NEWS: Barclays Bank Closes British National Party Accounts

Originally posted by StrangeLands

If I were right-wing in my philosophies, I'd be watching my back. When the BNP crashes, there are going to be a lot of disgruntled rascists and bigots around looking for a new political flag of convenience...

and this is why right wing people like me will have to be extra careful and stanp down hard on those bigots when they try to mustle in. This year i like to think weve managed to drag the St Georges cross someway out of the mud, ruined by rasist thugs. We musn't allow that to happen again.

Couldn't agree more with the sentiments expressed already but might i play devils advocate for a bit?

Thankfully the UK 'first past the post' system for parliamentary elections means that there is ZERO chance of the BNP ever getting anywhere on a national level. Even getting one MP is totally unrealistic, as non-PC as it might sound, many of the people that one would most easily associate with the politics of the BNP are actually those least likely to be registered voters or active politically! However could it not be argued that the BNP actually benefits its opponents in some ways?

If we accept one of the basic principles of liberal democracy, namely "I may disagree with what you are saying but I will defend your right to express that opinion", then we must accept that, however abhorent we may find their views, people have a right to hold views consistent with those of the BNP. Is it not therefore better to have a party such as the BNP which provides a rallying point for these people and a medium for them to express their opinions? Most political analysts I know (I am not one myself but do work loosely in this field) consider that this allows the mainstream parties to focus efforts against a clearly defined grouping, one which is fairly easy to attack and discredit. History often shows us that where people are denied a legitimate outlet for their opinions they tend to become more radicalised. Is the existence of the BNP the price we pay for keeping that kind of opinion from expanding and developing further? Personally I would rather have a situation where the kind of people identified in the BBC programme were drawn to a single, more easily confronted group such as the BNP than be confronted with a disparate group of racist thugs operating totally outside the political process. Just a thought.

On a slightly different note I would be interested to hear peoples opinions on how we can address the issue of public servants being members of the BNP? The thought that one of my kids might be tought by a member of the BNP at school, or I might be policed by an officer who supports the BNP horrifies me. However if, as at present, the BNP is a legitimate political party, how can one support a teacher being sacked, as was being considered recently, for being a member of a totally legal organisation? As I said, I don't want my kids taught by such people, however I can't reconcile sacking someone on these grounds with my views on freedom of speech and association.

Sorry to have waffled on. I'm not sure I have expressed this post particularly well so maybe I will have another look without the 'benefit' of alcohol tomorrow. As you will have noticed if you have stuck with this thread so far, I have no answers, only questions, but I would appreciate peoples views.

Cheers for your time.

Badger



[edit on 16-7-2004 by Badger]

Well generally teachers are pretty professional about keeping their political views out of the classroom, and they tend to be a liberal bunch on the whole anyway.

You're right though, you can't tell a BNP member to look at one, and if your kids go to school in Burnley for example there's always a chance, given the 9,000 there who cast votes for BNP councillors. Should they be sacked? It depends.. if they are openly racist, yes.. but for being BNP members? No. (in my view). Politics MUST be kept legitimate and genuinely representative.

On a lighter note, I bet if the kids in the school find out they'll be more than able to reduce such a teacher to the state of nervous breakdown within a year.. certainly if my school days are anything to go by!

It's really a pity. No one here seems to know who or what they are. While the BNP
may have some questionable characters as members, the ideals for which they
stand seem sound to me. Does anyone ever stop to ask why multiculturalism is
usually presented by the controlled media as the best thing to happen in the West
since the rise of technology? Great Britain dismantled its empire, leaving its former colonial dependencies to govern themselves. Look at the results. Look at what is
happening in Zimbabwe and SA, for example. If the same manner of ethnic cleansing were to happen in Europe, it would be headline news everywhere. Robert Mugabe
wants all Whites out of Zimbabwe by next year. Just wait until Nelson Mandela dies.
Look at India. Look at Pakistan. These are all countries that wanted to be rid of the colonial oppressors, but it now seems that so many of them couldn't get enough, so they
had to go to the UK. Are they gluttons for punishment, or is it a realization that
European civilization is decidedly superior to their own? (Although it will become less
so as it becomes less a culture of indigenous Europeans and more Islamicized, Africanized, etc.)
You're not welcome in their places, why should they be welcome in yours? I recommend
casting off your liberal white man's guilt and preserving BRITISH culture.

Jdster.... I agree!

