UKIP, Casual Racism And BBC’s Bias

If you ever wanted to understand bigotry in Britain then this UKIP poster from South Shields is a fine example.

It sums them up nicely, scaring people and putting out a simple xenophobic message.

Logan Smith wrote an intelligent piece on casual comments and racism.  I think it has a wider application in society and in particular relationship to UKIP:

“It’s that the people I retweet – the vast majority of which appear to be teenagers – genuinely don’t understand whether they’re being racist. It’s a generation that never had to grow up during the times of Jim Crow, civil rights marches or apartheid, and has never been confronted by the institutional racism that older generations saw on a daily basis. As a result, many teens seem to think racism simply means active hatred of another race, and not the apparent prejudices and stereotypes displayed by the people I retweet. “

Speaking of prejudice, the BBC’s has not helped itself over the years, when it comes to the Jewish community, according to a recent poll:

“36% – The proportion of Jews who believe BBC news coverage is “heavily” biased against Israel, according to the report

14% – The number who say that the corporation reporting is “balanced” “

Over the years I have watched Jeremy Bowen display an unsophisticated vista of the Middle East, so I am surprised the 14% figure is that high.

The full report is here, Jews and the News: News consumption habits and opinions of Jews in Britain. Some 79% of those sampled replied they felt the BBC is biased against Israel. That is a lot, for one community to perceive the BBC’s way of reporting the news.

A reminder of where such prejudice leads, murder in Eltham.

Finally, Doreen Lawrence’s words.

Update 1: A reminder of Richard Dawkins’ stupid words from 2007:

“”When you think about how fantastically successful the Jewish lobby has been, though, in fact, they are less numerous, I am told – religious Jews anyway – than atheists and [yet they] more or less monopolise American foreign policy as far as many people can see. So if atheists could achieve a small fraction of that influence, the world would be a better place.”

Such views are common on the Far and Extreme Right. This essay explains the antecedents of such beliefs, What are “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”? I do wish that Professor Dawkins would educate himself on these issues and not assume he knows everything.

Update 2: Any Richard Dawkins’ supporters who can not see the possible racist connotations here should examine the evidence and come to some reasoned conclusion.

• Firstly, bring up Google
• Next, enter the term “Jewish lobby” in quotes into Google and click on search
• Thirdly, slowly go through the sites provided and notice about the sixth to eight ones down are from the IHR
• Fourthly, research the IHR, major suppliers of Holocaust denial material, and ponder why, they of all people would hold such views
• Fifthly, if that does not convince then you put “Jewish lobby” david duke in Google and read his foul material

Finally, try and work out why neo-Nazis would proffer such views?

Update 3: Apparently, UKIP banned extremists from its ranks, good first start but did not seem to inform its lay officials, Stand for Peace explains:

“Evidence has emerged that a senior UKIP figure, the Chairman of UKIP Hillingdon, Cliff Dixon has links to the English Defence League (EDL), a far-Right group with a long history of attacking Muslims.

Dixon, formerly involved with the English Democrats party, boasted on his blog, in 2011, that he has ”joined my friends from March for England to tag along on the EDL Tower Hamlets demonstration.”

Colin Cortbus, a Stand for Peace fellow, notes: “If Mr Dixon thinks extremists should get off our streets, perhaps he should lead by example.”

Mr Dixon’s blog also records his attendance at a number of nationalist marches, mainly through the relatively small ‘March for England’ group. One event was co-organised by the British Patriots Society, which is described by anti-extremism campaign Hope not Hate as “a tiny splinter of the English Defence League”.

One photo shows Dixon posing with EDL leader Kevin Carol and other EDL and BNP figures.”

Q:Can any of my readers suggest why UKIPers might be found associating with the neofascists in the English Defence League?

