Knotty

[poliphilo]

Britain's top fascist- Nick Griffin of the BNP, who has a well-documented enthusiasm for Hitler, political violence and getting rid of immigrants-  has taken to addressing his troops in front of pictures of Sir Winston Churchill- who had a well-documented  lack of enthusiasm for Hitler- and a Spitfire which research has shown was flown by a Polish airman.  A bunch of generals and war heroes (orchestrated by right wing tories) ask him to desist because he is besmirching the values of the British military- which now  include "tolerance" and " fairness". He replies by drawing attention to the generals complicity in Blair's wars and compares them to Nazi war criminals- with the implication that they deserve to be hung.

Comments

[jfs.livejournal.com]

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

It is galling though.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Griffin isn't lacking in low cunning.

[petercampbell.livejournal.com]

The worry is that he'll be cunning enough to position himself as a reasonable, moderate figure rather than the values that he and his party actually represent.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's what he's trying very hard to do. Fortunately he seems to be just about the only advanced machiavellian in a party largely made up of boot boys and loonies. He may be able to work the trick, but his rank and file are always going to let him down.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

Part of the success of far-right ideologies and parties is that very legitimate viewpoints like immigration reduction (which I happen to support) rarely, if ever, enter the mainstream of public debate in "open" societies like Britain or the United States.

I don't think of myself as a "fascist", but if I had to choose, I would extend measured support to a far-right party (as long as it didn't advocate violence or totalitarian policies) before I would support a "conservative" party that supported massive, unrestricted immigration and unfettered foreign interventionism.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The far right is winning support among the urban working class- whom the Labour party is supposed to represent, but has long since abandoned.

Is there such a thing as a party of the far right that isn't violent and totalitarian?

[algabal.livejournal.com]

The far-right John Birch Society, admittedly not a party, is strongly anti-surveillance state, anti-PATRIOT Act, pro-free speech, consistently anti-war, etc. The same is true of far-right activists like Ron Paul.

None of these things can be said for mainstream liberals or conservatives in the US or Britain.

I have nothing culturally in common with these people but they at least have some guts to oppose evil.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't think there's a British equivalent to the JBS. The BNP- which Nick Griffin fronts- is run by the sort of people who have shrines to Hitler in their bedrooms and push excrement throgh letterboxes.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

How very confused he is. Obviously has not thought through his marketing positioning if he can't work out whether Hitler or Churchill is the icon of choice.

I do think these people should be allowed to speak rather than be "denied the oxygen of publicity". When they do say something (to the kind of audience that watches Question Time on the BBC) it won't be long before it turns into a mad rant or a demonstrable fallacy, and people will see how loopy they are.

And wow - the Army is repositioning itself big time too!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He knows that the British electorate would never vote in any numbers for an avowed Hitlerite so he's trying to remake himself as an old fashioned, beef-eating, English patriot.

I don't think he'll rant on Question Time. He's very canny that way. He has considerable political skills. The way he handled the generals was pretty adroit.