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The BNP- a 'racist' party?

I

Insulin_John

Member
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24
Hi folks and sorry in advance, as I'm not trying to start an argument.

On a history forum on the web, some members took offence to the right-wing party, The BNP, being slagged off as 'racists', 'fascists' and 'neo-nazis', and wouldn't hear any other viewpoint or logic (as opposers said).

They judge people based upon their ethnicity, skin colour, birthplace or creed, but deny being anything like the NF from the 70's, or like Hitler's mob.

So, are they in fact, racist, fascistic or neo-nazi by definition?
 
I'd like to know how anyone could define a political party that advocates the expulsion of "non-indigenous" peoples from the UK as NOT being racist. :?
Just as an aside though - if all non-indigenous people did go back to their country of origin, there wouldn't be enough people left in the country to run it. Unless any of us can trace our roots back to the ancient Celts? I'm Danish on one side originally, probably French on the other. :lol: Where would I go? Choices choices...
 
Perhaps all the BNP members ought to trace their family trees and get a few surprises along the way. I have traced mine back to the 16th century .
 
I agree- by our definition we are a mix of peoples- from the Arabic farmers, 'Beaker' people, "Celts" onwards etc.

Someone once posted- against much derision by the 'right-wingers'- about our 'half-English' heroes- Churchill; King Harold II; Paul McCartney; Isambard Brunel? :lol: :lol:
 
How "mixed" is the membership of the BNP??
 
I think this question is too imprecise, are you talking about the party or its members, certainly some of the BNP's policies can be seen as racist, but I know people who are members of the BNP who certainly aren't racist.

What the three main parties and the media like to forget when they attack both the BNP and its members, is that while our three main political parties are doing their best to occupy the same political position in the centre, there are many supporters of those parties who don't subscribe to the parties complete set of policies. In the same way many who are members of the BNP don't support all the party policies.

Unfortunately, if you want your voice heard when you vote and you don't subscribe to the middle ground positions of the main three party's then you are stuck with what is left.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like BNP policy, but I do understand how hard it is to feel like you live in a democracy when the three main political parties could swap policy and no one would notice. I joined the UK Libertarian party for that reason.
 
I think the word membership is pretty precise. I could have qualified theword Mixed as "ethnically", except that it's a euphemism for "racially". Essentially how many members of the BNP are NOT white Europeans?
 
I remember reading a story in a newspaper about a black woman who had joined, I can't say I trust the authenticity of this however... seeing as it was the Daily Mail...

... Tony... what about the Green Party for a "third way"... or the Monster Raving Loony Party? Anyone but the BNP! I swear, makes us seem like a country of supremacist thugs that we even tolerate them.
 
Part of being a democracy is that we don't always agree with the views of others and we have elections so that we can register our views, in this country we have a first past the post scheme that gives the majority the say.

Until the BNP does something that leaves the electoral commission with no choice other than to rescind the legal status of the BNP it is an evil that we must put up with, if we deny one group the right to voice its opinions then we face the threat of our voices being silenced as well.

This may sound odd, but in some ways I am glad that a party like the BNP can stand in elections because it proves that what we call a democracy in this country does work. You only have to look at Zimbabwe to see what happens when you suppress the opposition.

I may detest the BNP, but for as long as it sticks to the rules governing political parties then I will fight for its right to exist. This is also the point behind free speech, I may not agree with what someone else says, but I will fight for their right to say it, even if it offends me.

VBee said:
Snip...

... Tony... what about the Green Party for a "third way"... or the Monster Raving Loony Party? Anyone but the BNP! I swear, makes us seem like a country of supremacist thugs that we even tolerate them.
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It says a lot for the sense of the British public that the BNP received less than 1% of the national vote at the last general election. How much of a threat are they? At the moment they only hold a handful of council seats primarily in areas where racial tension is a problem. I suppose they might make some headway as the recession begins to bite but seriously doubt that they'll ever be much more than a fringe party.
 
This is peculiar. The BNP (formerly the NF) have become the party for people to pour their opprobrium on. Indeed they have become a repository for all the stereotypes who are presumed to be racist, bigoted, nationalist etc. In a sense they do society a favour because they offer a tangible body upon whom people can vent their spleen.

My concern would not be the BNP but rather those who remain silent as to their political perspective. They are the ones to be concerned about.

:)
 
but I know people who are members of the BNP who certainly aren't racist.
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Certainly deluded and naiive then?

That's like throwing a grenade through a restaurant window and claiming you didn't know there'd be any shrapnel?
 
There are a good number of British Asian's and British Afro-Carribean's in the BNP.

However there's a fine line between being pro-British and anti-anywhere else!
 
Certainly not deluded, or naive.

Insulin_John said:
but I know people who are members of the BNP who certainly aren't racist.
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Certainly deluded and naiive then?

That's like throwing a grenade through a restaurant window and claiming you didn't know there'd be any shrapnel?
Click to expand...

You're assuming the grenade is a fragmentation one, there are other types. That is the same as assuming that all supporters of the BNP are racist with no evidence to prove your point.
 
Yes I have, it is a particularly nasty concept that the Nazi party used as a reason to execute those who were disabled, had mental health issues etc.

I'm not sure of your point though.

Thirsty said:
Tony_Holden, have you ever encountered the concept of eugenics?

Diabetics beware!
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On a historical note, although the Nazi's took eugenics to its clinically logical conclusion, a number of social heroes and heroines were also eugenecists:

Marie Stopes (supported mandatory sterilization of drunks, the diseased, and the incapable)
H. G. Wells - co-founder of DUK, perhaps food for thought there Thirsty
George Bernard Shaw
Churchill
Sidney Webb (co-founder of the Fabian society)
William Beveridge (yes, he of the report)

In 1927 the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Virginia could sterilize those it thought were unfit to be parents.

Wikipedia has a very interesting article on eugenics.

Regards, Tubs.
 
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