If I where to go to Pakistan, or Zimbabwe, chances are I would have to conform to their culture and drop my own, worse still I would probably end up dead just for being white.
Now they come to our country, refuse to speak the language, refuse to study our culture and history, yet expect free benefits, housing, education and for us to welcome them. There was an article in the BBc not so long ago about young Muslim men in Britain actually openly speaking of supporting terrorism and wanting to take part in Jihad here in Britain, and claiming that it wasn't their country and they didnt care. And these where guys that had been through our education system and had degrees! I notice that in our schools today, English history is being dropped in favour of "world" history. Why? Because being English is to be racist. It wasn't until recently with Euro 2004 that we could all fly St Georges cross witout fear of being branded as a right wing fanatic, but a scotsman or a welsman can proudly declare their identity and even have their own parliaments whilst ALSO being allowed to vote in Westminster, where is our parliament??
I do not condone persecution or descrimination, however it has to be on an equal footing. At the moment, the white Englishman is getting a very raw deal. If I was to attack a black man on the street, chances are I would be in court for a Race Hate crime, if the reverese where to happen, it would be common assault. There are laws in place that say (especially within our civil service) that if minorities apply for jobs, then they must get an interview, not so for the Englishman.
If the mainstream parties addressed the imbalance in their thinking of imigration, the law, benefits etc to actually level things out, extremism would be crushed, but if people feel disenfranchised and let down repeatedly, despite legitimate concerns for their OWN country, history, culture and identity, then they will resort to Far right methods, and the mainstream would have lost.

[edit on 16-7-2004 by stumason]

Update - BNP fights back!

BNP legal threat over bank move
The far-right British National Party says it is considering legal action after its bank accounts were frozen by Barclays.

BNP chairman Nick Griffin claimed the action breached European human rights legislation.

"We have the right to hold political opinions and to impart them," he said

So they're not taking this lying down then. I wonder what the outcome will be.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by Bastet

So they're not taking this lying down then. I wonder what the outcome will be.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Well the chances are that Nick Griffen will use this another tool for his political campaign. Next general election, we will probably see him use the documentry and accounts as a way to show that he, and the party, are being robbed of their basic rights.

the BNP say they stand for one thing when they really plan to do it a completely different way

they won't ever gain any major popular support because people know what rule under the Nazis was like, history won't repeat itself we have learnt our lesson

i think the BNP will be around for a long time still, though it will change shape and name, sadly it will be in British politics for a long while yet

[edit on 17-7-2004 by UK Wizard]

Originally posted by UK Wizard
the BNP say they stand for one thing when they really plan to do it a completely different way

they won't ever gain any popular support because people know what rule under the Nazis was like, history won't repeat itself we have learned our lesson

Thats the problem, they can get support. The two main parties in the UK, labour and tories, are basicly the same, always bitchin' about the other. LibDems are starting to gain major support, but still some are not to sure about them. So we can see the doors open for more parties to come and gain support, BNP only gets vote for immagration and crime. As i said early, they will get seats in parliament next year

[edit on 17-7-2004 by infinite]

LibDems are starting to gain major support

i hope the Lib Dems don't get any real power, Britain would be much worse for it.

I still don't think the BNP will gain any real power, not enough people follow their idealogy

All I can say is well done Barclays! They should fight for their right to refuse to do business with racist extremist yobs!

there is more to come about this in the next few weeks, IMO, i feel that Nick Griffen may take this to court.

Originally posted by UK Wizard
i hope the Lib Dems don't get any real power, Britain would be much worse for it.

I don't want to turn this thread into a party political broadcast, but what do you base your assessment on, UK Wizard? I admit Charlie Kennedy may not be the most charismatic speaker of our time - and no-one will try and tell you he's a great statesman - but the Lib Dems are the only mainstream party capable of forming a forward-looking progressive government.

And if Kennedy was replaced by Menzies Campbell, the political future of the UK would brighten immesurably.

Is it just their pro-EU stance which has you concerned?

With regards to comments about the 'white englishman' getting a raw deal, while i agree with some points about reverse racism and political correctness i'm not sure about the rest of it.

The reason Scots, Welsh and Irish can wave their flags and have parliaments or assemblies is because they were oppressed by the English in the past.

Especially in Wales early during the 20th century the Welsh language was banned in schools! If a child was caught speaking Welsh they had to have a sign around their necks saying "Welsh Not".

Due to various exploits done by the British Empire or even by England i.e the crusades. Terrible things were done under those flags. So you can understand why there's a big fuss about the flag of St. George.

Personally i don't see anything wrong with feeling proud of being English, so you should but you should at least understand why they may be some trouble.

even by England i.e the crusades

people tend to forget that all of europe went on crusades, france,england,germany,spain... the list goes on

people only look at the bad points of English history but none of the amazing good points that have benefited mankind

My mistake i'm not saying that everything England has done is bad, they've done a lot of good things. Just that some bad things were done under English rule in the past, because of that some people may have a hard time forgetting it.

i know:
England has done lots of bad things but it has also done lots of good things
i comes with meddling in global interests all the time

i feel bad for England's continous invasions of Wales
but Wales gave England the longbow which i'm thankful for
WALES KICKS A$$, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS ENGLAND

[edit on 19-7-2004 by UK Wizard]