on bnp members homes in 1988 (AFA).

I didn't know Hesketh was only 15 years old. She entered into the battle field and must except what can happen.

Me and my friends were arrested for attacking News From Nowhere. And yes, they in the shop were attacked.

Yes, reds did drive us fron Church St many times.

Some anarchists did run away and some didn't.

Ken Usher and other members did drop their papers and run when attacked by anarchists. I was not there that day.

Most of my phsyical confrontation was mainly with the swp and militant. I had that fight with an anarchist outside NFN

I don't see where i deny these things in my book?

Anyway, come and have a chat if you want, Mr ex AFA.

Joe Owens
mail e-mail: reziztanze@hotmail.co.uk


fascist wanker.. :)

03.06.2009 22:37

no, it doesn't look like you are denying anything, you simply forgot to mention all of that :) now fuck off and die.

antifa


Book

03.06.2009 22:44

Nothing has been left out the bbok i've stated on here. The original poster mustn't have read it all.

Thanks

Joe Owens

Joe Owens
mail e-mail: reziztanze@hotmail.co.uk


News from Nowhere

03.06.2009 23:04

Go and ask the owners (mandy?) of News from Nowhere about the attack in the early hours of that night. Anyway, come and have a talk and clear these points up.

Thanks

Joe Owens

Joe Owens
mail e-mail: reziztanze@hotmail.co.uk


snitch

03.06.2009 23:41

Interesting too the first comment was from Leeds: one candidate (for both pieces) is Paul Bowman, ex-Leeds AFA/Searchlight infiltrator.

Thanks

Joe Owens

Joe Owens
mail e-mail: reziztanze@hotmail.co.uk


fuck me

03.06.2009 23:54

fuck me mate, I don't care whether this attack is true or not, but braggin about attacking 4 women in the shop? wow, how very brave :) If something like that ever happened in my career as militant Anti-fascist I would make sure never to mention it to anybody, but obviously your moral standarts are different- after all fascist are in big majority fucking cowards and scum (and I am not even talking here about their politics..)

antifa


NFN

04.06.2009 06:35

I never attacked any women at News from Nowhere. I was arrested for an attack which are two different things. Go and read the book.

Joe Owens
mail e-mail: reziztanze@hotmail.co.uk


How Many ?

04.06.2009 08:43

How many murders you been implicated in Joey ? How exactly did you get away with having a body in the boot of your car when stopped by the police ? ,Even the BNP think you're a nut case and the plebs over on VNN are too scared of you to say fuck all ,You are the epitomy of everything a Nazi stands for ,Bully boy Phsycopath with massive delusions of grandeur, exactly the sort of person who would happily line up men, women and kids and shoot them in the head......Do you fantasise about working in the death camps Joey ? looks like you were born in the wrong era mate ,We'll never let it happen again....Regards COG [ and no I'm not Paul Bowman you Pathetic Nazi shitbag]

concerned of gipton


how sad

04.06.2009 08:56

"Me and my friends were arrested for attacking News From Nowhere. And yes, they in the shop were attacked. "

Either you attacked women or your friends did. That makes you scum for beating up a woman, or scum for having friends that would beat up women (whilst you stand there).

Either way, you are a nonce & scum. Do us all a favour and become "an hero".

{A}


How it was ,how it is

04.06.2009 17:11

Yes , what Joe says is true, sometimes the 'reds' ran, sometimes they stayed. From my experience bar one time, if the numbers were equal the anti fascists always ran.

The anti fascists today are smaller and from what I have seen less street wise than their earlier counterparts.
I went along to the anti RWB protest to see what anti fascists are like today.
The ones I saw with the masks were keen, but very unstreetwise, and did not give the impression of knowing that much about fighting. The police handled them easy. Even the ones who got into the field next to the site, seem to lose their nerve and would not enter the site, instead stood there and waited to be arrested by the police.

I am glad their nerve failed them, I went onto the site later, and from what I was told there was about 400 G up BNP members and supporters waiting for them. It would have been a very bad kicking for the young anti fascists.

The trouble for anti fascists today, is they read bullshit stories of anti fascists always beating a retreating fascist mob, which is far from the truth.
So when the day came, and it really came down to it, they failed, they expected running fascists, but instead were faced with the real prospect of getting a bad kicking.
I am glad those young men did not attempt to get on the site when they could have, they would have been badly hurt, I have kids their age and younger, and would not have liked to have seen this.

Anyway, the real enemy are not the BNP, but the Tories and Labour, the BNP will never hold power, it belongs to Labour and the Tories,

Ray


About time

08.06.2009 23:09

I've read your dreary book Joe (the online version) and it's about time it was exposed as the load of bollocks it is. You even flounder in the pool of inadequates that pass for fascists in this country. Watched your 'fights' and have not been very impressed frankly. No wonder Griffin ditched you.

Laters


Typical line from a fascist 'hardman'

09.06.2009 15:26

"I didn't know she was only 15 years old."

Joe owens, you are nothing but a nonce.

Noncewatch


fascist dreams

27.06.2015 18:06

just read this book,given to me by an old pal,seems old joe lives in a dreamland,like all fascists they talk a good old fight,i have met some genuinely hard cunts ,who are [were]rightwing and they would never talk like this or brag openly about attacking what is basicly young kids.most of these lads with age realise the bnp and nf were silly bastards who lacked a life. and thats what this book does shows how fuucking shit the life is. insecure and pointless. tyndall a ponce and sex creep pops up proudly in pictures.i have never heard of owens ,nor had any of the other lads i know,anti fascist and not.i passed the book on to a landlord in town,he flung it in the bottle bin,muttering fuck that shite. dreamtime for joe.should be the title.

eric
mail e-mail: killingjokedub@yahoo.com
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