So, Nick Griffin on Question Time then. Bit disappointing? Mostly a touch comical, wasn’t it? Aside from one particularly nasty little bit of Kilroy-Silkish Islamophobia (which we’re used to on blogs but still carried a frisson of shock on TV) he came across as a bumbling buffoon. Much less smooth than I expected. That might have been due to the sheer variety of attacks he faced, and because the panellists had the good sense to bring along his Neo-Nazi Obfuscation Bingo list and thus undermine his ability to use it.
Still, I think they should have kicked him a bit more in the fundamentals. I’d have loved to have seen a really ruthless debater on there, like Nick Cohen or, even better, me. I’d have pointed out that the number of ‘indigenous’ people in Britain, is, according to Griffin's definition, precisely zero, by which count a BNP candidate represents the interests of even fewer people than does Esther Rantzen, who at least represents the interests of herself.
Also nobody mentioned the critical fact, pointed out here a few times (and by Gaw) that BNP support is not gaining in popularity in the real sense. Fewer voted for them at the most recent Euro election than at the previous one – their seats materialising only through Proportional Representation because of a crash in support for the major parties in the midst of the expenses scandal. Admittedly this fact takes a great deal of the fun out of the fight for both fascists and anti-fascists, but it puts the thing in perspective.
And perspective, of course, is everything. Outside the cauldron of Question Time, where batting down Griffin seems so terribly important, you only have to mooch about any city for a bit to see the full scale of this fantasist’s delusions. This is a mongrel country of extraordinarily successful multicultural integration, the reversal of which is not conceivable. The comic highlight of the programme came at the end when Griffin showed he still had some hate left for a few more minorities and had a go at the ‘ickiness’ of gay men kissing. Dear me, remember the civil partnership 'debate'? Talk about dead as a dodo; Griffin’s protests felt about as relevant in 2009 as a tirade against the repeal of the Corn Laws.
There really is no obligation to take this clown and his nasty little party seriously at a national level. At the local level – ie. certain towns in the north of England – it’s a different matter, because if you happen to be a British Asian in an area where the BNP has had electoral success, you’ll have to go about your business feeling that your neighbours want to get rid of you. The BNP, therefore, is primarily a problem to be solved by local representatives of the major parties. And then of course they will need the national representatives to help them out by not screwing things up all the time.
It's very disappointing that that BBC's headline is currently 'Griffin attacks Islam on BBC show''. Apart from this being news on the level of 'dog bites man' it certainly doesn't appear to be what everyone's talking about: that Griffin was inept, shifty and embarrassed. Also why lend one of the main planks of his platform a headline?
ReplyDeleteIncompetent journalism and foot-shootingly daft.
I didn't watch the programme because I didn't even want to give him or the BBC the benefit of my time. Glad to know that he came across as sub-par.
ReplyDeleteWe Aryan's were absolutely disgusted by his performance last night, probably all part of a Moscow backed plot, funded by Tel Aviv. We are seriously considering coming out of our Paraguayan retirement and sorting him out, Grubby little Rohm loving upstart.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually one for BBC-bashing but their news judgement looks dreadful today.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC headline is now (2pm) 'Griffin complaint over BBC 'mob''. If all one did is read headlines, you'd think the BNP had had a pretty good twenty-four hours.
I still think the story is 'BNP leader 'shown up' say critics': given the huge expectations, positive and negative, that had built up over the week, surely the outcome - whether he came over well or not - has to be the story?
Are BBC producers concerned with being seen to be fair to the BNP and over-compensating? If so they need a kick up the pants and telling that they are being way over-generous and - hello? - they're also dealing with Nazis.
Yep, tying themselves up in liberal knots. Thus the value of pragmatism. This business about the charter is a joke.
ReplyDeleteI want to know where in the charter it says the BBC is obliged to put out so much absolute televisual crap, and why Portillo and Abbot have to sit so weirdly close together on that dinky little sofa.
I could tell you but we probably couldn't afford the libel fees. Or so I allege.
ReplyDeleteOn a different and much happier topic addressed in a recent post on ToE. It looks as if the world is beginning to conform to your blog in weird and wonderful ways. (And a snip at a mere $25000).
ReplyDeleteLooks like Pamela Spanks will have to bring out 1,000,002 Cupcake Recipes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a link Gaw, I want one! need one! must have one! We could hold rallies, paper cup chases, pensioners would destroy mall's in 'em.
ReplyDeleteTrust the Yanks to think of them first.
I genuinely think our troops in Afghanistan should use those cupcake-cars to make a 'shock and awe' surge through any heavily fortified tribal areas.
ReplyDeleteThe Tallybun would be terrified Worm.
ReplyDeleteI'm with worm. It's the only affordable way fulfill Gaw's nostaligic yearnings for a return to gunboat diplomacy. Let other nations fool around with nukes and cruise missiles and predator drones. The Brits and their loyal Commonwealth allies will sail into the harbour, fire a warning shot over the palace and then land a unit of commando cupcake cars! Cool Britannia lives!
ReplyDeleteAnd the matching hats are awfully fetching.
ReplyDelete"Bemusement and awe", the warfare of the future.
Excellently funny, chaps.
ReplyDeleteHowever, will we ever find a Palmerston to launch the things? Banana-wielding Milly certainly isn't cut out for it. We need a rakish, bombastic, rather dissolute patriot...
Boris, your time has come! Cup cakes ahoy!