Officer resigns over BNP badge

Originally Posted by northwind

Essay about the BNP

extremist parties all over the world tout the same kind of sh1te to the fearful middle classes. If you are intelligent you can see right through it, if you're a bit dim you think they can work miracles. Bunch of scum, IMHO, but society shouldn't stoop to their level; they must be defeated democratically.

I'm still a libertarian and Harcourt's quote says it all for me "a Government which is not free interferes with everything it can, and a free Government interferes with nothing except what it must"

Originally Posted by northwind

The serious point is that people are voting for these guys for various reasons, but a lot of people are doing it because they want the BNP to deliver on their fantasy policies

This is going to be popular.

You have a fair point there Northwind, however, I know of a LOT of right thinking, reasonable, fair, non-racist people who have voted for them recently, but not for the reason you mention.

Most people I have met who have admitted to voting for them (and I'm sure there are a fair few who won't admit it) have done so in order to make a statement. And I will include myself in this. I know they'll never get any power or ever be able to deliver on their so-called legitamate policies, but if enough people do vote for them (or UKIP or whatever fringe party's there are at the moment), the main parties might sit up and take notice and realise that there is strength of feeling in this country at the moment.

As for the original subject, it worries me that freedom of thought/speech is rapidly being eroded.

Basically the whole national police force is hypocritical by allowing the Black Police Officers Union and giving special dispensations to ethnic minorities who will not do certain jobs. This goes deeper than people think and in my mind PC CARRIED TO THE EXTREME
When I was in the police I had to make a declaration about one of my affiliations but this never stopped me upholding the law
It can be carried even further by saying that Catholics are prejudice to protestants who are prejudice to Muslims who are prejudice to Christians and all other faiths
IMHO ones Political and Religious beliefs shouldn't interfere with their job and remain a
personal right

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by simesb

extremist parties all over the world tout the same kind of sh1te to the fearful middle classes. If you are intelligent you can see right through it, if you're a bit dim you think they can work miracles. Bunch of scum, IMHO, but society shouldn't stoop to their level; they must be defeated democratically.

I'm still a libertarian and Harcourt's quote says it all for me "a Government which is not free interferes with everything it can, and a free Government interferes with nothing except what it must"

Just the extremist ones?

Exactly, by this sort of thing the extremists are glorified, made to look like a serious threat, and the whole democratic process undermined in a Mugabe-esque style.

[Biker Biggles]

Re Northwinds essay about the BNP.

Thats exactly what we should be doing,debunking their policies or lack of them,not allowing individual cops or anyone else to be sacked for wearing a badge on their day off.I said it was "new labour" not because of the arrogant actions of the GM police,but because the law allows them to pick on an individual like this instead of dealing with the issue of whether the BNP should be banned outright or allowed in full.What we have here is a wishy washy half measure where it is not illegal except if your employer thinks it ought to be.Now thats undemocratic.

Originally Posted by neio79

yes there probably are. but just like the police if they show open support for a legal political party with the same status as the others then they would be in the poo poo. its wrong IMO.

i think it boils down to where you (us) stand on racism.

Originally Posted by stanie

i think it boils down to where you (us) stand on racism.

No it doesn't - it boils down to where you stand on liberty.

Originally Posted by simesb

No it doesn't - it boils down to where you stand on liberty.

no it doesnt

im never going to "defend the right" of someone to spout racist ****.
im never gonna defend the right for someone to want to reduce the age of sex to 12.
i could go on.

Originally Posted by stanie

no it doesnt

im never going to "defend the right" of someone to spout racist ****.
im never gonna defend the right for someone to want to reduce the age of sex to 12.
i could go on.

Since when did wearing a BNP badge = spouting racist '****'?

[northwind]

See, I'm still wondering if there's maybe more to this than meets the eye. Nobody's proved he's a BNP member, which is what the offence would have been (right or wrong). Being a supporter isn't proscribed. But they investigated him, searched his house etc, and as a result he was required to resign. So, was he forced out because of the badge? Doesn't really seem to fit. I wonder if they found something else which isn't public. All just conjecture of course, but it does seem to fit.

Stanie, being a member of the BNP doesn't mean you're a racist. Mad as it seems to me. On the one hand, they're undeniably rooted in racism and fascism, on the other they're the least convincing political party in the UK, seems like 2 good reasons not to vote for them, but they do have genuine, non-racist, non-idiotic political support now. Sigh.

And this guy could be one of those. Or he might not. Who knows?