Fascist UK

[Boy Named Crow]

I recently had an interesting debate with a friend of mine that came out of a discussion of the film V For Vendetta.

We were contrasting and comparing the current conditions within the UK to that of Germany just prior to the rise to power of the Nazi party. We discussed things such as unemployment and economic recession along with racism and the facist creation of a "scapegoat" culture to attack [as the Jewish community was].

What with the BNP beginning to stretch its arms and pollute every worker struggle with its racist diatribe, Conservatives gaining popularity and Labour introducing some mind boggling policies - I really fear there's more than just a passing similarity.

I'd like to hear some of your thoughts on this?

[Yehuda Stern]

You're certainly right that the capitalist world system is moving again towards a depression,and that brings along with it wars and fascism (as well as, under some conditions, good things too, like revolutions). I don't think we're there yet. I don't think there's any possibility of the BNP becoming a major party, let alone coming to power. I also don't know that when the UK ruling class needs fascism, it'll necessarily turn to the BNP. But yes, the situation is much like Germany before Nazism, although I would say the Germany of the early or mid 1920s, not that of the late 1920s or the 1930s.

[Boy Named Crow]

I agree with your point about the BNP never really being a major party in the near future.

I guess the idea stems from what I see as a rising number of people [including the working classes] who seem content to blame most of the UK's economic and employment woes on ethnic minorities.

"they come over here and take our jobs..." etc etc...

Obviously I don't think we're on the brink of a facist UK just yet - only that I can see signs and similarities.

[Cheung Mo]

I was discussing how the lyrics of an Iron Maiden song (The Clansman) and how somebody who hears the first out of context could mistake it for a song lionizing the KKK rather than one advocating Scottish nationalism with someone, and she remarked -- based on two visits to the UK -- that she finds it to be one of the least racist places there are. I was just like "um yeah..". SSP, Solidarity, Green, and even SNP supporters (All parties advocating Scottish independence that range in ideology from nominally social democratic, to left-ecologist, to democratic socialist) are among the UK's least racist people though. From what I understand, they agree on an independent, socially liberal Scotland and favour civic nationalism over ethnic nationalism and favour an internationalist and European rather than a closed perspective following independence (In other words, it's a project to make Scotland more Continental and less British...Having been more alienated by Thatcher's brand of social conservatism and extreme neo-liberalism and its impact in Scotland and having been disenchanted by New LieBlair, these points of agreement are a logical extension of the perspective and experiences of their supporters.). The disagreement, obviously, lies in where they stand on the issue of bourgeois or petty-bourgeois forms of internationalism vs. proletarian (or at least united front) forms and on how domestic productive forces ought to be organized.

Wow...What that ever one Hell of a tangent. Either way, her own experience of British race politics was skewed by the questions of where, when, and with whom.

Oh yes...And please change your topic title to ensure that the word "fascist" is correctly spelled. When I see "facist", I tend to think of brain dead reactionaries running their mouths off about the "EVIL FACIST LEFT!111!1!!!!11111"

[Boy Named Crow]

Oops Sorry about the bad spelling - I would change it if I knew how. I'm still getting used to the tools.

The UK has a strange type of racism. It's very well conealed and often apologetic. I often here the words [and resent them very much]...
"I'm not a racist but...." this is then usually followed by some rubbish theory about immigration or something.

[Boy Named Crow]

thank you whoever changed the name of the thread for me - much appreciated.