Anthropax's Old Blog

Couple of things have come up about those racist lttle shits at the BNP. Firstly, we have an item on the Guardian newsblog linking to Sky News (no, I never thought I'd have any respect for Sky news either, but here we are...), who aquired a taped conversation that the BNP press person had with a student. I found it via Jo and I'd recomend following the links to get to it. " Even if it is not your usual thing, there is a video report worth watching on the Sky News website. It concerns Phil Edwards, the far-right BNP’s national press officer, and the recording of a telephone conversation he had at the start of last year with a student. When the student started working, Mr Edwards explained, he would be paying taxes to raise black children who would “probably go and mug you”. Part of it was probably planning, part of it luck, but there is a sparse and uneasy dramatic quality to the report - the kind you might find in a Beckett play. The recording is played back to Mr Edwards, a grey-haired man in a pullover, tie and anorak sat on a park bench in an empty-looking market town. He denies he is racist. At 3 minutes and 20 seconds, a middle-class couple walk behind Mr Edwards and the reporter asks them if they think the comments are racist. The camera pans up to the standing couple and they agree. It then pans down to Mr Edwards, giving the impression he has been misbehaving in class, or is at least to be looked down on. He tells the couple he thinks they are wrong but are “entitled” to their view. The reporter tells them he is the BNP press officer, whereupon they laugh and walk away. " He makes the claim that there have never been any great African civilisations. Pah! Bullshit! What about the Mali Empire? Or the Fulani Empire? I doubt he's visited the Great Mosque of Djenné either, and as for the great treasures of Ethiopia. Sub-Sarharan Africa tended to be pastorly based (although that is a great simplification), so it's no wonder that the Eurasian social structure (which is based on an agrarian system providing enough food to support artists/priests/government/military) never developed in large numbers. It's not because of some genetic weakness in sub-saharan people, but rather the environment that they live in that dictates how a social group develop. Anyway, a social group doesn't have to build huge cities to be valid and important, and it's just showing how ethnocentric the BNP are. The other BNP themed part of the post, I was browsing the Church Times website (it has an interesting lookin g bit on the Sydney Anglicans as well, but I can't access it) . "CHURCHES are being urged to make it absolutely clear in the run-up to the local elections next week that Christians do not support the British National Party (BNP) The party has made direct attempts to win over Christians through its so-called Christian "front", the Christian Council of Britain. Its placards, "Defend Christian Values", have been in evidence at BNP demonstrations in Leeds and at protests such as those against Jerry Springer - the Opera The BNP is exploiting faith tensions, says a report from the Churches Regional Commission in Yorkshire and Humberside. One leaflet asks voters: "Are you concerned about the growth of Islam in Britain? Make May 4th referendum day." It adds: "Defend our Christian culture." The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Jack Nicholls, led a walk for peace on Sunday to show solidarity with other faith leaders and communities in the city, where the BNP is fielding four candidates. The group walked from the Al-Rahman mosque to Firth Park Methodist Church, with a short, silent vigil outside each place of worship, and prayers for unity and peace. The leaders issued a joint statement reaffirming that all their faiths were incompatible with any party or philosophy based on hatred or treating people as inferior because of their race or beliefs. "We reject the current demonisation of the Muslim community as an affront to all our beliefs and as a danger to the whole community. We can only continue to move forward as a city through mutual tolerance and respect," the statement said. "We assert that racism is a sin, and are appalled at the claim made by groups such as the British National Party and the Christian Council of Britain that they speak for Christians, when in fact their messages of division and hate are the opposite of Christian values." But Harehills in Leeds can boast successful efforts to deter the BNP from fielding a candidate this time round. The ward of 17,000 people was targeted four years ago with overtly racist literature. Canon Alan Taylor, an Anglican parish priest and Lib Dem councillor, was re-elected two years ago. In 2002, he supported a fellow candidate of Asian origin and urged that the BNP must be opposed (News, April 2002). He said on Tuesday: "Concerted efforts over many years have seen the BNP give up in one of the most multi-racial areas of the city." " The BNP views are racist and should be totally unacceptable to any Christian worthy of the name. Technorati Tags: BNP, Anti-Fascism, Anglican, The Guardian, Africa