Should the BNP be banned?

Yesterday, once again, the violent and disgusting English Defence League (EDL) held another "demonstration" in Luton. The EDL were formed after a group of seriously misguided and easily brainwashed, not to mention utterly stupid Muslims called for British troops to "burn in hell". They have since held demonstrations to fight against "militant Islam" or so they say. In actual fact, no matter, what they claim it seems the EDL can’t stop themselves from talking about Islam has a whole. They’re not fighting against militant Islam, they’re fighting against Islam altogether, they spew nonsense; they find on the internet and do not ever go about trying to have rational debate.

It seems, every single EDL demonstration, thus far, has always resulted in drunken brawls and serious racial tensions, not surprising considering so much of the EDL is comprised of football hooligans and drunken chavs. They are a seriously fascist organisation and it’s worrying to know that their numbers are on the rise. Thankfully, most Britons, also view the EDL for what they are; a bunch of far-right hooligans, out, not to peacefully protest but to cause trouble. My friend and I were discussing this at work today and at some point the conversation jumped to the British National Party (BNP).

The BNP is a political party of the extreme right. They’re fascist and as such they are, like most fascists, are; racist, sexist, bigots, extremely nationalistic (note the difference between patriotic and nationalistic) oh and did I forget to add they think that you can’t be British if you’re not white? The BNP were formed from the National Front and have had such a rise in popularity, that they won 2 seats in the European Parliament and even in my constituency (which is perhaps leaning towards being predominantly Asian) had a BNP member trying to run for the local elections. Luckily their popularity has dwindled and so in the last general election they did not win any seats at all, a series of mocking facebook groups soon followed – I joined every one of them!

One of the main reasons I can’t stand Nick Griffin and the BNP is, of course, because of their racist policies. If voted into power, they have stated that they want to see the expulsion of all immigrants and their children regardless of whether they are legally British. This would mean that they would see the deportation of not only me but of people from a mixed background (one white British parent, one non-white British etc.) as well. Such a policy would mean disaster for British workforce, first and foremost and especially for such institutions like the NHS, a huge employer, on all levels, for migrants. Another reason I hate the BNP, Nick Griffin and many other predominant BNP leaders are serial Holocaust deniers! They also want to pull out of the EU, they want to enter into isolationism, they promote Islamophobia, they’re anti-Semitic, the list goes on… In short they are one of the most vile parties known to man, I would go so far as to say they are on par with the NSDAP (Nazi Party).

I could write forever about the utter idiocy and hypocrisy of, and of my hate for the BNP, however this is not what this post is about. My friend and I were discussing whether the BNP should be made illegal and we were both quick to come to one conclusion, no. Now before you all *facepalm* or do something worse, my reasons, or rather reason, since there is only one reason for why such a vile group should be allowed to stay, is freedom of speech.

I’m always so proud to be a part of a democratic society. A society that practices, liberties that are so taken for granted and it is for this reason that the BNP should not be banned. They are, after all, and it pains me to say this, a legitimate political party. As stated by the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), every single citizen of the EU has the right to freely express their views, they also have the freedom to think how they like and are never to be discriminated against for their political views. Frankly, banning the BNP, no matter how fascist they are, goes against their basic human rights and they are humans, poor excuses for humans but humans nonetheless.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to go make friends with any of the BNP members or supporters (someone drop a piano on my head if that ever happens) but it’s the nature of a free society to allow such people to voice their opinions. If they’re not committing a crime (Nick Griffin did go on trial for denying the Holocaust and the BNP have never come outright and been racist) then they have to be allowed to practise politically. We, as the rational Britain, have to also practise politically too by exercising our rights to vote and protest as well so that we can ensure such a party never get voted in.

Apologies for any incoherent bits, I’m writing this after a 13 hour shift starting at 5am with only 2 hours sleep.