Today with deep regret I left the Blogpower co-operative. Blogpower was created by James Higham to bring together small to medium size bloggers of any type with the intention of providing support for each other. This idea has been so far a great success and I'm sure it will go from strength to strength. Unfortunately for me BNP supporters joined the co-operative and I just cannot or will not give them publicity by having them displayed in a blogroll in my sidebar. Also I feel that no matter how well worded a disclaimer may be , visitors to my site will in some way infer that I agree with or tolerate the BNP. I'm quite happy to go to BNP sites or to have BNP bloggers come to mine to debate political issues, I just don't want visitors to think there is a link between my site and the BNP no matter how slight.
It feels as though I have left Blogpower with my tail between my legs. I did not ask for the BNP members to be removed I just exercised my democratic right to no longer be a part of the co-operative. However some Blogpower members feel that everyone should be entitled to freedom of speech, which is a sentiment I fully support when it does not incite racial hatred. While the BNP members on the Blogpower blogroll are not being outright racist in their blogs there is an undercurrent. Of late the BNP bloggers seem to be going out of their way to say they are not racist or antisemitic. This is an outright lie. The following paragraph is from a recent post of mine: Liberals win election for the BNP.
The Muslims are the BNP's Jews, several times in the last couple of weeks I've read statements from BNP supporters claiming we are not anti-Semitic. The BNP claim to "Support Israel", this is a marriage of convenience, it suits the BNP's cause as they hate the Muslims more than they hate the Jews.
The picture at the top of this post is of a cover of the booklet Nick Griffin wrote, in it Nick outlined a Jewish conspiracy to brainwash the British people in their own "homeland". In 1998, Griffin was found guilty of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence. In 1997 Nick Griffin announced himself as a Holocaust denier. The BNP? - supporters of Israel? - please do not piss on me and tell me it is raining.
This is from a post currently running at BNP home entitled, This is why I'm a racist:
This is how savages look, Completely devoid of compassion, Sympathy or respect.Morally bankrupt monsters killing and destroying every thing in their path.Life has no meaning regardless of its form.Society, Art and education are meaningless.They choose to live like animals of the lowest form clinging to hate and death as their only scale ofself worth.Their future mirrors their past, They were savage beasts 1500 years ago and the future is the same.They seek to bring all things to their level instead of climbing out of prehistoric anarchy.They are the epitome of self loathing, To lazy and to stupid raise the bar just one more notch.They hate themselves so much that their own death is the only thing they look forward to bring them happiness.They create nothing, They better nothing, They add to nothing but despair.They are the lowest form of life on earth.They are muslims.
Enough said I think. I personally think the above comment from BNP home is racist, or am I being a little over sensitive?
Andrew Allison is currently debating the BNP issue on post "In support of freedom" at the BNP supporting Blog Central news. He must be doing quite well as the BNP supporters are starting to get abusive. Good on you Andrew.
I must make it clear that: Blogpower is not a BNP supporting site. The vast majority of the Blogpower blogroll do not agree with the BNP.
It feels as though I have left Blogpower with my tail between my legs. I did not ask for the BNP members to be removed I just exercised my democratic right to no longer be a part of the co-operative. However some Blogpower members feel that everyone should be entitled to freedom of speech, which is a sentiment I fully support when it does not incite racial hatred. While the BNP members on the Blogpower blogroll are not being outright racist in their blogs there is an undercurrent. Of late the BNP bloggers seem to be going out of their way to say they are not racist or antisemitic. This is an outright lie. The following paragraph is from a recent post of mine: Liberals win election for the BNP.
The Muslims are the BNP's Jews, several times in the last couple of weeks I've read statements from BNP supporters claiming we are not anti-Semitic. The BNP claim to "Support Israel", this is a marriage of convenience, it suits the BNP's cause as they hate the Muslims more than they hate the Jews.
The picture at the top of this post is of a cover of the booklet Nick Griffin wrote, in it Nick outlined a Jewish conspiracy to brainwash the British people in their own "homeland". In 1998, Griffin was found guilty of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence. In 1997 Nick Griffin announced himself as a Holocaust denier. The BNP? - supporters of Israel? - please do not piss on me and tell me it is raining.
This is from a post currently running at BNP home entitled, This is why I'm a racist:
This is how savages look, Completely devoid of compassion, Sympathy or respect.Morally bankrupt monsters killing and destroying every thing in their path.Life has no meaning regardless of its form.Society, Art and education are meaningless.They choose to live like animals of the lowest form clinging to hate and death as their only scale ofself worth.Their future mirrors their past, They were savage beasts 1500 years ago and the future is the same.They seek to bring all things to their level instead of climbing out of prehistoric anarchy.They are the epitome of self loathing, To lazy and to stupid raise the bar just one more notch.They hate themselves so much that their own death is the only thing they look forward to bring them happiness.They create nothing, They better nothing, They add to nothing but despair.They are the lowest form of life on earth.They are muslims.
