who are you voting in the euro elections?

[strooood]

Changing the subject here but I've just seen that Brown hopes to change the election voting system. Talk about desperate times for him.

We should have proportional representation in this country and be done with FPTP.

[pauld]

It gave them publicity and keeps them on the front pages. I do find the "treat the BNP like shit" attitude to be quite amusing as its no better than the BNP attitiude to ethnics.

There's a bit of difference between chucking a few eggs and (say) firebombing mosques, to choose just one example of local relevance

[Ardiles]

Completely disagree.  Nick Griffin hates black people because they are black.  I hate Nick Griffin because he's a cunt.

Treating someone like shit because they are black is completely unacceptable.
Treating someone like shit because they are a cunt is completely acceptable, and should be encouraged at every opportunity.

[chalkies_shorts]

The point I was trying to make ( badly ) is that the attitiude to the BNP appears to be a stereotypical shaven headed nutter which is no better than the BNP thinking all blacks are lazy fuckers. They are more dangerous now than ever as they are no longer the exclusive preserve of Cmobat 18 etc.  

[pauld]

The point I was trying to make ( badly ) is that the attitiude to the BNP appears to be a stereotypical shaven headed nutter which is no better than the BNP thinking all blacks are lazy fuckers. They are more dangerous now than ever as they are no longer the exclusive preserve of Cmobat 18 etc.  

I think your original point that it keeps them on the front pages (and jonny's that it allows them to portray themselves as victims) was a reasonable one, but I'd disagree with the "stereotyping as shaven-headed thugs" stuff. I don't care how they look, it's the fact they're Nazis I have a problem with. And I think that's UAF's problem with them as well.

Apparently Griffin got egged in Manchester yesterday as well - much of more this and he's going to end the week like some kind of Fourth Reich souffle

[jonny72]

The big problem is that Nick Griffin appears to have gone legit, at least he appears to be staying on the right side of the law. So to fight him you have to keep it legal as well, if you don't you are lowering yourself to his level and giving him even more ammunition.

His press conference wouldn't have got more than a passing mention, but due to the attack it has been all over the news and given him even more air time. To make it even worse he then chooses his words carefully and its difficult to argue against them...."It's a sad day for British democracy", "an organised mob that's backed by all three main parties to stop us getting our message across to the public". Plus he will have just won some more supporters.

Anyone who thinks he was at all bothered by having eggs thrown at him is sadly mistaken, he's had far worse things done to him and brushed them off. He will be sat at home tonight laughing his bollocks off at them playing right in to his hands.

[pauld]

Hmm, I see your point, but still not convinced you just sit back and give them a free run. And the idea of Griffin and Brons going legit is fucking laughable

[Doore]

I think the best way to ruin Griffin is to let the man speak and argue against him with a bit of wit and brains.  He can't cope with that - people will soon see him and his party for the racist, ignorant bunch that they are.

[Nemo]

Dimbleby asked him why he didn't let non whites in and he said that it was because currently they can stop themselves getting fired using the Race Relations Act.

Surely not? The irony would cause the world to implode.

[chalkies_shorts]

Hmm, I see your point, but still not convinced you just sit back and give them a free run. And the idea of Griffin and Brons going legit is fucking laughable

Surely if they're talking bollocks then the best thing you can do is let them talk. In fact, give him a platform. Everyone knows he will twist things to his advantage like he has this attack. Don't give him the chance to exploit the publicity. Today's egg attack on him was pathetic and has backfired.

[jonny72]

Hmm, I see your point, but still not convinced you just sit back and give them a free run. And the idea of Griffin and Brons going legit is fucking laughable

The thing is though, Griffin and the rest of the BNP aren't the problem - so yes, we should just sit back and give them a free run. What we should be doing is looking at the reasons why people voted for them - that is the problem that needs to be resolved. I don't believe for one moment that its because all those people are racist, they have genuine issues that they are pissed over and voting for the BNP was the way they chose to air them.

[Doore]

Dimbleby asked him why he didn't let non whites in and he said that it was because currently they can stop themselves getting fired using the Race Relations Act.

Surely not? The irony would cause the world to implode.

Classic example of Griffin talking but not knowing anything.  Of course people cannot prevent themselves being sacked using their skin colour.  The act protects people from being sacked on the basis of their skin colour.  To sack someone because they are black would be a violation of the Race Relations Act.  To sack someone black for incompetence would, of course, not be illegal in any way.

The man is simply an idiot.

[jonny72]

Dimbleby asked him why he didn't let non whites in and he said that it was because currently they can stop themselves getting fired using the Race Relations Act.

I heard that and didn't understand it. I guess he's trying to argue that whilst the BNP is an all white party, sacking someone for being a member discriminates against white people as only a white person can be sacked for it. It seems a new argument as I hadn't heard of it before, let alone it being successful.

I did hear him giving another explanation for the white only rule - that there were various other groups and organisations that legally limit their membership to people of a certain ethnicity, so why can't they? He also said that as soon as other groups removed the limitations on membership, they would do the same.

[pauld]

The thing is it's all very well arguing that they should be exposed by the likes of Dimbleby or the excellent savaging he got from John Humphries on Radio 4 the other day, but the people who vote for them do not, by and large, watch or listen to these programs. I got excoriated on here for "banging on" about the BNP being Nazis by people who said I shouldn't get so het up about it because they were going nowhere. So we should all sit back and stop worrying about it. And hey-ho, now we as a nation are sending two Nazis to represent us in Europe. When exactly do we start worrying about it then? When they have two MPs? Three, thirty-three?

Jonny's (and chalkie in a previous thread) is right that the root causes are in the abandonment of the white working class by all parties, but especially New Labour, but that does not mean that the BNP do not represent a significant evil in their own right. They should be stopped and opposed at every opportunity and by every means available

[Ardiles]

Personally, I thought the egging incident made Griffin look ridiculous.  Having him hounded on camera in that way sets him apart from the mainstream and makes him look like an object of ridicule and a freak.  I sincerely doubt that there is an army new supporters out there now thinking 'Poor Mr Griffin...treated so shoddily by that mob...and doesn't he look so lovely in his suit...so plausible...my sister can marry him if she wants...such a nice man.'

I was surprised to see none of this made the BBC News at Ten.  So someone somewhere had obviously wanted to deny him the publicity others have mentioned above.