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Originally Posted by Damien
I read that the BNP is been denied newspaper coverage and that the national union of journalists are not allowing BNP member to join its union. Newspapers are also actively being asked to avoid reporting on any BNP activities and to refuse BNP letters and opinion.
Recently there is evidence of this. The complete lack of coverage the BNP leader got when he got arrested showed that the media is avoiding giving them any more free publicity. A recent invitation to the BNP leader for a debate was withdrawn from the university that invited him.
I have seen these comments on the BNP website itself (its amazing the lies and racist views these people have but also the amount of fear and hate these people have) Obviously the fact it is on their website means you have to take it with a pinch of salt. But I have also seen this in the more mainstream media as well.
So in the run up to an election do you believe it is right to repress these views just because they are wrong? Should we try are give these people as little publicity as possible to avoid them getting any more votes. Or should we allow them to speak and hope that by given them a platform we can then expose their lies and they will be defeated by a free exchange of ideas instead of being defeated though denying them publicity?
I personally am not sure where I stand. I would like the BNP to be defeated in debates and to be exposed as the racist party there are to its members. Hopefully doing enough damage to finish them off for good. I think that by repressing them it makes them more determined and convinces their members that they are right. If you don’t give them publicity, we can’t prove them wrong.
On the other hand, how can we be sure that they will be defeated though ideas? Chances are they will get more votes if we give them the more publicity and its members wont believe us anyway or already know what the BNP is but still support them. Would Hitler ever have gotten to power if he didn’t have publicity? Properly not.
So what do you think? Deny them publicity, or challenge their views?
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I find the BNP and racists like them repugnant and obnoxious, but it is difficult to ban publicity as such: unless that publicity clearly breaks the law, likewise any of its supporters who are known to have broken the law ought to be punished. It is difficult banning: would itself generate their own conspiracy theories. The media on the other hand need not report on their activities so generously, far better to show the incompetance of their representatives on councils.