HPC if there's a BNP member in your street?

silvercar

This leak means that anyone thinking of joining a political party will only do so if they are prepared to stand up and be counted.

What amazes me is the indignation, if you weren't prepared to admit to being a member why join? If your convictions are weak or if you are publically embarrased to say that you support them, why would you join? I would have thought that even if you had not told people you were a supporter, the fact that list was leaked would now mean that you would act like it was OK.

Anyone who now claims their job is at risk is an idiot. Wy join if you knew your job would be at risk? why does joining the BNP mean more than your livelihood? Why could you just tell the BNP that you support their aims but are banned from joining?

lostinrates

robin_banks wrote: »

holocaust denial is extreme anti-semitism, more than a 'stupid view' surely ?.

Not really. People other than Jews were 'targeted' in that period of time too.

drc

I know the BNP are pretty odious but I think that this smacks of Orwelllian totalitarianism when people are potentially sacked merely for being on a list which might indicate they are BNP members (people on the list have already denied being members). Even if they are willingly members of the BNP, in a democracy we should accept freedom of choice to vote as one wishes and voice opinions, however unsavoury and nobody should be forced to disclose who they vote for nor the reasons why imo. I don't think vilifying BNP members is going to do anything except highlight how hypocritical the media are and give soccour to the notion that BNP are victims of a prejudiced media and society. We don't vilifiy Labour Party members, even though their party of choice has spent billions on questionable wars in which hundreds of thousands have died, yet the media seems intent on persuing a modern day witch hunt against BNP members. Frankly, I don't know what is more scary, the BNP or this witch hunt against people on the list. It's the BNP today but who will it be next - Jews, blacks, Muslims? Basically whoever the government and media have decided are today's bogeymen.

...and I wonder if Shami Chakrabati will be rushing to defend people on the list who have had their 'human rights' abused?

Sir_Humphrey

Just more evidence that they are a bunch of clowns. It is reassuring in a way. If they cannot organise a (small) membership list, how would they organise a pogrom? Amusing that they cite human rights re the list when they are opposed to them. I suspect quite a few skinheads will soon be discovering just what it is like to have dog s**t put through their letter boxes. As far as jobs are concerned, it is quite normal to have certain jobs proscribed on party membership (eg secret service). Civil Servants have restrictions on political activities which become more onerous the higher up they become. These apply to any party (for instance I would have to resign my job if I ran for public office for any party or an independent, even though I am only at a junior management level).

polyalloy

silvercar wrote: »

This leak means that anyone thinking of joining a political party will only do so if they are prepared to stand up and be counted.

What amazes me is the indignation, if you weren't prepared to admit to being a member why join? If your convictions are weak or if you are publically embarrased to say that you support them, why would you join? I would have thought that even if you had not told people you were a supporter, the fact that list was leaked would now mean that you would act like it was OK.

Anyone who now claims their job is at risk is an idiot. Wy join if you knew your job would be at risk? why does joining the BNP mean more than your livelihood? Why could you just tell the BNP that you support their aims but are banned from joining?

:beer: Good questions

robin_banks

lostinrates wrote: »

Not really. People other than Jews were 'targeted' in that period of time too.

Not to say that they weren't as plenty of other 'groups' were targeted but not with the same as how can I put it , 'enthusiasm' and it certainly wasn't as well organised.

To say that 6 million jews weren't killed by the nazis in the face of overwhelming evidence is anti-semetic.

avinabacca

robin_banks wrote: »

To say that 6 million jews weren't killed by the nazis in the face of overwhelming evidence is anti-semetic.

Not necessarily, in my opinion - it's entirely possible to deny the existence of the Holocaust, and on grounds that have little or nothing to do with anti-Semitism.

It just makes you look silly, and hard to take seriously on any real intellectual level.

(Out of interest, can you explain why, exactly Holocaust denial automatically equates to anti-semitism in your view? Just curious...)

meester

silvercar wrote: »

This leak means that anyone thinking of joining a political party will only do so if they are prepared to stand up and be counted.

What amazes me is the indignation, if you weren't prepared to admit to being a member why join? If your convictions are weak or if you are publically embarrased to say that you support them, why would you join? I would have thought that even if you had not told people you were a supporter, the fact that list was leaked would now mean that you would act like it was OK.

What on earth are you talking about? 'Acting like it's ok' is not going to be much good if your employer has unilaterally decided that it is going to abuse the illegally relased data to purge all BNP members from its employ. It's not going to change that. You are still unemployed, and facing a bleak future, as an unconvicted, yet unemployable, 'racist', enemy-of-the-people.

Anyone who now claims their job is at risk is an idiot. Wy join if you knew your job would be at risk?

Because it wasn't at risk!!!! These data should not have been released. They are private data that nobody could reasonably expected to have released.

You might as well say anyone that has a smear test is an idiot because their doctor might secretly take pictures of their vagina and post them on the internet along with their phone number, home address and other personal details. That's not supposed to happen - but it could. It doesn't change the fact that in both cases people have unreasonably had their privacy violated.

why does joining the BNP mean more than your livelihood? Why could you just tell the BNP that you support their aims but are banned from joining?

Because it was supposed to be confidential information. It wasn't supposed to be their livelihoods! The radio presenter who just got sacked wasn't banned from joining, there was no suggestion that his output was compromised - in fact given that in such a career your every action is scrutinised, because it is being broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people, there's no chance that it was.

The reality of modern Britain is that the BBC/Guardian types are out to destroy your livelihood if they know that you support the BNP.

What are BNP sympathisers supposed to do? Are we living in East Germany? Are you advocating some sort of Stasi so that people can be persecuted more effectively for daring to hold views, even in private, that are 'non-approved'? I wouldn't mind so much but supporters of other extreme parties such as Respect and supporters of terrorists such as George Galloway hold national broadcasting jobs and work for the BBC. And let us not forget what happened when Islamist extremism was exposed on Channel 4's 'Undercover Mosque' programme - the police response was to ignore the filmed extremist hateful views (e.g., 'You have to bomb the Indian businesses, and as for the Jews you kill them physically') far more hateful than anything you'll find on the BNP website (although I have no doubt that a number of BNP members hold views equally as abhorrent), and investigate Channel 4 instead, for 'inciting racial hatred'.

In any case, it would be hypocritical of you to continue with your ridiculous line of argument unless you post your name, full address, telephone number, email adress, children's names and ages, and details of your hobbies and skills - along with your political affiliations, since you seem to think it doesn't matter that those data in respect of BNP members have been released.

Gorgeous_George

I believe we need proportional representation but not in a Lib Dem way.

Each voter should have voting rights based on the amount of tax and NI that they have paid over the last 5 years.

Anybody want to vote for me?

No? That's a surprise.

GG

silverbullit

Link to the list of BNP members...

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/British_National_Party_membership_and_contacts_list%2C_2007-2008