Should we deny racists publicity?

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Pierre

Animal rights protestors, some of them extremely violent are far left supporters but probably vote for the Green party - should we ban them?

No, but there is probably a case to be made for outlawing the more extreme animal rights groups.

Originally Posted by Pierre

I don't believe the BNP has taken responsibility for killing anyone.

Peter Sutcliffe may have been a Labour voter.

Animal rights protestors, some of them extremely violent are far left supporters but probably vote for the Green party - should we ban them?

Hmmm. I take your point but I think it safe to say in the instances mentioned that racial violence and membership of the BNP are more closely linked than violence in the name animal rights and the Green Party (if the structure of their website is anything to go by it's their 9th priority whereas, whatever they might say, the BNP is fundamentally a one-trick pony and it looks like it may - I believe it's yet to come to court - through the actions of its activists have incited racial hatred and/or perpetrated racially motivated assaults). At the end of the day unless it is the party, rather than figures within it, that are seen to commit/promote these acts, then the party should be allowed to exist. Quite where you draw the line in determining the difference between individual/party line action is not easy. And even if you decide, say, purely hypothetically, following the jailing of the entire leadership for violent racial offences, that the organisation should be banned, all that would happen is it would resurface under a different name.

Originally Posted by andyl

Hmmm. I take your point but I think it safe to say in the instances mentioned that racial violence and membership of the BNP are more closely linked than violence in the name animal rights and the Green Party (if the structure of their website is anything to go by it's their 9th priority whereas, whatever they might say, the BNP is fundamentally a one-trick pony and it looks like it may - I believe it's yet to come to court - through the actions of its activists have incited racial hatred and/or perpetrated racially motivated assaults). At the end of the day unless it is the party, rather than figures within it, that are seen to commit/promote these acts, then the party should be allowed to exist. Quite where you draw the line in determining the difference between individual/party line action is not easy. And even if you decide, say, purely hypothetically, following the jailing of the entire leadership for violent racial offences, that the organisation should be banned, all that would happen is it would resurface under a different name.

Exactly, I know I thrown in a few silly comparisons to try and make point. But banning something like this in a free society is not the way.

Getting out there into the communities talking to the people who feel compelled to vote the BNP finding out why they are doing it and changingthings so that they feel they don't have to.

There are normal evreyday working class people voting for this outfit - and there is a reason, and there is also an answer to it.

That's the issue to be addressed. Banning something and then hoping it will all go away is not the sensible approach.

[punky]

Originally Posted by andyl

I disagree. The BNP is fundamentally a racist party. I live in a multi-ethnic working class area and hear racist views on an almost daily basis. It is this that the BNP nurtures and exploits, aided, no doubt, by the nasty politics of the right wing press (which cultivates that idea of PC politics, second place shunting etc).

I don't disagree with that, maybe I was a bit unclear. There will always be fundamentalist racists people. Pure race hate. They will be drawn to the BNP for obvious reasons, but they alone won't bring the BNP to power. Their percentage is actually rather small. The real danger lies with the disillusioned people I said before. The pseudo-racists. The people that don't hate other ethnicities but hate the way that politics work with them. They have the numbers and power to give the BNP some influence, if they are tempted to be persuaded to move to the BNP. Labour have themselves to blame for that. The BNP have significantly cleaned up their image from the tar-and-feather brigade, to a more moderate voice to lure these voters that would be dissuaded from voting for a violent hate party.