I still prefer greedy chancers to racist thugs...
4:51 PM | Comments (1)
I’ll never be the blogging star I so clearly deserve to be if every time a big story breaks my day job means I’m far too busy to wade in. So apologies for the silence but a quick thought on one aspect of this whole debacle that particularly concerns me.
First let's get the obvious out the way - it’s bad. Very, very bad indeed infact and only a fool would deny as much. When people next go to the polls, be that in a few weeks for European elections or next year for a general election this is one of those big, simple-themed stories that even the most apolitical punter will have in his head when he walks into the booth and that ain’t good. This has led some to warn about the dangers of driving people into the arms of extremists like the BNP and it's that sentiment that concerns me a little.
Let’s be clear - the only reason there are no BNP MPs implicated in this mess is because there are no BNP MPs (thankfully). Nobody is making, or striving to make any party advantage out of this* because the story here is about MPs in general, not Labour MPs or Tory MPs. It’s also a story about a sub-set of MPs rather than every single one. We shouldn’t be too bashful in the face of those who cite this story as an excuse to flirt (or worse) with parties like the BNP, we shouldn’t lose site of the repugnant ideology behind these parties or give any succour to the idea that some twat claiming money for his swimming pool is justification for casting your vote for a racist thug.
Some will, of course, and I’m aware that that’s the main concern of those that have made this point. I just think it’s important that we don’t nod along with that sort of sentiment or over-do the tone of understanding as though that reasoning is somehow acceptable. It's a leap of logic only an idiot would make and we shouldn't be afraid to point that out .
* Arguably the Tories are pressing home an advantage in terms of David Cameron’s handling of this contrasted with Gordon Brown’s. I would argue that’s legitimate because it’s based on what both men are saying and, in the case of at least one of them, actually doing about the problem at the moment.
First let's get the obvious out the way - it’s bad. Very, very bad indeed infact and only a fool would deny as much. When people next go to the polls, be that in a few weeks for European elections or next year for a general election this is one of those big, simple-themed stories that even the most apolitical punter will have in his head when he walks into the booth and that ain’t good. This has led some to warn about the dangers of driving people into the arms of extremists like the BNP and it's that sentiment that concerns me a little.
Let’s be clear - the only reason there are no BNP MPs implicated in this mess is because there are no BNP MPs (thankfully). Nobody is making, or striving to make any party advantage out of this* because the story here is about MPs in general, not Labour MPs or Tory MPs. It’s also a story about a sub-set of MPs rather than every single one. We shouldn’t be too bashful in the face of those who cite this story as an excuse to flirt (or worse) with parties like the BNP, we shouldn’t lose site of the repugnant ideology behind these parties or give any succour to the idea that some twat claiming money for his swimming pool is justification for casting your vote for a racist thug.
Some will, of course, and I’m aware that that’s the main concern of those that have made this point. I just think it’s important that we don’t nod along with that sort of sentiment or over-do the tone of understanding as though that reasoning is somehow acceptable. It's a leap of logic only an idiot would make and we shouldn't be afraid to point that out .
* Arguably the Tories are pressing home an advantage in terms of David Cameron’s handling of this contrasted with Gordon Brown’s. I would argue that’s legitimate because it’s based on what both men are saying and, in the case of at least one of them, actually doing about the problem at the moment.
1 Comments:
We seem to lurch form crisis to crisis over here.
Post a Comment
<< Home