Why is the BNP such a bad thing????

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:

Steve:
> Recently in the UK news there have been several references to the BNP
> (British National Party). A police officer was accused of being a
> member as well as a rock star, and I think a political figure. But it
> is never made clear what is wrong with that. I mean, the tone of the
> article seems close to being accused of being a member of the KKK. But
> nothing I've read so far indicates what principles of the BNP make it
> such an unsavory thing.
> 
> I was just hoping someone here had some insight into the matter.

Geoff:
The BNP is still seen by most UK residents, despite what the Telegraph 
article may say, as a nasty far right - almost neo-Nazi organisation.

It thrives mainly in urban areas, especially where there is a lot of 
deprivation or a large ethnic population - or both and retains an image 
of being for pro-white Anglo-Saxon supporters.

Until I was nine, I lived in Burnley in Lancashire in the north-west of 
England. In recent years, it has become one of the most deprived areas 
in the country and also one of the strongest centres of BNP support. A 
few years ago, there were race riots in the area and I was appalled to 
turn on my TV one evening to be faced with pictures of a pub going up 
in flames, just 200 yards from where I lived as a child and 300 yards 
from where a cousin and her husband live.

It is because of its questionable history that the BNP became a proscribed 
organisation for members of the police (and I think the armed services) to 
belong to; this is the background to the present furore because documents 
have been leaked revealing that there are still police officers and others 
listed as being linked to the party.

When I see shots of Nick Griffin with a cohort of Crabbe/Goyle types in 
attendance swaggering around, I am afriad that I have too many mental 
images of archive footage of the 1930s for my peace of mind. They are 
typical of the sort of extremists who maintain power by feeding on the 
fears and dissatisfaction which exists between different groups of people.