Thinking what they're thinking

[ciphergoth]

Tory immigration poster "spot on", say BNP.

Comments

[batswing.livejournal.com]

aarg.

Look, I'm not a racist, but...

[uon.livejournal.com]

Bit of a weird choice for a campaign slogan; every time I go past one of those posters, what I'm normally thinking is, "What the hell are you thinking?"..

Re: Look, I'm not a racist, but...

[deliberateblank.livejournal.com]

Thinking? Tories...

Re: Look, I'm not a racist, but...

[deliberateblank.livejournal.com]

Actually having said that, the thought process probably goes something like "We desperately need to grub around for votes wherever we can get them."

[uon.livejournal.com]

Vote Tory or the kitten gets it!

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Well, it's better tham "Vote Liberal or We'll Shoot Your Dog".

Re: Look, I'm not a racist, but...

[adjectivemarcus.livejournal.com]

[Me too]

[deliberateblank.livejournal.com]

The fascist flack goes on to say [...]

Having handled this filth, I must now go disinfect my hands.

I wish the Mr Stabe would get over himself and attack it on its merits though. Writing such as that does nothing except lower the debate to their level, which can't be good.

attack it on its merits

[(Anonymous)]

I wish the Mr Stabe would get over himself and attack it on its merits though.

I'm not sure why I should "get over myself".

The point of my post was to point out BNP approval for the policy and messages of a mainstream party. Because it came from a source most people would probably toss straight in the bin if they came into contact with it, drawing attentio to this was all that mattered.

The implicit criticism of the Tories -- who have previously denied accusations that they are appealing to similar attitudes as the BNP -- should speak for itself. I think my readers are intelligent enough not to need to have this spelled out for them.

I did hesitate about the name-calling, which you are right to call me on. But I wanted to be absoutely certain that nobody would miscontrue my quototing from BNP propaganda as tacit support for that propaganda: It's happened to me before. And if you had seen the rest of that BNP paper, you would understand my revulsion to even looking at it.

M.S.

[djm4]

It probably is racist, depending on what limits you impose. It may also be a good idea, in some circumstances. It's not in the least relevant to the Briatin of today which can't even see saturation point with a telescope from the top of a tall hill, and I wish politicians of all colours would dismiss this for the tedious non-issue it is.

That said, I had the nauseating (and thankfully rare) expereince of sharing the train this morning with two people who were being openly racist, saying that black people should be sent home, accusing them of ruining the NHS and claiming that Tony Blair only let them in because he wanted the money. I'd really like to have formulated a winning response, but I'm afraid that the pathetic best I could manage was to say to the closed doors after they'd left at Walthamstow Queens Road 'Fucking racist scum; why don't you go back to the 1930s where you belong?' Oscar Wilde I'm not.

[uon.livejournal.com]

Tony Blair only let them in because he wanted the money

Bet you didn't know that Tony Blair is personally handed a crisp new fiver every time a darkie moves to Britain.

Makes you think, eh?

Become a nurse today!

[sherbooke.livejournal.com]

and stop the NHS siphoning nurses from other countries. African hospitals can ill-afford to lose qualified staff like that.

[some-fox.livejournal.com]

And the other one says something like 'surely it can't be that difficult to keep hospitals clean', well as E pointed out: no, not if you've got a lot of nice low-paid immigrants to do it for you

[djm4]

It's actually very difficult to keep hospitals clean. It requires a lot of dedicated and skilled staff who are trained specifically in the precise cleaning needs of hospitals.

The Tories thought this was expensive - and thought that it was easy to keep hospitals clean - and sacked them all. As with railway maintenance, we are now screwed for decades, because that sort of expertise simply can't be recreated overnight. And because of that, no government is likely to try, because there are no votes in doing something that's only going to show results ten years later and which the next govenment is likely to scrap anyway.

That's why the vandalism to public services that the Tories did in the 80s and 90s (and Labour, to be honest, seems to be continuing that with areas like the Post Office and education) was so unforgivable. It will take decades to get back to where we were before, if we ever can. That's one reason why I think I will never vote Conservative no matter what the provocation - the damage Maggie did will outlive me, and they don't deserve my forgiveness in my lifetime.

Damages

[ablueskyboy.livejournal.com]

You bet. I was a child in the early '80's, living on a base in Warrington (yeah yeah yeah, that place right between Manchester and Liverpool that didn't hit the maps until AFTER the US Base closed and the IRA bombed Town Centre), with all the prejudice that went along with it (parents teaching their kids to hate me because I'm the child of an American Solder and *I* bring bombs and destruction), but at least I got to spend my time taking advantage of the AWESOME and REGULATED transit systems that once existed.

