The Hierarchy of Discrimination.
The Guardian published this photograph under the title ‘”Gay porn’movie raises ripples on far right” – hmmn, may well have raised a few ‘nipples’, left and right, never mind ‘ripples’.
That was not the only archly camp and ambiguous comment in an article whose intentions seem far from ambiguous. The picture concerns a film made by Richard Barnbrook, London leader of the BNP, when he was a student, and allegedly contains scenes of flagellation, men undressing and frolicking in a river and a naked man apparently performing a sex act on another, something described as ‘hard for supporters of a party opposed to the “promotion” of homosexuality to swallow’.
Now, Mr Barnbrook was once a Labour party member, according to ‘Searchlight’. He was also a painter, conceptual artist and art teacher. Would the Guardian have been describing his work in thinly veiled homophobic terms if he had remained a member of the Labour party?
I think not. It is part of the general paranoia concerning the BNP.
Another web-site, Conservative Home, lists the criminal convictions of not just the elected BNP personnel, (including unproven charges) but of members of the party – and supporters. There must be many members and supporters of the Conservative and Labour parties who have convictions equally unsavory. Indeed, senior parliamentary members of those parties are currently being investigated to see if charges are appropriate.
Labour MP Martin Salter said of the EU elections:
‘we could end up with the shame of the BNP winning one of the 11 seats in the South-East and having the right to speak on our behalf.’
Michael Howard branded the British National Party a “stain” on British democracy.
Shame? Stain? Ahh! The racism card. Homophobia is OK when directed at someone who is alleged to be racist. We are going to end up with an interesting hierarchy of smears here.
Do we all accept that racism is the most serious slur – ahead of homophobia? Free thinking allowed on this one. In my view it is both despicable and grossly unfair to discriminate against someone on the grounds of their race, which is an accident of birth.
Does that make it despicable to discriminate for any result of the accident of your birth? Disability for instance? Nope. That’s not allowed. How about if your Father was a Nazi? Difficult one that, the law says no, which I agree with, but those who think that Max Mosley is a despicable piece of work would disagree and say that they should be allowed to levy the Nazi slur. That our libel laws are unfair and draconian. Can you call the Queen a lazy trougher? Yep, that’s perfectly OK, her position as Queen might be an accident of birth, but she is white, heterosexual and has her arms and legs in the right place, so you can say pretty much what you want against her.
Our piecemeal legislation has led us to a position where the so called ‘hate-laws’ are arbitrary, and, I would argue, only effective if you happen to agree with the left wing ideology that brought them into power. I happen to disagree with many of the BNP policies, not all; I disagree with racism based on the colour of ones skin or country of birth. I don’t disagree with the idea that there should be an open and honest debate as to what qualifies you to become a British citizen of a hideously overcrowded island. If every other party is going to shut down debate on that question, then there is a risk that many people will be tempted to vote BNP.
I shan’t be amongst them, I don’t have a vote, and if I did, it would be going to the Libertarian Party; but I will fight for every voice that decides to field a candidate to have the right to be heard in the public commons. Not just the voices that the ruling parties ‘approve’ of.
Which is why democracy is so important. Democracy is the only way that we have, collectively, to state that we disagree with the policies we are being governed by. Seeking to keep the BNP ‘below the salt’ as it were, diminishes the mandate of which ever party arrives in the seat of power – for the only mandate they really have is that the majority of us agree with their stance.
We are governed by consent. If the majority of the population agree with the thinking of the BNP – then that should be the prevailing ideology. Silence them and those that are left have no true mandate.
That would be the true ‘stain’ on democracy.
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May 16, 2009 at 3:30 pm -
Come back and be my MP.
Excellent post, as ever.
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May 16, 2009 at 7:08 pm -
Yes, it’s funny that distinction between art and porn – I always thought that the difference lay in one having a story and the other gratuitous sex. I used to apply the same distinction to paintings – until I discovered Hurst and Emin who turned it on its head.
When sudents divide into ‘for ‘and ‘against’ for a debate on censorship everyone always wants to argue against, it seems so much more logical in a democracy where everyone should have a right to say her/his piece. But it soon becomes apparent that arguing against is a much more difficult option; censorship exists for a reason.
So although I also defend the right of the BNP to stand and be elected I feel that extra steps should be taken to ensure that their voters know exactly what they are voting for. Caveat emptor.
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May 16, 2009 at 7:18 pm -
Yes, spot on about repression of the BNP weakening the mandate of the winners.
Janes says:
“So although I also defend the right of the BNP to stand and be elected I feel that extra steps should be taken to ensure that their voters know exactly what they are voting for. Caveat emptor.”Yes, extra steps should be taken so the BNP can be given a full right of reply to wilful slur and misrepresentation so their voters know exactly what they are voting for.
