Why the BNP should be kept off the air

22 octobre 2009

The BBC’s decision to invite the BNP to Question Time was a gross misjudgement

On Thursday 22nd October, BNP leader Nick Griffin will appear on the BBC’s primetime TV programme, Question Time. In June’s European Parliament elections, the notoriously racist British National Party won two seats, to the shock and disgust of most British citizens. The platform and policies of the BNP and its members are absolutely appalling, and the BBC is making a grave mistake by inviting leader Griffin to appear on their television programme, treating him as if he was another average politician, not an intolerant bigot.

Griffin, who claims to have ‘learned a lot’ from Hitler’s Mein Kampf, and associates with the Ku Klux Klan, is hardly your average politician. He questions whether the Holocaust happened, and believes black and white people cannot live together. His party’s constitution calls for the restoration of ‘the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population’ in the UK before 1948. Senior BNP members have claimed that ‘rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal’ (Nick Eriksen), and that people who are a ‘waste of time, money and resources’ should be euthanized.

By allowing the leader of such a hateful party to speak on air in front of a national audience, the BBC is legitimizing their role as a party in the British and European political system. Some who are in favour of the appearance argue that public debates such as the one that will take place this Thursday harm the reputation of the BNP because its biases and inconsistencies are exposed. In fact, the majority of citizens and viewers already know how outrageous the BNP is. They don’t need the BBC to remind them by giving this party a platform to broadcast their messages of hate and intolerance. Unfortunately, however, the BNP does have supporters. And in the eyes of these supporters, appearances on well-respected news channels, alongside mainstream politicians, further justifies the idea that it is okay to think that white people are better than non-white people, that rape is not a terrible crime, and that the Holocaust never happened.

Policies and comments by the BNP, such as those outlined above, are outrageous, hateful, and even illegal. Free speech is an important right, but it too has limits. One’s right to speak freely must not overstep another’s right to live free from fear and discrimination. How will ethnic minorities feel when they hear these remarks echoed on a well-respected and avidly-watched BBC programme ? There is no mystery surrounding what the BNP will say. There will be no surprise announcement of a change of heart, no confession that after all they do realize that people of other races are just as entitled to live in this country as their white comrades. We may be shocked at the reminder of how extreme Griffin’s opinions are, but with this kind of event, there will be no pleasant surprises. The BNP’s leader will repeat his offensive opinions, his challengers will try and show him how misguided he is. Of course, it won’t work. The BNP does not deserve to be treated like a mainstream party, nor to be given airtime on a respected television show. Sadly, some television producers fail to see it this way. It’s quite upsetting that such a highly esteemed news broadcaster as the BBC is choosing to sacrifice the dignity of minority members of British society in order to gain higher than average ratings this Thursday evening.

Photo : www.flickr.com/Mullers

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