So firstly, the BNP released this in support of Emma West, the woman who went on a racist rant on a public train in front of various non-white people and their children, which then got filmed and Youtubed. She is currently being prosecuted under hate speech laws, which the BNP is taking as an affront on the freedom of the nationalist community.
Secondly, the story was covered on JoeMyGod, which is possibly the most liberal-left-wing American blog on the whole of the internet. Surprisingly (to me), many of Joe's readers agree with the BNP that prosecuting Emma West is an unacceptable restriction of freedom of speech.
I want to be clear about this. I do not think that there being legal consequences for someone who engages in a profane rant against fellow train passengers is in any way a restriction of freedom of speech. I think that the BNP are (somewhat ironically) playing the minority card and trying to rouse sympathy for their cause by crying oppression, and that many decent non-racist people are falling for it.
No political viewpoint is warrant enough to treat fellow human beings with the level of contempt that Emma West had for those on the receiving end of her tirade. If she hadn't said anything about race, if she had started yelling at train passengers and making high-volume personal remarks about their weight or facial features, then no-one would be defending her. But somehow, the British right wing have been able to mystify her comments as a legitimate expression of a reasonable political viewpoint.
Prosecuting Emma West has no bearing on freedom of speech. As always, those who hold a nationalist or racialist point of view will be free to state their political opinions. But they cannot use those opinions as an excuse to slander strangers in public.
Secondly, the story was covered on JoeMyGod, which is possibly the most liberal-left-wing American blog on the whole of the internet. Surprisingly (to me), many of Joe's readers agree with the BNP that prosecuting Emma West is an unacceptable restriction of freedom of speech.
I want to be clear about this. I do not think that there being legal consequences for someone who engages in a profane rant against fellow train passengers is in any way a restriction of freedom of speech. I think that the BNP are (somewhat ironically) playing the minority card and trying to rouse sympathy for their cause by crying oppression, and that many decent non-racist people are falling for it.
No political viewpoint is warrant enough to treat fellow human beings with the level of contempt that Emma West had for those on the receiving end of her tirade. If she hadn't said anything about race, if she had started yelling at train passengers and making high-volume personal remarks about their weight or facial features, then no-one would be defending her. But somehow, the British right wing have been able to mystify her comments as a legitimate expression of a reasonable political viewpoint.
Prosecuting Emma West has no bearing on freedom of speech. As always, those who hold a nationalist or racialist point of view will be free to state their political opinions. But they cannot use those opinions as an excuse to slander strangers in public.
I agree. Perhaps if she had written these views in a book or pamphlet and then been arrested for it that would be a freedom-of-speech issue to some. But, literally shouting racist terms and swear words directly to people and in front of children is clearly wrong and should be illegal...
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