BNP allowed to campaign at Newcastle University
As The BNP are granted permission to campaign on Newcastle University’s campus, a student reacts:
Shortly before Newcastle University broke up for the Christmas holidays, the student council voted to allow the British National Party a politically active presence on campus. This means the BNP are permitted to form a university society and to distribute propaganda around the student union.
The argument used to oppose the ‘no platform’ policy typically resorted to the current fall-back phrase: ‘freedom of speech’. As the BNP have recently gained more electoral support, so they have attracted more media coverage, and ‘freedom of speech’ has consistently been applied to excuse all such attention. However, this country has laws against racism and against hate speech. A racist party like the BNP should not be given the opportunity to mobilize and recruit, and to propagate its poisonous rhetoric around what is supposed to be an institution of education and enlightenment.
One member of the student council present at this meeting justified the decision by saying: ‘there are other bodies of students who could be viewed as having strange views – there is no true definition of fascists’. The frailty of this argument is self-evident. Of course anyone could be viewed by another as having strange views, but how many of those views are aggressively prejudiced against minorities and violent in practise? Racism certainly has a true definition, as does homophobia. Furthermore, I think the majority of people would recognise the comments made by the BNP’s founder John Tyndall who stated that his goal was to “create a Nazi dictatorship in Great Britain, as well as a country free of all non whites” as inherently fascist.
A large proportion of students at Newcastle are international students, or are ‘non-white’ British students, or gay students, and it is these who will feel most acutely the intimidation of a BNP presence. The student union’s first priority should be the welfare of the student body, but this priority seems to be slipping on their agenda as they hasten to accommodate Nazi sympathisers. Just as we have increasingly witnessed on a national scale, the BNP is gradually acquiring the false veneer of respectability it craves. The only way to deal with fascists is to expose them, and to resist.
Please sign the petition to keep the BNP out of our university.
UPDATE: Maurice Cousins poses a counter argument on ‘Nothing British about the BNP’
An absolute disgrace that the BNP is allowed to organise on campus. One thing is certain that if they are allowed to organise then there will be an increase in hate crimes not only on campus but around campus. There is only one thing to do and that is organise before they crawl out from their sewer. Leaflet arguing that the BNP are fascist. Need to get unions on board so that when they turn up they will be met by a mass demo. Remember Cable Street in the 1930′s No Pasaran they will not pass.
yyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwnn, so last year.
[...] Student Union voted in favour of allowing the BNP to have a political presence on its campus. This means a BNP university society and Voice of Freedom sellers around the student [...]
They are a democratically elected party, why shouldn’t they be aloud on campus?
Typical Fascist Lefties, don’t like a differing opinion. Scared you will lose the argument?
Pity that Steven hasn’t learned anything from history. The BNP are a fascist party any cursory glance at their material shows this also any attempt to study their past will amply prove that they are fascists. It’s a pity that Steven hasn’t learned from the tragedy that was Germany in the 1930′s. After all similiar to Steven the German SDP and trade unions at the time said the fascists would respect the German constitution. just a year after Hitler coming to power those self same people were either in a concentration camp, in hiding or in exile. The tragic lesson in the case of fascism is that fascists can not be allowed a platform. Black and white unite and fight!
The True British People are waking up!
See our blog for the truth about the BNP, not the lies you may have read.
No platform for fascists!
The answer to the ‘freedom of speech’ argument is that it’s no defense of freedom of speech to offer it to people who would abolish it.
Likewise, it’s no defense of democracy to grant it to those who would deprive you of it.
Clearly someone else in the university should be standing in to defend those principles of freedom and reason which the student council seemingly doesn’t understand
[...] at it Posted in Uncategorized by thegreymatternewsletter on February 1, 2010 Following the news that the BNP will be allowed to campaign at Newcastle University, Durham University debating [...]
BNP’s made up of ordianary people, concerned about our rights as a culture and the future of our country, but hey don’t let the truth get in the way of propaganda. Think about the agenda of those who don’t want free speech. I know who pose the greatest danger.
No platform for fascists!…..No platform for Dave then, because he sounds like one.
yay… Go BNP!!
Your right people who seek to take away free speech should not be allowed it… so dont let the violent UAF have it!
And Dave… i bet you dont know what fascism is… cos i doand i cant find evidence of corporatism or dictatorship in the BNP… i think your talking rubbish.
[...] One other thing: it’s worth noting that the Durham Uni invitation comes on the back of this news from Newcastle University. [...]
BNP racist? Labour plus Tories invaded Iraq on the basis of doctored intelligence reports and a pack of lies (more or less Hitler’s reasons for invading Poland). Perhaps a million Muslims have died in the Iraq war. In contrast the BNP always opposed the war. That makes Labour about a million times as racist as the BNP.