Right today the BNP tried to do an impromtu press conference outside the houses of parliment and for those who don't know the parties leader and the other guy who got elected as an MEP were pelted with egg's, had some fairly forceful pushes aimed in there direction and had people kicking out at them and their car when they tried to get away. This happened after some anti-racist groups and trade unions got wind of it, as the press conference wasn't announced beforehand. Now I have many issues with the BNP, but this is not the way to go about airing them, it just makes people who think the BNP are bad in general look like thugs and plays into the hands of the party, especially since the leader can now come out and claim the police did nothing and aren't investigating, along with saying it goes against democracy, which it does. Now the real question I'm trying to ask here is, is this the kind of democracy we want? The BNP had legitimate right and reasons to be there and isntead of being challanged through debate and discussion to dismiss there policies people used violence. Is this the kind of thing we want to see with any group of people or idea we don't agree with? To lash out at it with anger, because if it is, it isn't the kind of democracy I'd like to live in. It almost looked like something the Nazi's would have done in the 30's and those people who done it call themselves anti facist.
Well, John Prescott got pelted with an egg. In fact, it seems to be a veritable tradition in most European countries: http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/jun/01/politicians-pelted-by-eggs/ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11774663_ITM http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com...735-obasanjo-pelted-eggs-tomatoes-london.html So the BNP rep should consider himself a bona fide part of the government establishment now. Rites of passage...
They have the right to their press conference to express their views. Those people have the right to boo the BNP.
I'm not sure they have the right to throw eggs and chase them to their car though, that's a bit too far, and we'd never see it happen to a mainstream party...
I love the fact he blames labour. When is he going to realise that the majority of Britain would throw one hell of a party if he kicked the bucket tomorrow?
Eggs and kicking out at people is now official protest is it? So next time a trade union member says something I don't like I should pelt them with eggs, chase them then kick out at them? Or what if I don't like what the bloke in the pub says and his views? What about if next time it isn't an egg, its a brick, its just the start of a long road. I have no issue with them booing him and jeering and shouting whatever slogans they want within reason, because its there right to, but taking it as far as they did, including probably criminal damage with how some of them attacked the car, most certainly not. Because it works, when John Prescott got egged straight away you saw police dive on the guy and arrest him and even though there was no police there it plays straight into his and the BNP's hands and all because some people decided to be a bunch of hooligans.
Personally I'd throw eggs bricks at the idiots who thought voting for the BNP was a good idea. I'd then throw them at the current idiots in power who've made such a mess of things that they've created votes for a bunch of racist bigots
The schematic gap between between egg and brick is ridiculous. If the BNP can't take some people throwing eggs at them they are entitled to go to the police, there are video cameras there and everything.
Sorry, but I subscribe to the tenet of "the only good fascist is a dead fascist" line of thinking. If the British Nazi Party ever got into power then I'm sure we'd see a quick end to democracy.
ok ive been wondering this for a while. I dont like people saying crap that holds no basis on FACT. ive heard alot of stuff about the BNP but would like to form my own opinion rather than listening to some random person who heard it from this person who knows a person etc etc. anyone got any FACTS about BNP, i remember the paper doing some undercover stuff showing them to be extremely racist but i forgot which one. i was browsing there policies the other day on da t'internet and couldnt find any REAL racist ones. ive been hearing people sayin they want to kill all jews and muslims ? and that any ethnic minority isnt welcome in the UK ?
You should try looking on some of their forums, or hear some of the quotes from its members: Heres a good one: "I am only going to represent the white people. I WILL NOT REPRESENT ASIANS. I will not do anything for them. They have no right to be in my great country." - Derek Beackon And another: "A FRIENDLY DISEASE because blacks, drug users and gays have it." - Mark Collett on AIDS Possibly the best (and therefore the worst) "Without the White race nothing matters [other right-wing parties] believe that the answer to the race question is integration and a futile attempt to create "Black Britons", while we affirm that NON-WHITES HAVE NO PLACE HERE AT ALL AND WILL NOT REST UNTIL EVERY LAST ONE HAS LEFT OUR LAND." - Nick Griffin Now, I dunno, racist? Also, what about his talk about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X8QQwU00Jk&feature=related I dunno, make up your own mind, ive made mine.
They have the right to do their press conference and the protesters have the right for non-violent protest. The way the protesters acted, and their leader acted on news night last night makes them no better than the BNP tbh. Jeremy Paxman quoting Voltaire on news night how ever was pure win.
I'm of the belief that people in this country have given up on politics to the point where I think the only thing that will get them re-engaged and perhaps even get the politicians to start listening to the people they supposedly represent is if more incidents like this one happen. This is no way is linked to me now owning chickens and selling eggs to my friends....
now although i do not like the BNP i feel this thread is going down the anti BNP route instead of the debate i beleive the OP meant it to be, now my comment on that i do beleive that the way the protest happened does nothing to promote demorcracy since the format it ended up taking is in itself very fascist as it took the lines of i do not like what is being said so lets attack the people who are saying it, instead of what is being said the main problem with attacking the people saying the message instead of the message itself is that it will only give the people spreading the message more ammo when trying to gain sympathy and therefore the protest will have become self defeating point in question that if they had not thrown eggs and attacked them the likely hood is that this entire thread would not exist and therefore would not have gained extra publicity for talking about the BNP, as they say "all publicity is good publicity"
oh dear check out some speeches from nick griffen. VERY VERY VERY racist. party policies are clearly watered down to disguise this backbone of the BNP party. i can see why people voted for them, as they seem perfectly fine on the top. but watch a couple of those speeches and its all too clear.
There were people in my village who wanted to vote BNP simply becuse they wanted to lift the smoking ban!! It's this kind of naivety and ignorance, (as well as the hardcore thugs) that gets the BNP where they are now. Was all the blood spilled and lives given, fighting the fascists in Spain and in WWII, in vain?
How about black people not being able to join the party? As far as I'm concerned, the main issue with the BNP is that of opinion and reasoning, and the only legitimate way to counteract them is through superior opinion and reasoning. Violence does nothing but reduce us to a level which suggests we can't justify our dislike of them through words.
Remember this a party made of people who say things like : "To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting that forcefeeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence. A woman would be more inconvenienced by having her handbag snatched." http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...ft+than+rape,+BNP+candidate+claims/article.do While I don't necessarily endorse the behavior of the protestors, i'm not complaining... at all.
Thanks for actually doing some research, I also posted a ton of info on their facisism at the top of the page if you want to look at some more examples outside of Griffin. I do encourage individual research on political parties, it entirely exposes what they are about Personally I do not believe throwing some eggs at someone as "violence", infact I strongly believe the people who complain about it as "violence" would be absolutely outraged anyone was arrested for throwing an egg in say perhaps the final day of school. Should throwing eggs? be considered assault? sounds like a nanny state to me...