No more “are you thinking what we’re thinking” campaigns, no more pandering to the right on immigration instead of standing up for people’s rights.Agreed.
We need to be positive about immigration, positive about multiculturalism and positive about asylum. We should be proud of the fact that so many people want to come here to work and live, and proud of the fact that the UK is viewed as somewhere safe, a great place to start again.
In short, we need positive messages to counter the fear and resentment and consequent xenophobia that is at the heart of any campaign run by BNP.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Dealing with the BNP
Jo nails what needs to be done in her excellent additional comment to this post:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Thanks for the link :)
Well said.
In fact I'm embarassed to admit that I hadn't thought of it that way at all, so thanks Jo. A different opinion is always an interesting one.
It's actually the line The Economist has taken consistently all the way through the immigration furore.
I visited the old alma mater in Wolverhampton during the run-up to the local council elections, and travelling on the bus I was subjected to the sight of BNP adverts on lampposts next to the Labour and Lib-Dems. The caption read "People like you, voting BNP".
People like me do not. People like me spit at the feet of those who do, all of whom are either racist or stupid.
Am I being judgemental? Maybe, but when I lived in the Midlands I read their material and it was clearly racist. Anyone who read it could see it, and anyone who voted without looking at the material of the people they voted for is, I think, pretty stupid.
Having said all that, there's a more salient point that was brought home to me last year (long story as to how). There are three sides to this debate. There are the Mail-reading reactionaries who sit in the pub spouting the usual racist myths. There are people who challenge those arguments when they hear them. And there are those who vehemently disagree but sit quietly, not wanting to cause a scene.
I'm ashamed to say that all too often I fall into the last group. Something almost all of us should work on in future.
Hmmm, I think it's also worth looking at how well the BNp are really doing - I've had a look at their finances here
Post a Comment