Deregulation of public services is a fools money-making scheme. Check out CA's famous scandal to cause rolling black-outs to squeeze more money by becoming independent billing agencies of electric plants. Even I knew that was stupid, and it infected VA too... oh I'm gay, so I won't lecture on the prejudice VA has to offer, but needless to say, I'd rather immigrate to England/Euro than continue to put up with VA's stupid "Marriage Protection Act" under it's flag against tyranny. So, don't hold that against immigrants!

Are you THINKING what we're THINKING?

[uon.livejournal.com]

There's a big double billboard somewhere in Kensington, with the hospital and immigration ads right next to one another. I spent ages trying to figure out precisely what kind of point they were trying to make about hospital staffing (and what solution they were advocating), until I gave up and assumed they were just two unrelated slogans on the same billboard. Or possibly Labour party posters designed to put people off voting Tory via subliminal hints of Michael Howard in Lederhosen.

[adjectivegail]

Every time I see one of that line of adverts, I want to start throwing things.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Me too. I usually restrict myself to muttering abusive words, or sticking two fingers up at it. The hospitals one made me very angry as it's the Tories' fault the NHS doesn't have its own cleaning staff any more, and the one about 'the law should protect me, not burglars'? Argh! I want to go and punch someone, and I'm not sure who.

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

I want to go and punch someone, and I'm not sure who

A burglar, shurely?

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Which I'd be entirely in my rights to do, if I found one in my house, of course.

The urge always used to be to punch Michael Portillo (right in his fatlipped smug-bastard mouth), but he's not an MP anymore.

I remember during an election campaign a few years back, Labour sent a letter asking for campaign donations round to its membership. For a specified amount, they would put up a billboard in the constituency of your nominated most-hated Tory MP. Then it said, "Don't all pick Michael Portillo!".

[keirf.livejournal.com]

I thought Michael Portillo was the current MP for Kensington and Chelsea?

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Is he? I thought he stood but didn't get it?

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

He stood and got it, but stood down at the last election.

[feorag.livejournal.com]

In the light of this campaign, I find it delightfully ironic that the first VC in 20 years went to a soldier who is not just black, but who only came to the UK in 1999.

[simm42.livejournal.com]

The only limit that should be imposed upon immigration is that the individual or group entering the country gives atleast as much as they take by coming here.

Since what they give back can be measured in so many ways:

Bringing their culture, their experiance, their skills
Working in a job that not only provides a service (which is true no matter the job) but they will be contributing to the counties economy

And what do they take back? Health care that keeps them capable of doing the above, education for their children who will then go on to contribute themselves


People seem to have an image of immigrants living in free council housing claiming all the benefits under the sun and taking up space on the NHS to cure problems caused by excess smoking and drinking.

Sorry but the only groups of people I know like that were born here. (I'm ashamed to admit that several of my aunts/uncles/cousins fall into this category which is why I have nothing to do with them)

[kelemvor.livejournal.com]

Seconded!
My left-wing grandfather fell out with my right-wing uncle (his son) over the other side of this matter.
My uncle has a highly-paid job in Qatar and other parts of the Middle East, in the oil industry. He spends fewer than 90 days in the country and so pays no taxes here, but is still due all the rights and privileges of an English citizen.
What riled his father is the time when he needed surgery, and scheduled the operation for one of the few periods that he was back over here, rather than pay to have it done in the company facility. My grandfather called him a parasite for that.

[cavalorn.livejournal.com]

Anyone else remember 'Labour say he's black, we say he's British'?

[djm4]

I remember the Labour Party poster for the 1992 General Election that was basically a big Union Jack. I thought at the time that it was a bit risky Labour going for the BNP vote.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

It's a bit rich that they put a Union Jack on the logo on that poster, seeing as the population of this united collection of islands is made entirely of the descendants of immigrants. Without the work of immigrants there wouldn't be flag, paper, ink, glue or building in that spot, there would be only trees and small hairy animals.

There's a space at the end of that "Are you thinking what we're thinking?" for a "No" in the same typeface. That's handy.

[biog.livejournal.com]

The strength in our country lies in our diversity. Without diversity we cannot be exposed to the many new ideas & various cultures that helps us to grow & develop as a nation of many peoples.
Also, many of these BNP wankers seem to forget that they themselves have come from many different cultures in the past, eg: pict, scot, anglo-saxon, celtic, viking, norman etc etc etc all though the ages between then & now.

[lizw.livejournal.com]

Being as how I think the current leadership of both the Tory and Labour parties has distinctly fascist elements, I'm not at all surprised.

I hate voting in this country - crap like this means I end up voting for a party whose leaders I merely don't trust (the Lib Dems) in a desperate attempt to keep out parties whose leaders I consider actively dangerous (Labour and the Tories, and occasionally the BNP, on the rare occasion it's stupid enough to stand where I live).

[meico.livejournal.com]

Ga!! I just did a search on "SynCult" in Google and guess who came up with the top listing... Try it. :)