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May 16, 2009 at 7:20 pm -
Vote for me Im a Libertarian….
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May 16, 2009 at 7:36 pm -
Too true – this bit in particular:
“I happen to disagree with many of the BNP policies, not all; I disagree with racism based on the colour of ones skin or country of birth. I don’t disagree with the idea that there should be an open and honest debate as to what qualifies you to become a British citizen of a hideously overcrowded island. If every other party is going to shut down debate on that question, then there is a risk that many people will be tempted to vote BNP.”How else might a true-blue Tory scourge the useless Conservative Party come June? A Labour vote will only look like a bit less support for the official opposition, and a LibDem vote likewise.
UKIP? Well, they have the best set of policies of any party with European Parliament seats, but it’s looking like UKIP is the official ‘establishment’ protest vote, and the federast three main parties are likely to continue ignoring them [ and the Tories not will go on neither seeking a rapprochement with UKIP nor trying to win their supporters back to the Tory fold].
So electable small-State parties have just the UKIP as the licensed and powerless court jester to the statist 3.
Which leaves the BNP. With a centralizing economic policy well to the Left of Labour and a leader who was once a member of the white supremacist National Front it doesn’t thrill my heart to imagine voting for them, but you know what?
The Tories have decided not to do anything more for voters who are concerned about the EU and immigration as we already ‘on board.’ So they’re going after more LibDem votes by being ‘nice.’
read ’statist,’ high-taxing and high spending.
And that’s official.They’re taking my vote for granted; as well as the men and women who died – and who are still dying in the dust – to make that vote worth something.
How to hurt them and make them pay attention?
What else can I do?
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May 16, 2009 at 7:42 pm -
Does this mean the Monty Python films were pro BNP?
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May 16, 2009 at 9:32 pm -
The British public are absolutely pissed off with Labour telling us how to think. When Labour realised that they could not control our thoughts via schools and work-places etc., they decided to make new laws – to enforce us into being thoroughly accepting of each and all.
I think they still like to use ridiculous phrases about ‘learning respect’ and asking us, ‘What it is we are afraid of in by not accepting various groups of colour, sexuality or religion’.
The fact is that human beings are made of flesh and blood with brains and minds to work things out for our own survival.
No matter how a child is brought up and what opportunities are given to them or taken away from them ………… they will still be imperfect in the eyes of the law because they will still question the World and make up their minds based on instinct ………… not on what somebody tells them would be in the best interests of either themselves or their own groups.
Up until now ……… I have never met a young girl who has been adopted at birth by two gay Moslem men and brought up in a strictly Moslem household with her first language being Yiddish. If I was ever to meet this rarity I would doff my cap to whomever had made it possible for this happen.
No matter what we are told to think, there will never be Universal love for all humanity from any individualor group ………. Not even if Labour have the chance to indoctrinate every person on the planet for a thousand years ………. because people will question each other’s raison d’etre in the most abstract and ‘what if?’ ways. And they will come to conclusions of their own ………. not influenced by their environment or the enforced deduced by the State.
People are animals whether we like it or not. Animals. ………. And animals live on instinct. Big butch BNP men don’t know why they are sickened by homosexuality or the animal-slaughter methods of Jews ………… All they can say is that they don’t like it. ………….. I must admit that I have never seen a big butch BNP man balk at the idea of watching lesbian porn though! So ……….. some of their biggest arguments about homosexuality fall at this very first fence.
I have never seen many big butch BNP men pass a Moslem-owned kebab shop after the pub on a Friday night either. Nor do the families of these big butch upholders of the flag have any qualms about using petrol stations and newsagents owned by Moslems and Hindus etc.
The British people believe that the country has gone to the dogs and the average person in the street knows it will be the survival of the fittest. Anybody who feels unequal or is in a position of feeling unequal and unaccepted will be villified in the Press at the behest of people like Mosley and Murdoch in order to speed up the NewWorld Order and evermore Draconian measures to bring the public to order.
And ……….. thanks to the Press owners ………… everybody is now playing right into the hands of the dealers …………. So it looks like a win-win situation for the Right …………. whether Tory or BNP. Same sh*te with a different label.
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May 17, 2009 at 1:19 pm -
I see that Jackboots has pulled a fast one yet agin re ID cards and that HMRC will have acess to the database and be able to see if your spending is in conformity with your earnings. It’s this wanting a total intrusion into all aspects of your life that pisses me off. For them, their word is good enough because they are ‘Honourable Members’ but our word plus the threat of jail if forms are incorrectly filled out isn’t good enough. We are beneath their contempt. We are an annoying piece of dog turd stuck to the sole of their shoe. This attitude sickens me. I will be voting for a minority party in the European elections and a local independent council candidate (even though she is completely nuts).
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