My friend is a Ukipper????

[etiennel]

Before the GE my friend came up to me in the morning and said "you know I looked up ukip and they're actually not a racist group." It has only escalated from there.

He is now like an extreme nationalist. His phone wallpaper is a Union Jack and he gets updates to his phone everytime UKIP or any members of UKIP post a tweet?

The other day he said "I cant wait to get out of the euro crisis." I understand his Euroscepticism. But most clever socialists I know seem to think that while the EU does need to be democratized, leaving would be a mistake. Can anyone back this up?

My friend doesn't even seem to even know left from right wing. He seems to think he is one of the most knowledgeable people in school on the subject of politics.

How do I show him that UKIP are actually far right racist bigots ??

[Armchair Partisan]

How do I show him that UKIP are actually far right racist bigots ??

Okay, where are we starting off? Is he a right-wing bonehead who just gravitated to UKIP? Is he a liberal? A really confused social-democrat? I mean, the further to the left he is, the more you should focus on their racism. If they're right wing to begin with, then instead of focusing on racism you should focus on the unworkability of their petty-nationalist, reactionary politics in general.

If not, I guess you can look up Nigel Farage quotes or whatever. I mean, they haven't been in power yet, so you can only judge them based on what they say (or you can read their official political platform if you really care, but that's probably carefully sanitized so that it doesn't offend potential left-wing voters while still appealing to their right-wing core, so it'll probably be vague and useless for the purpose of argument).

[etiennel]

Hes not rly left or right. Hes a fairly liberal guy tho. Hes just fallen for the UKIP propaganda. Sad really.

[Futility Personified]

So a party that gets funded by the extremely rich segment of society, seems to contain more nuts than a knickerbocker glory made on a squirrel farm, doesn't distance itself from 'appropriate' racism like removing equality legislation, has the support of a vast amount of the far right for voting concerns, co-founded by a banker who had in the past associated with far right types, seems to lay nearly all of the blame it can at the feet of migrants, is not a racist party.

The real question is how can he convince you that UKIP are not a racist party?

That said, arguing with friends about politics can be quite destructive on your social life. Consider a non-aggression pact for the sake of your friendship. He may come to his senses, or annoy you to such a degree that his company is no longer tolerable. No offence, but he is probably a dipshit if he actually buys into what UKIP have to offer.

[rylasasin]

Sounds like he's a lost cause. Time to get a new friend.

[BIXX]

Yeah, planting myself firmly in the "maybe time to get a new one, this one's broken" camp.

[etiennel]

You're probably right. Ah, well.

[Comrade Jacob]

I had friends who where massive Britain First wankers and unionist dick-heads worshipping the Queen. The key word is 'had'

[Zoop]

He's already reached the Union Jack phone wallpaper stage. He's too far gone.

Also, when rabid UKIP supporters claim they aren't racists or xenophobes, they're either in denial, they misunderstand what racism actually is, or they are too afraid to be sincere about their bigotry.

[Comrade Njordr]

Theres this bloke I know (one of my dads old mates) who's starting to show support for UKIP, he never really gave off this twatty vibe, the kind you get from ukippers. Its a shame, seemed like a nice guy and all.

[Guardia Rossa]

Give him a leninade and pray he likes the taste.

[Carlos-Marcos]

How do I show him that UKIP are actually far right racist bigots ??

UKIP is not far right, that would be more like BNP, EDL or Pegida.

[sirz345]

Don't sugar coat it, your friend is a reactionary. My advice is to distance yourself from your friend, you can make more friends with similar values or at least are not about as far right as is recognized.

[MarxSchmarx]

Moved to antifascism. Open would likely get great advice there

[cyu]

As seen on Facebook, if you can't think differently on at least one issue from your favorite politician or political party, you're not really thinking.

[Left Voice]

I don't know about the person in question, but most UKIP supporters who I personally know are generally just not very political people. They latch on to the un-PC message that UKIP take pride in spouting and is an image they nurture, and blame all of society's woes on easy targets. Their message is easy to understand, even if it is evidently wrong.

I've tried to debate with friends and relatives who buy into the UKIP stuff but it's impossible because it ends up being a political conversation with apolitical people who just aren't particularly interested in what I have to say.

In this sense, a lot of UKIP supporters are markedly different from supporters of parties further to the right such as the BNP etc.

[Alexios]

I have no idea how close this friend is to you or how old you and he are, but I would ignore the posts in this thread saying you should abandon him or distance yourself from him for being a UKIP supporter. It's nonsensical to think that you're corrupting "the revolution" by being friends with a reactionary or something like that. We don't live in a revolutionary period, and politics for the most part is just a fixture of the bourgeois state of affairs - you're only hurting yourself by trying to surround yourself with like-minded people. Personally I can't imagine how dull and depressing my life would be if all my friends were leftists.

Engage in normal discussion with other people regardless of their politics, especially if they're your friends. If you act like a normal, rational person and persuade him of your own politics then maybe he'll come to his senses. No one's politics are ever ground in stone, so there's rarely a time where someone is "too far gone." Some leftists have this bizarre idea that they need to promote communism in every single aspect of their lives, but in reality these things only become real during a revolutionary period. Until then it's just roleplaying.

[BIXX]

I have no idea how close this friend is to you or how old you and he are, but I would ignore the posts in this thread saying you should abandon him or distance yourself from him for being a UKIP supporter. It's nonsensical to think that you're corrupting "the revolution" by being friends with a reactionary or something like that. We don't live in a revolutionary period, and politics for the most part is just a fixture of the bourgeois state of affairs - you're only hurting yourself by trying to surround yourself with like-minded people. Personally I can't imagine how dull and depressing my life would be if all my friends were leftists.

Engage in normal discussion with other people regardless of their politics, especially if they're your friends. If you act like a normal, rational person and persuade him of your own politics then maybe he'll come to his senses. No one's politics are ever ground in stone, so there's rarely a time where someone is "too far gone." Some leftists have this bizarre idea that they need to promote communism in every single aspect of their lives, but in reality these things only become real during a revolutionary period. Until then it's just roleplaying.
I don't think anyone has said its about corrupting the revolution or whatever, but that it isn't worth it to them to have such a shithole as a friend.