October 22, 2009

"The case against inviting the BNP to appear on Question Time is a case for censorship..."

"... the case, in other words, that (in the opinion of those who make it) the BNP's policies are so abhorrent and so liable to sow hatred and division that they should be excluded from this form of public discourse altogether.... [I]t is unreasonable and inconsistent to take the position that a party like the BNP is acceptable enough for the public to vote for, but not acceptable enough to appear on democratic platforms such as Question Time. If there is a case for censorship, it should be debated and decided in parliament."

A hot debate in the UK. 

More here.

18 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Elections are becoming the window dressing with outcomes pre-determined in the era of world governance. The American experiment in free speech for free elections that are winnable by an outside opposition to the Government is a luxury few governments feel that they can risk anymore. That was and is the issue today and it started in little Honduras. When the birthplace of rights of the governed, that we took so seriously in the New World since 1776, has surrendered, then what will happen next is going to be a collectivist tyranny with computers.

ricpic said...

Who do they think they are, those BNPers, wanting to keep Britain British? That's hateful that is.

Unknown said...

Slightly OT - I can't think of anything that would benefit this country more than Question Time.

POTUS (or TOTUS in the current administration [of course, Barry would need all his commissars. Axelrod, and RAHM-Bo to tell him what his positions were]), the Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority Leader all taking the slings and arrows. Prime Time, all channels, including cable.

Forget Survivor - who gets voted off the Hill first!!

WV "demist" De haze you see first thing in de mornin'.

Shanna said...

Has anyone read Jasper Fforde's Something Rotten? This reads like it came out of that book.

Alex said...

The UK is one small step away from total tyranny. Why not ban the Tories? I'm sure plenty of people think they're racist too! Then we can start banning political parties in America, you know the ones that Monty hates - like the GOP. Why not?

The Drill SGT said...

since the BBC is state supported Media, funded by TV taxes, it ought to feature all of the parties who have success at the ballot box in some proportion to their representation tohe their popularity.

If the positions of the BNP are abhorent, all the more reason to call them out on it in a show designed for the public to query their politicians.

Unknown said...

They will find out soon enough that sunshine is the best disinfectant. Obama ought to remember that too in his war against Fox.

traditionalguy said...

PatCa...Obama and his supporters fear disinfectants more than anything else. Then they would all be gone at the next fair election where only the votes of real voters are counted.Lies are extremely vulnerable to even a small truth entering the room on a facebook page...like a light entering a dark room.

LonewackoDotCom said...

edutcher: I tried to conduct my own "question time" of BHO way back in February 2007. He could have been forced to withdraw if I'd gotten any help with that. Instead, well, we see what happened.

As for the BNP, some of the things they say about them might be true, but at the same time the other English parties (from my very limited observation) don't seem to be opposing massive/illegal imm.

And, if you don't think something like that can't happen here, there are currently a few campaigns against Lou Dobbs. Both of the major groups are linked into the Dem infrastructure. It would be possible to undercut their attempts if I could get any help, but I'm not expecting anything since actually figuring out how to achieve goals is apparently too difficult for many.

KCFleming said...

If you attempt aggressive questioning of Democrats now, they call the cops on you. Even for reporters.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

They made the BNP worldwide news. Most people reading this have never heard of them. GG.

Balfegor said...

Re: John Lynch:

They made the BNP worldwide news. Most people reading this have never heard of them. GG.

Really? Both the links are to the Guardian. I kind of suspect most readers of the Guardian are quite familiar with the BNP, or at least with the idea of the BNP. And I've heard of the BNP at least -- I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the readers of this blog were at least passing familiar with the BNP. Besides, beyond Britain's shores, is there really a huge amount of interest in either the BNP or Question Time, such that this would do anything much at all to the BNP's international profile?

Re: Alex:

The UK is one small step away from total tyranny. Why not ban the Tories? I'm sure plenty of people think they're racist too! Then we can start banning political parties in America, you know the ones that Monty hates - like the GOP.

Oh come now. Do you, like the Roman, seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood? haha

Diamondhead said...

The BNP is an ugly party, but it's the kind of organization that grows when the mainstream parties treat concern about immigration levels as abhorrent racist nativism. Address those concerns, discuss them, and the BNP goes away for the most part.

LonewackoDotCom said...

Pogo writes: "If you attempt aggressive questioning of Democrats now, they call the cops on you. Even for reporters."

You're right. It's best to just let the two main parties we have do what they want w/o interference. Who knows? You might get JoeThePlumbered or something! Come to think of it, why do we even need two main parties? Wouldn't just one make things that much more efficient?

P.S. Is Pogo an "energy vampire"?

KCFleming said...

I'm all for getting in their face, LW, but I think we're about 15 years past being free to bitch. Now freedom of speech carries a significant cost.

LW, I also notice you tend to piss on your friends. It's a bad habit.

holdfast said...

The only reason the BNP gets so much support is because so many important topics have been rendered "off limits" to the "legitimate" parties. If the "Conservatives" refuse to talk about things like sensible limits on future immigration and whether to become even more mired in Europe, then people will find a party that will discuss them - even if that party happens to feature some unreconstructed fascists.

miller said...

This is going to drive that guy with the green football absolutely nuts.

LonewackoDotCom said...

Pogo: Do you know how long it took me to find her name? She and many, many, many more haven't been JoeThePlumbered. The reason they don't have an impact is because they ask bad questions.

As for my "friends", name some. I don't "piss on" those who are fighting the good fight, only on those whose fights aren't good or who aren't doing things the right way and who aren't trying to improve their techniques.