Oh dear

[djm4_lj]

I understand the temptation, but I very much doubt that anything Nick Griffin could have said in his press conference could have got him the publicity and made him look good to those who voted for him as being pelted by eggs outside Westminster. Doing this just makes him look like a martyr.

As a Liberal, I disapprove of treating any democratically elected representative this way, but even if you don't, I challenge you to convince me that this sort of protest doesn't just play straight into the BNP's hands. They want to be seen in the media being attacked and silenced - a lot of their core support are people who feel that they have no voice, so anything that looks as though this is a deliberate conspiracy to silence them will ring true.

Comments

[djm4]

I'm not saying - and wouldn't say - 'don't protest against the BNP'. For that matter, I wouldn't say 'don't protest against the Liberal Democrats'.

And yes, throwing eggs at people is a form of political protest. It's not one I approve of (it's possible there might be a situation in which I would, but this isn't it), mostly because it's a little bit close to assault for my liking. It also - to my mind - gives the impression that people opposed to the BNP have no arguments against them, and have to resort to violence to try to silece them. Especially as one effect of the protest is that Nick Griffin cancelled a press conference. It will look to a lot of his supporters as though he's been prevented from speaking uncomfortable truths that some people would rather were left unsaid. It doesn't matter that the 'some people' in this case aren't the government or the media (if that is indeed obvious to a BNP supporter); what's clear is that they're anti-BNP, and therefore part of the great big 'what's wrong with this country today' gestalt that the BNP supporter voted BNP to protest at.

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

It's not "close to" assault, it is common assault. Hence my objection to it.