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DanaC · 07-21-2004, 03:41 AM

There are many people who have accepted the BNP change of face over the last few years. A combination of their "respectable" face and the attitude of the press and the labour party has left a lot of people believing they can be angry about immigration without it marking them as a racist. If such a thing was not enormously beneficial to the BNP in making them electable they would not have gone to such enormous trouble in making themseles appear to be non racist. They put a lot of matderial out which claims not to be racist and claims to "tell the truth" and a lot of people swallowed this. Enough people swallowed it for them to get elected to many council seats ......But many of the people who voted for them did so because they belieevd the volte face the party had done on certain issues. Many of those same people who felt comfortable vioting Nick Griffen's little bunch in would not have been comfortable voting for a 70's style NF....How do we know this? Because if they had felt comfortable voting for outright fascism thenthe BNP would not have beenn subject to massive internal division over the issue. Nick Griffen and his cadre are the modernising force within the party, they have had to fight to get their way. The party was split almost down the middle over whether to continue the fight in their usual manner or to make themselves more electable to the public by changing their face. Nick Griffen won that battle but not without a tough fight and lot's of losses. Many of the BNP did not want to put out the line that Indians are ok......many of them dont like the line that BNP is not racist. Many of them would be quite happy( as that programme showed) to return to the old days of paki bashing and zero electoral success.

Many would be happy, but that attitude was very nearly the deathknell of their movement during the 80's and Nick Griffen knows it. As long as they can pretend they are merely one more political party who happens to be tough on immigration they will gain seats in elections. The electorate however has always proved reluctant to vote in violent anti democratic revolutionary fascists. Many people who recently voted for the BNP to protect their "britishness" were also deeply opposed to Hitler and the nazi creed. You really only have to draw that connection forcefully and many of their supporters would jump ship. Certainly the proportion of their votes which came from disollusioned tory voters would be horrified by out and out fascism.

07-21-2004, 03:41 AM	#4
DanaC We have to go back, Kate! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 25,964	There are many people who have accepted the BNP change of face over the last few years. A combination of their "respectable" face and the attitude of the press and the labour party has left a lot of people believing they can be angry about immigration without it marking them as a racist. If such a thing was not enormously beneficial to the BNP in making them electable they would not have gone to such enormous trouble in making themseles appear to be non racist. They put a lot of matderial out which claims not to be racist and claims to "tell the truth" and a lot of people swallowed this. Enough people swallowed it for them to get elected to many council seats ......But many of the people who voted for them did so because they belieevd the volte face the party had done on certain issues. Many of those same people who felt comfortable vioting Nick Griffen's little bunch in would not have been comfortable voting for a 70's style NF....How do we know this? Because if they had felt comfortable voting for outright fascism thenthe BNP would not have beenn subject to massive internal division over the issue. Nick Griffen and his cadre are the modernising force within the party, they have had to fight to get their way. The party was split almost down the middle over whether to continue the fight in their usual manner or to make themselves more electable to the public by changing their face. Nick Griffen won that battle but not without a tough fight and lot's of losses. Many of the BNP did not want to put out the line that Indians are ok......many of them dont like the line that BNP is not racist. Many of them would be quite happy( as that programme showed) to return to the old days of paki bashing and zero electoral success. Many would be happy, but that attitude was very nearly the deathknell of their movement during the 80's and Nick Griffen knows it. As long as they can pretend they are merely one more political party who happens to be tough on immigration they will gain seats in elections. The electorate however has always proved reluctant to vote in violent anti democratic revolutionary fascists. Many people who recently voted for the BNP to protect their "britishness" were also deeply opposed to Hitler and the nazi creed. You really only have to draw that connection forcefully and many of their supporters would jump ship. Certainly the proportion of their votes which came from disollusioned tory voters would be horrified by out and out fascism.