Why not ban the party? Firstly because there are other far more
extreme, albeit less popular parties and organisations, notably the
British Peoples Party. Secondly, because surely a punitive response to
an oppressive party would be somewhat hypocritical. This isn't some
wet pacifist perspective of course - I'm all for physical
confrontation where necessary against hardline boneheads but a large
minority of members are probably just disillusioned white working
class people who see no alternative. By criminalising a political
party, the government would be using precisely the tactics that the
BNP would use against the left should they ever get into power.
In many respects it can be seen as the responsibility of the people
themselves to fight the far right at the grassroots, and this
information leak is an excellent opportunity for people to do this.
For too long has the government, councils and left parties
condescendingly wagged their fingers and polished their
multiculturalist halos while the BNP rise in popularity and influence.
By exposing the membership of the BNP to a perceived threat of
repercussions to their membership - by "naming and shaming", as the
right wing themselves call it - these BNP members are themselves now
facing the immediate potential of grassroots political organisation,
as well as economic and institutional threats e.g. sackings).
Now, this organisation needn't be the macho AFA-style street fighting
that british cities saw in the 70s, 80s and 90s (although there can
sometimes be a need for it), but rather it can be ordinary community
groups, social centres, mosques etc that are now able to access
information about threats in their own area. We've got to remember
that a lot of these BNPers were once NF or Combat 18 but got a bit
savvy and/or unfit in their older years.
"No Platform" needn't only be confined to border-making around public
institutions (trade unions, student unions etc.), but also community
hubs - imagine a list of local BNP members in every shop window, every
church, every doctors surgery saying "these people are not welcome
here". That's just one example of how we can use the leaked membership
list to combat the far right without resorting to statist/legalist and
punitive frameworks. I'm sure there are plenty more too...
Ant
Quoting John Jackson <[log in to unmask]>:
> This is all very well. But what should happen to BNP members? It
> seems ridiculous that in a democratic society such policies which
> promote intolerance, lack of inclusion, and are anti-multiculturalism,
> are legal.
>
> Why not just ban the party and make membership punishable by a few
> years in prison?
>
> On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 3:54 PM, Deb Ranjan Sinha (Gmail)
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> amusing quote.....
>>
>> "The BNP leader admitted the party was relying on the Human Rights
>> Act, based on
>> EU legislation, which it opposes, to try to protect the privacy of
>> its members."
>>
>> http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/19/bnp-list
>>
>
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