"You've got to tolerate some of the people that you hate " - Super Furry Animals (Juxtaposed With U)
Not because I have a gnat's cock of a slivering, fraction of an iota of sympathy for the man, nor his politics might I add; nor even the waste of a good egg or two (although I imagine Edwina Curry might have been having flashbacks), but because I couldn't stomach the thought of the rest of us lowering ourselves to this level.
I know the BNP's policies are unacceptable and I fully believe that their rhetoric masks what is essentially a racist attitude towards immigration and our wonderfully cosmopolitan society in the UK, yet still, we do live in a democracy.
In a democracy, even the most unsavoury of viewpoints, though not to be agreed with, must be allowed to have a voice. Freedom of speech applies in this case just as in any other.
Ridicule, ignore and pity indeed, but don't make a martyr of the man or his followers. It is certainly an unfortunate and sad state of affairs that people have felt the need to vote BNP but we must remember that in truth, this isn't so much a sign of an increasing fascist sympathy infiltrating the country, as a sign of our disappointment at the abject state of the established parties.
We are right to be outraged and upset at the BNP gaining two MEP's, and to decry their policies unequivocally, but don't let it spill over into active spite and aggression.
Here's an interesting article about what the experts make of the election results.
Is fascism on the march again?
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