It’s not entirely a surprise that in times of economic despair and when the end of the world is nigh, “facism” in the UK is seen to be gaining more of a following.
The BNP is a growing force in Britain. In May’s local elections it averaged 13.9% in the 612 wards it contested across the country, while in London it polled 130,714 votes in the London assembly elections. Locally, its results have been even more startling. It averaged 41% in the wards it contested in Barking and Dagenham in 2006, and this year it averaged 28% in Rotherham and 27% in Stoke-on-Trent.
Next year the BNP could win the Stoke-on-Trent mayoral election and has a strong chance of gaining several MEPs in the European elections, particularly in the North West, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber constituencies. Victory here, with the respectability and finances the job carries, will transform the BNP into a major political force.
What worries me is that the BNP was gaining popularity when the economic climate was good, in the “boom” years. It’s real moment of progress is yet to come.
It’s easy to take council elections for granted. They generally tend to be ignored, or populated with bizarre candidates or even stranger voters. And because of the low turn-out, you’re bound to see minority parties do well. It is difficult to really gauge the success of this far-right party from such results, but suffice to say they are bringing in significant numbers of votes.
So, should we not be concerned that the BNP has successfully marketed itself to the middle classes? The party might traditionally focus on immigration issues (that were once frequently in the news), and would in fact shamelessly lie about them while they were at it in order to gain votes. But in times where the two main political parties are two sides of the same coin, the BNP has gained success with voters who, quite accurately, don’t feel there is democracy anymore—not in the true sense. Middle class voters didn’t feel their voices were being heard. Then things like this begin to happen. And much of the nation was appalled when the BNP pushed for free speech as if they stood for all that was righteous and democratic. Their veneer of “respectability” has clearly being infecting more affluent areas over the past few years. It is a dangerous situation to be in.
Given the current and very blatant failures of capitalism, one can only be concerned that the BNP will develop their newfound cross-class appeal. As I said at the start, it is no surprise that, when the shit hits the fan, people turn to the extreme parties, perhaps. Given that this will add weight to the years of lying and negative propaganda, (here are some truths) on capitalizing on hatred and racial tensions in the news, and even going on tours to try to justify racism, the rise of the far-right in the UK is, disturbingly, far from at its peak.
A little education is in order for much of the population in the UK.
Look up “bigotry” and “prejudice” in a dictionary, and contemplate them.
Gentile’s “Fascism” has far more to do with the centralised Orwellian statism of the far left than the BNP.
Facism is where citizens are regarded as possessions of the state, like ants in an antnest; by definition it is centralising and controlling of every aspect of people’s lives: including censoring free expression and thought, and suffocating the education system with pervasive McCarthyist witch-hunt atmosphere, where for example failure to take part in the ritualised 2 minutes of hate against the BNP will have you branded a “racist”: a synonym for evil. BNP supporters are not witches; and attempting to ostracise people from the structures of the state in the land of their ancestors is a vain and immoral provocation; not a solution to anything.
If you want to see a true Fascist state, observe North Korea; Burma; China…
Race, according to academic concensus, and that means leading professors at Oxford, Cambridge, and worldwide, does not exist, only ethnicity does; thus the very concept of “racism” does not exist; only the ethnocentrism hardwired in all human brains: even if you could “eliminate it” through re-education camps and eugenics, it would return, as it is a trait positively selected for in evolution, for reasons that should be obvious.
In short, the problem is your own question, informed by your own prejudice. It is, of course impossible to be completely without prejudice, because prejudice is preference.
Instead of objectively trying to understand why people so many might support BNP-style policies; and then ask why this much larger number has yet to vote BNP, you may move closer to understanding what the actual problem is, rather than starting from the assumption that the concept of a popular BNP is the problem.
If you don’t, then all you are likely to enlist is a a long list of platitudinous comments along the lines of “BNP doubleplus ungood”, and no progress on your question.
What is dangerous, is that you are so scared of the BNP as to fear giving them free speech. Surely if your opposition to them was as righteous as you claim; and if they are such hated neanderthal oafs as to be no match for your fleet wit, you would take them on in battle and destroy them with ease.
Your fear belies your own lack of faith in the truth of your own beliefs and the lack of rigour or strength of your own arguments: you believe that you could lose to them in a fair fight; so you must keep the beast caged so you can poke sticks at it through the safety of the bars.
Herein lies the key to the truth. It is not the BNP that are any kind of oppressor: they are a bogeyman, a caricature of evil much like America’s North Korea.
The oppressor here is the regime, the mock-liberal regime that exists in Britain, feigning victimhood as it steathily steals your freedoms away – including your freedom to hate.
You, and others like you are safely bleating their mantra, as you enter their Orwellian fantasy. The BNP, you know, the “evil ones”, are the rebel alliance in face of this darth vader-like empire.
You are right about one thing though: education is the path to freedom: read about the cultural revolution in China; read about logical fallacy and critical thinking; read Giovanni Gentile, and for god’s sake, read Nineteen-Eighty-Four, and understand that IngSoc is here, and the BNP is but one tiny inarticulate muffled clumsy ranty voice of resistence.
They are the articulation of our evolutionary hard-wiring, and exist amongst the monks of Tibet; the Papuan resistance in New Guinea; the Amerindian resistence movements in the Americas and South Pacific; the Karen rebels in Burma… whereever there is an indigenous people having their identity systematically destroyed.. you will find the same voice that is manifest in Britain by the likes of the BNP.
Accept the world as it is; rather than as you would like to be.
Every time I hear the word “fascism” now, I think of Hot Fuzz. I love that movie.
There are a lot of fucking idiots out there. Unfortunately, I think we might need a flamethrower as opposed to education.
Hot Fuzz: awesome, and strangely, quite accurate to life in the West Country – I used to live around there! (Apart from all the killings, of course.)
Flamethrower: never the pacifist, Mr Remic!
Rinky: it’s a shame that you ruin 5% of sensible comments by 95% stream-of-consciousness fascist bullshit.
Who was scared of giving anyone free speech? My problem is when fascism tries to manipulate media to come across as more central, as it being what the people really think. You know, the usual trick of claiming that the nasty lefties are hurting their poor rights. Poor racists lambs.
Anyway, yes we’ve all read 1984 here – very familiar with SF novels, ta very much.
As for your statement on “prejudice” – I think you go on to destroy it yourself.
Thing is I want to have a respectable debate with you — I really do — but I’m not sure I can take anyone seriously who compares the BNP to “the rebel alliance in face of this darth vader-like empire.” Moreover, if you support a party whose leader is a holocaust denier, then you never really had much respect to begin with.
The other thing I’d add, to this “land of their ancestors” bollocks, is, um, the UK has been plundered by many civilizations – from the Roman to the Viking to the Normans. To be British is to be a mixture of races. And if you want to claim your skin colour as your sole claim for land here, I suggest you look at Mitochondrial Eve.