Enough said I think. I personally think the above comment from BNP home is racist, or am I being a little over sensitive?
Andrew Allison is currently debating the BNP issue on post "In support of freedom" at the BNP supporting Blog Central news. He must be doing quite well as the BNP supporters are starting to get abusive. Good on you Andrew.
I must make it clear that: Blogpower is not a BNP supporting site. The vast majority of the Blogpower blogroll do not agree with the BNP.
10 comments:
I am sorry to see you go - not least because it puts others of us with no sympathy at all for the BNP in the position of appearing less bothered about it than you.
Blogpower is no more a political club than your local drama group or flower-arranging circle. If it adopted a political stance which I could not support, I would leave it. But it hasn't. So I don't see a problem.
I am afraid that if I insisted on leaving every group which contained one or more individual members with political views that I passionately oppose, I would have to quit the Law Society, the Institute of Directors and my family - to name but three.
Of course, I respect your decision but I feel it is misguided. If this is a matter of conscience and principle, as you clearly feel, then what are you saying about the rest of us?
Tom,
You are correct, I am probably just as intolerant as the BNP.
However I did not leave Blogpower because of the BNP supporters political stance. Some of their policies I agree with. The statement I have quoted in this post is not political, it is purely racial. I can put up with and even agree with some of their policies - but not their hate.
Daily Referendum: It feels as though I have left Blogpower with my tail between my legs.
Not in my eyes: you went with your head held high. You took a decision on principle, and I greatly respect that.
Tom: Blogpower is no more a political club than your local drama group or flower-arranging circle. I think I see what you're saying, but it's not a great analogy given that many of us have been known to kick around issues that are overtly political, even if we have done so from many different perspectives.
Mother Theresa devoted her life to tending the poor and sick. What does that say about the vast majority of humanity? I don't believe it's fair to reproach Steve for acting in accordance with his conscience and principles, and certainly not if your main reason for doing this is that it makes us look bad.
Steve: You have always been kind with your comments to and about me. You are a gentleman in every sense of the word.
If you look back in history to prohibition in the US, you will see that people did not stop drinking alcohol. As a consequence of prohibition, the mafia got very rich.
The BNP will not go away. If we outlaw them - which would be wrong - they will go underground. You and I both know they are racists. They can try and dodge the issue, but the facts are there. I was amazed when they challenged me to find racist BNP remarks. The web is littered with them. What we have to do is get them out in the open and give them enough rope to hang themselves and as long as we keep up the attack on them, we will win the argument. We have also got to convince the electorate too. That means knocking on doors at election time for me.
I hope after time you will reconsider your decision. You still have a link on my blog and always will and I look forward to other discussions with you in the future.
All the best
Andrew
Andrew,
Once again you have shown why I like to read your blog. Your argument is most convincing and I thank you for taking the time to comment in the Blogpower tradition.
As you know I have a link to your blog. You in turn will always be welcome here.
Best Regards
Steve
I find this somewhat worrying. Should we "out" the members of B*P. I'd like to know who they are.
Perhaps someone can drop me a note.
This is a real shame, but sadly I think it's the right thing to do under the circumstances.
Blogpower is a great resource and it really rankles that the BNP should be using it to try to shoehorn themselves into the more respectable blogosphere.
I admire your decision to do this, and I hope a blog of your quality will always have traffic.
I'll give you a link and comments whenever I can.
F
I'm sorry to see you go, but I understand and respect your position.
Without blogpower, I probably would never have come across your blog, and I am glad I did. Yours is now one of my favourite blogs.
I have a link to you on my site, and will continue to visit as before.
Kind regards
Bel (www.beltoday.com)
Your reasoning is sound. I would add that for me, it isn't only the racism but the homophobia of the BNP that leads me to think my withdrawal from Blogpower is likely if the BNP advocate is allowed to remain. As a gay man, I can't accept a link on my site to a BNP page anymore than a self-respecting Jew would carry a link to an Adolf Hitler Appreciation Society.
It actually sickens me more to see my site linked from his on the reciprocal blogroll.
What I may do is take the blogroll, harvest the good stuff into my own usual links page, and remove myself from Blogpower while continuing to promote those whose efforts to date should not be allowed to be subjugated by the cancer that is the BNP. x
Andy,
That's what I've done. There are a few I've got add yet but they should all be on my blogroll soon.
Cheers
Steve
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