Popel Vooje
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Edited Jun 10, 2009, 16:21
Re: Nick Griffin gets egg on his face
Jun 10, 2009, 14:26
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I'm normally ambivalent about this kind of protesting as well - in some cases it can amount to an own goal on the part of the protestor. However, in this case I'll raise you one on the bricks, and add that I'm sorry it wasn't bullets.
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ToneStone
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Re: Nick Griffin gets egg on his face
Jun 10, 2009, 16:20
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Brown eggs
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Popel Vooje
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 10, 2009, 16:27
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jshell wrote:
By allowing Griffin his (democratic) right to speak and air his views, the mystery is broken and we all get to see him for the person he is, consequently the BNP will disappear from politics - hopefully!
I disagree with that sentence. The BNP are just as practised in the art of spin as any of the mainstream parties - in fact, probably more so. letting Griffin speak publicly won't reveal the truth behind his vile ideology at all - just more platitudes about how "we're not a racist party anymore - no, really. Honest. We're the victims of multi-cultural racism against the white British citizen, not the perpetrators"
The only way to expose how these people really feel would be to join the party and clandestinely film one of their meetings (as has been done in the past by reporters from both the BBC and Channel 4).
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geoffrey_prime
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 10, 2009, 23:17
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Hear hear. Within the law, anyone should be allowed to speak their piece. I want as many people as possible to hear Griffin and in particular, see him challenged on BNP policy. There will be people who voted BNP recently who may not even have heard Griffin speak!
I do not know who the "egg-throwers" are in this case...but what right do they have to dissrupt free-speech?
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jshell
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 11, 2009, 09:36
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Popel Vooje wrote: jshell wrote:
By allowing Griffin his (democratic) right to speak and air his views, the mystery is broken and we all get to see him for the person he is, consequently the BNP will disappear from politics - hopefully!
I disagree with that sentence. The BNP are just as practised in the art of spin as any of the mainstream parties - in fact, probably more so. letting Griffin speak publicly won't reveal the truth behind his vile ideology at all - just more platitudes about how "we're not a racist party anymore - no, really. Honest. We're the victims of multi-cultural racism against the white British citizen, not the perpetrators"
The only way to expose how these people really feel would be to join the party and clandestinely film one of their meetings (as has been done in the past by reporters from both the BBC and Channel 4).
But, when he speaks people see him for the knuckle-dragging, neanderthal, racist that he is.
I agree with the idea of another "expose'", but stifling free speech is a dangerous precedent and prevents the moral high ground being taken in areas and countries where it suits peace, democracy etc, etc... How can we complain about Abu Hamza et al spewing hatred, violence and other garbage, but stifle Nick Griffin?
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anthonyqkiernan
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Have a go yourself
Jun 11, 2009, 13:57
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Childish but fun
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fauny fergus
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Re: Nick Griffin gets egg on his face
Jun 11, 2009, 16:59
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Well, it's kept him on the front pages, not sure if that was the result the egg-chuckers were after but then i guess *that* all depends on who chucked 'em.
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Merrick
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 11, 2009, 18:04
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jshell wrote: By preventing Griffin from speaking there's some form of mystique about the BNP provided, which may actually get some people to support it and sympathise with him.
He's not entirely prevented from speaking. He, inevitably, was interviewed after the throwing.
If there had been no disruption there would just have been him saying his spin. Instead, there are also interviews with the people who disrupted him who get to point out that Griffin is a racist, holocaust denying, homophobic fuckhead.
jshell wrote: Hitler used the same tactics
hitler also said that the Nazi party couldn't have risen to power if the Communists and trade unionists had properly confronted them out on the streets. Instead, the Nazis were out there marching while the lefties were hand-wringing in meetings.
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Merrick
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 11, 2009, 19:17
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Then again...
jshell wrote: By allowing Griffin his (democratic) right to speak and air his views, the mystery is broken
Give him the mic and he comes out as a climate denier
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/jun/09/climate-change-oil
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fauny fergus
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Re: Silly thing to do.....
Jun 11, 2009, 20:31
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Merrick wrote:
jshell wrote: Hitler used the same tactics
hitler also said that the Nazi party couldn't have risen to power if the Communists and trade unionists had properly confronted them out on the streets. Instead, the Nazis were out there marching while the lefties were hand-wringing in meetings.
Yeah, well, i wouldn't set much stall by what hitler said. During the early '30s germany was practically at civil war in many of its cities with ongoing armed conflict between the spd, kpd and the nazis. Yes, the spd and kpd were divided and that split the left but they were hardly, "hand wringing in meetings."
Anyway, all these hitler comparisons are spurious; britain (well, england) is not suffering a depression in anyway comparable to that germany experienced from '29 onwards; it has not undergone defeat in a europe-wide conflict; it has not suffered a humiliation comparable to versailles.
griffin isn't hitler and he hasn't got the backing and infrastructure that hitler had; nor is there a freikorps to inherit.
He's a silly man who has repeatedly been propelled into the public mind. The Egg-throwing keeps him on the front page and prevents his shitty little speech from being heard and saves him a savaging for what he said. It's almost too perfect for him.
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