Archbishops: Don't vote BNP

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http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090524/tuk-archbishops-don-t-vote-bnp-dba1618.html

That seems strange coming from an archbishop...

What do you think?

[Vanguard1917]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090524/tuk-archbishops-don-t-vote-bnp-dba1618.html

That seems strange coming from an archbishop...

Not at all. The BNP is the one political phenomenon that pretty much the entire British establishment can come together to condemn in order to make itself look good in comparison.

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Not at all. The BNP is the one political phenomenon that pretty much the entire British establishment can come together to condemn in order to make itself look good in comparison.
What is an archbishop's involvement in this? I doubt that he is very interested in politics.

[Demogorgon]

Given that the BNP is everything that the liberal Dr. Williams despises and that Dr. Sentamu would be persecuted and deported because of the colour of his skin, it doesn't surprise me that much.

You don't need to like the Church of England to see that the BNP does not fit with their interests.

At any rate, the BNP doesn't exactly suit establishment interests, they would make a mess of the system that works so well for them and as VG1917 very rightly points out, they make an excellent bogeyman to favourably compare themselves too.

[Demogorgon]

What is an archbishop's involvement in this? I doubt that he is very interested in politics.
Of course he is. It is a highly political role.

[Vanguard1917]

What is an archbishop's involvement in this? I doubt that he is very interested in politics.

He's hoping to increase the moral clout of his own position -- which has been declining for years along with that of the Church of England in general -- by joining in the phony crusade against the bogeyman of British politics.

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Given that the BNP is everything that the liberal Dr. Williams despises and that Dr. Sentamu would be persecuted and deported because of the colour of his skin, it doesn't surprise me that much.

You don't need to like the Church of England to see that the BNP does not fit with their interests.

At any rate, the BNP doesn't exactly suit establishment interests, they would make a mess of the system that works so well for them and as VG1917 very rightly points out, they make an excellent bogeyman to favourably compare themselves too.
Then which lunatics support them???
That gets me thinking, could the BNP have been promoted in an indirect way by the major political parties so they could improve their image?

[Demogorgon]

Then which lunatics support them???
That gets me thinking, could the BNP have been promoted in an indirect way by the major political parties so they could improve their image?
No, they are a product of the way mainstream parties function, but not deliberately created. Mainstream parties have used racism to drum up support for a long time now. This would naturally cause a more extreme version to appear. One that claims to be outside the mainstream so as to benefit from dissatisfaction with the bigger parties.

That's where their support comes from incidentally. False consciousness is very strong in Britain, but nonetheless people realise something is up with the current system. That has led to dissatisfaction being directed into blaming immigrants and other easy scapegoats causing the BNP to benefit.

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No, they are a product of the way mainstream parties function, but not deliberately created. Mainstream parties have used racism to drum up support for a long time now. This would naturally cause a more extreme version to appear. One that claims to be outside the mainstream so as to benefit from dissatisfaction with the bigger parties.

That's where their support comes from incidentally. False consciousness is very strong in Britain, but nonetheless people realise something is up with the current system. That has led to dissatisfaction being directed into blaming immigrants and other easy scapegoats causing the BNP to benefit.
Would I be discriminating in saying that that's what the "less clever" type opt for?

[Demogorgon]

Would I be discriminating in saying that that's what the "less clever" type opt for?
Well those who do so are fools, but it is a problem across the social spectrum. The problem isn't voting for the BNP per se. They are more of a distraction than anything else, they aren't getting anywhere near power after all, but rather that people hold the kind of views that can make them consider voting for them.

They are not the only racist party either. UKIP is much the same and has much greater success, though it appeals to more well-to-do people and let us not forget the mainstream parties who have pandered to racism over and over to get support and to distract attention from the real causes of the problem. Britain's mess of racist asylum and immigration laws for instance were not written by the BNP or UKIP or any of the myriad of other small racial extremist parties but by successive Labour and Conservative Governments. Don't forget that.

[Yazman]

What is an archbishop's involvement in this? I doubt that he is very interested in politics.

Religious leaders often advise their congregations and followers on life in general, and this includes politics.