There's something rotten in the state

[caddyman]

Well the Euro Elections have proved to be very interesting, with the centre left and left getting sat on by the electorate across the continent, irrespective of whether they were in power or not. Without understanding the mechanism behind the continent-wide move to the right, it does suggest that Labour's ills are part of a wider malaise amongst the centre left and that there is something else going on that was only exacerbated in this country by the fact that they are both in power and facing the fall out for the MPs' expenses scandal.

I shall be reading the analysis of this election with a great deal of interest over the coming week; I'd like to get a handle on precisely what's going on; it's clearly more than just dissatisfaction with Golden Gordo and his Jolly Crew.

I was also struck again by the downside of living in a society where we at least pay lip service to free speech when the BBC interviewed an arrogantly pompous Nick Griffin after he had won the BNP's first seat to the European Parliament. He is such an odious little man, leading such vileness that it beggars belief that he and his party have managed to gull enough of the electorate to produce not one, but two BNP MEPs.

I was struck as much by the sad conjunction of dates as I was by the sickening fact of their election. Although the European results were only counted and announced yesterday, they were cast on Thursday at the same time as the County Elections, June 4th. Two days later, representatives of the victorious allies were in Normandy commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the day the allied Western Liberal Democracies stormed Hitler's Festung Europa. Though we did not know it at the time, the heirs to that day had already decided that their interests would be best served by elevating the British equivalent of the Nazi Party to a power credible enough to serve its interests in Europe.

When the people who voted BNP look at photographs of, or heaven forbid visit the Normandy cemeteries, will they stop to ponder the fact that this week they have effectively told the men buried there: their fathers, grandfathers (perhaps great-grandfathers), uncles, brothers, husbands - 'fuck off; you died for nothing'.

Comments

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

The leaflet the BNP sent out in our region had the brass neck to pring pictures of spitfires and bang on about the battle of Britain - what a sick joke.

[fen-wolfchile.livejournal.com]

Is that the same one that uses a picture of a Polish spitfire as it's stock photo?

I have a strong dislike of extremist politics that preys on weak minded people easily swayed by simplistic propaganda.

Obviously the current economic crisis is all down to illegal immigrants not the short sighted greed of good, honest, white city bankers!

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

"I have a strong dislike of extremist politics that preys on weak minded people easily swayed by simplistic propaganda."

Very easy to say that and while I'd never vote BNP or support someone in doing so, not everyone does it out of being weak-minded. Take away the nasty racist crap, look at the BNP again and think about why somebody might vote for them ?

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

When the people who voted BNP look at photographs of, or heaven forbid visit the Normandy cemeteries, will they stop to ponder the fact that this week they have effectively told the men buried there: their fathers, grandfathers (perhaps great-grandfathers), uncles, brothers, husbands - 'fuck off; you died for nothing'.

Given that I have rarely if ever hear you swear, I think this very clearly expresses the depth of your feeling on what is a trajic day for politics.

What is truely sad is that the Shit-for-Brains-Arsewits who voted for these Facist BNP scum bags are too thick themselves to understand the implications of their actions.

I don't know what is sadder. The message that this send to our few remaining brave Vets who fought for lofty ideals of freedom and peace for all, or that the state of a society is such, that it is so ill-informed and brainwashed that it doesn't understand it's own actions anymore.

Either way it is a deperately sad situation.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

When the last person who actually remembers the war dies then I think we are to an extent screwed.

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

When the last person who actually remembers the war dies then I think we are to an extent screwed.


I think to an extent we probably are, yes.

Human beings have an unerring capacity to fail (often completely) to incorporate the lessons of their forefathers, and thus to an extent are bound to make the same mistakes leading to the same outcomes (war) as in the past.

And let’s face it; there will always be something to justify a bit of an ‘armed scrap’ somewhere.

It is inevitably the civilians and military who pay the highest price for this.

An honourable soldier will give up his life for his comrades or march to his death, under orders and be hailed a hero.

An honourable member of the body politic will do anything to keep their life no matter how dishonourable. Ironic when almost all politicians will invariably loose eventually.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

I think between you and caddyman you have pretty much summed up why I am so extremely unhappy about all this. Thank you both.

It's partly the horrible predictability of it all as well. I love people as individuals, and mostly hate them in large groups.

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

As the late, great and wise Douglas Adams once wrote:

To summarise: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarise the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.


He wasn't wrong.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

Too true.

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

I'm actually happy with the result. Not of course the fact that the bastards got in, not that. What I'm happy with is that less people voted BNP this time around both as a percentage of the population and as a number of votes cast for them. The racists and bigots only got in this time around because people defected from the big two parties to smaller ones like Green or UKIP (not that I'm too keen on UKIP either you understand). I'm hopeful that the age of interconnectivity is bringing about the death of bigotry.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Are you implying that it is therefore th fault of Greens ? From the figures I saw it was partly the abandonment of labour and partly massive amounts of abstaining that accounted for this. Don't start blaming people who actually voted for being the problem when lots didn't bother.

For the record I did 2 votes for Greens and 1 for Lib Dems (we had local and euro round our way).

[ash1977law.livejournal.com]

No, of course it isn't the fault of the Greens. It's the fault of those who voted BNP and those that failed to vote at all.

[ladkyis.livejournal.com]

I feel as though I have lived too long. I lived with the consequences of war all my life - My dad lost his leg in February 1945 after surviving Dunkirk and then the D-day landings - My eldest son was in the first gulf war my other son was in Kosovo and still suffers the trauma of being shot at and seeing his mates killed. The thought that someone would vote for BNP and think it the right thing to do scares me and at the same time I can see that tub thumping patriotic rhetoric will sway those who are not educated, and unfortunately the school system in this country is not geared up to educate the ignorant only those who have a slightly above average IQ. for those ordinary kids who don't want an edukayshun..... I have lived too long

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

No you haven't !

It is just regrettable that some have chosen to spend the time they've been given, spreading distrust, resentment hatred and worse.

For people such as yourself, there can be no 'too long'. Because whatever time you have, you have conciously and deliberately chosen to give of yourself to those arround you. People like that are I believe 'generous of spirit', by and large make the word a better place, and bring up sons and daughters and families that do the same.

Unlike those other ****s.

We just need to make sure that the one group dramatically outnumbers the other.....

[mezzogiornouno.livejournal.com]

We received a BNP leaflet at Casa Mezzogiornouno a week prior to the elections, but not addressed to the occupier, or to both of us, but to my wife, by name. She's not an ideal demographic for a BNP target audience, as she's of Jamaican/Cuban descent. She was going to phone them (the BNP) and ask if she could get a ride to the polling station on voting day. Sadly she didn't go through with it.

[drjohnsilence.livejournal.com]

Listening to Brons and Griffin, I have to say that if the BBC and other media outlets hadn't "no platformed" them, they would have outed themselves as the reprehensible racist, totalitarian scumbags they are, and fewer people would have voted for them. Freedom of speech works in two directions - it allows people to speak truth to power (the way we normally think of it) and it exposes bad ideas to the acid bath of cross-examination (perhaps an equally vital function).

By the way, Brons - sounds a bit furrin, dunnit?