So, you support the far-right?

This article is aimed directly at people still involved in the movement.

To some, you are a Nazi, a bigot or a fascist!

But to us, your an individual, who made a mistake.

We know, more than most, that many people who get involved with extremism, do so because they genuinely care about the society we live in and have concerns and worries, and instead of not doing something about them, they act, to reduce these problems.

Sadly however, this is leading more and more people to the far-right, because in many cases, far-right activists will listen and offer simple answers, to complicated questions and because this engagemnet seems geuine and welcoming, this is how many people become involved, without seeing any danger.

However, the far right is not the way to make long term change and improve things

Why do I say this? Well, I was involved in the far right when I was young.

I got involved because I cared about soldiers' wellbeing once they had left the armed forces and this really came from my uncle.

He was a soldier and when he came home, he ended up suffering with mental health issues.

At the time I thought wrongly that the government wasn’t offering him any help.

One day my friend at the time showed me a post on his phone from a far right group and it said “if you think British soldiers shouldn’t be on the streets, share this post”.

After seeing this I asked my mate to get me into the far-right group he was already a part of.

From there, the group started to tell me that Muslims were to blame for soldiers being mistreated as they were taking all the money out the system.

They showed me lots of stats, facts and figures and I took it all in.

It was only years later, I found out these stats were actually fake and completely made up.

Seeking to help people understand, I didn’t get involved in the far-right because I hated Muslims. I got involved because I had a genuine concern, that was then taken advantage of by extremist recruiters. Building on this, the hate was slowly drip fed into me over several months, untill i eventually embraced their ideas as my own.

Looking back, I got involved in the movement as I thought I could make a difference for a cause I truly believed in.

Overall, I was involved for around 4 years and achieved absolutely nothing.

The demos did nothing but ruin our reputation, and gave many people a criminal record, as emotion took over and reason, went out the window.

My involvement led to me damaging relationships with family and friends, and today, that stigma in some peoples eyes, is still with me.

Since I have walked away from supporting the far-right, I have been able to build some of those bridges back, but sadly some are too damaged to ever be rebuilt.

As I look back, some family members have passed away before I had the chance to turn my life around. Their last memory of me, would have been seeing pictures of me marching through streets, singing racist songs, and this is something i truly regret.

Today , Exit Hate believes It’s okay to be concerned about what’s going on in the world. No one will blame you for that and honest and open conversations are the only way we can progress forward.

Right now we have so many issues in this country it’s hard not to be concerned.

However, no matter if it’s the cost of living crisis, the fuel crisis, the energy crisis, or any other issue that concerns you, the most important thing to understand is that the far right don’t have the answers.

The best way to deal with feelings of anger, frustration and not being heard, is not to become an extremist activist, but to have open and honest conversions in neutral spaces with people you know and trust and this could be your friends, family or adults at school.

Spaces where people won’t judge you for what you say, but also where people won’t try recruit you into a movement, that will only harm your future and others.

If you have a concern or a worry, talk to your teachers at school, family members or friends. Do not talk to people online you don’t know, you don’t need them. 

Being involved in any form of extremism, is wrong and will only harm your future and at Exit Hate, we believe you deserve better than that.

Want to talk? Please email us at – info@exithate.org

John – Former Far-Right Member