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]

For what it's worth, there are circumstances when I could agree with all of this. If the BNP ever got elected to government, for example, I'd be doing everything in my power to bring down that government (and not expecting to survive the experience unharmed, either in body or soul, but that's by-the-by).

It's not that I think liberal democracy is 'ultimate justice in a capitalist society' - at least, I don't think it's that; I'm not completely sure what you mean by that anyway - it's that it's a system I currently endorse. That could change, but electing two BNP MEPs, no matter how unhappy that makes me feel, isn't enough to make me reject the system. And given that I don't reject the system, I have an obligation to work within it.

It makes sense to me that someone like you who broadly speaking does reject the system feels no obligation to accept the results. I think that's a consistent position - as I said above, there are circumstances under which I'd reject the system in a similar way to the way you do here.

On whether or not the BNP - and those who vote for them - have a right to be listened to, I realise that's a tricky one. I emphasise again that I don't think it's an absolute right, but one that I'm (through gritted teeth) granting them conditionally. I do realise that many people wouldn't even grant them that, and that is a clear political and ideological divide as much as anything.

I think it is important for those drawn to the BNP to see how much they are hated and/or not given legitimacy

I can't work out whether or not I think that's important. I think it's important (but very hard to achieve) that they realise why a lot of people disagree strongly with their views, and that they take a good long hard look at whether or not they actually agree with the views of the people they elected. Making them feel hated has the unfortunate likely side-effect of making them feel as though they have common cause, and I think can only increase the BNP's strength; I'm not sure I want that just for the satisfaction of letting them know they're hated.

That said, if I had an egg in my hand and saw Nick Griffin, my hand would twitch.

If I thought making them feel hated would stop them voting BNP, I might be OK with it. I see it as likely to have the opposite effect. These are people who feel that society has largely abandoned them; they're not likely to give much of a toss about its approval. In fact, they may see the hatred of society as welcome attention, and a sign that they're doing the right thing.

And if you're proposing disenfranchising as large a number of people as voted for the BNP, it's going to get bloody. You (and alan1957) may well be prepared for that; I'm not, yet.

[ergotia.livejournal.com]

Thanks for thoughtful response - will respond, thinking it over.