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Mel Gibson, UKIP And Child Labour in Yemen

Jodie Foster has a new friend, Mel Gibson. Or at least that’s what we are told. Leshu Torchin at Souciant has a few thoughts:

“Moreover, there seems to be some misplaced disdain in a speech that mocks Honey Boo Boo but describes Mel Gibson as a lifesaver. I don’t doubt that there is a deep friendship there, and one that is mutually rewarding, but this was truly unsettling as it made me think of how Hollywood seems to give a free pass to men who beat women. Even if we forget his well-documented racist and anti-Semitic outbursts, this is a man who allegedly punched his wife in the face—twice—one time knocking her teeth out, because, as he states on the notorious tape, she “f*cking deserved it.” And he is not the only one. Charlie Sheen, who has a record of assaulting and abusing his partners (and even allegedly accidentally shooting one), continues to work, starring in the FX show Anger Management. And that behavior is not the violation of the morals clause that got him fired from the TV show Two and a Half Men; no, apparently he was fired because he began to harangue his producers. Insert “WINNING” joke here. Or don’t. “

UKIP always seek to thrive on the loathing of “foreigners”, the up and coming changes in the EU are no exception:

“After Eric Pickles said at the weekend that immigration from Romania and Bulgaria would “cause problems” and could lead to housing shortages, UKIP has wasted little time in exploiting the issue. The party has added a clock to its website counting down the days until 1 January 2014, the moment when transitional controls on migrants from the two newest EU member states expire.”

Child labour in the West is the stuff of Dickensian novels, but in Yemen and elsewhere it is a sad reality:

“SANAA, Yemen (ILO News) – More than 1.3 million children in Yemen are involved in child labour, including 469,000in the 5-11 age group, a new study shows.

This means 17 per cent of Yemen’s 7.7 million children in the 5-17 age group and 11 per cent of those aged 5-11 are involved in child labour, according to Yemen’s first-ever national child labour survey, which was carried out with support from the ILO, the Social Development Fund and UNICEF. “

UKIP And Europe’s Far Right

Ugly neofascist Le Pen

There is an interesting article in the Rotherham Advertiser and it confirms what many of us had thought, UKIP’s sympathy for the Far Right:

“UKIP, the party at the centre of the Rotherham fostering storm, has been linked to far right groups in Europe by one of its former Euro MPs.

The ex-UKIP MEP Nikki Sinclaire said UKIP attended a press conference last week for the right-wing European Alliance for Freedom at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Ms Sinclaire said: “This is a pan-European political party, financially backed by the European Parliament.

“This particular party is of interest as it contains, amongst others, Front Nationale, Vlaams Belang, and the Austrian Freedom Party.

…

The Front Nationale is a French far right party founded by Jean Marie Le Pen, Vlaams Belang, is a Belgium-based extreme Flemish nationalist party, while the leader of Austrian Freedom Party recently caused anger after posting a cartoon on Facebook, likened to anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda.. “

Update 1: The Centre for European Politics at Royal Holloway spotted this issue in June 2012.

UKIP And The Bigots

The political fringe grouping, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), is rejoicing at the recent controversy in Rotherham for all of its free publicity and the lack of critical comment.

I thought it helpful to remind readers of the unsavoury characters in and around UKIP.

Firstly, Aidan Rankin, who according to his confessions in the New Statesman, once “had held standard progressive views and written occasional contributions to New Left Review” later to be sucked into the xenophobic world of UKIP supporters via the Far Right. Perpetually stupid, Rankin seems to have associated with well-known Far Right figure Patrick Harrington’s Third Way. Older readers will remember Harrington as a National Front member and one-time student of North East London Polytechnic. Rankin finally left UKIP, but as much in sorrow as in realisation. Harrington, predictably, has joined the BNP.

Next, Alistair McConnachie a one-time UKIP executive member and candidate for the party, was an open Holocaust denier and supporter of David Irving.

Andrew Moffat was a member of UKIP for 12 years and a long standing candidate. Hope, not Hate relates:

“Andrew Moffat: A former National Front member who was booted out of the Army in 1980. He was once David Irving’s political secretary and has remained close friends with former NF National Activities Organiser Martin Webster. He stood for UKIP in Beaconsfield in 2001, finishing in last place. He later joined the BNP, becoming the BNP’s economic spokesman and became Andrew Brons’ close political assistant, running his Brussels office. Moffat will become deputy chairman of True Brits. “

Another unsavoury element was Alastair Harper, UKIP’s one-time candidate in Dunfermline West. Harper had been a leading activist with Roger Pearson’s neo-Nazi, Northern League.

One of UKIP’s MEPs, Mike Nattrass, was a member of the Far Right, New Britain Party in the 1990s

I expect that their excuse will be “we have moderated our views” or “we have changed”.

But what they really need to say is “UKIP has been a party full of racists, cranks and misfits from the Far Right, but now we are different”. I am not sure how many people would believe that, even if UKIP had the courage to say it!

In the interim, Richard Corbett’s PDF pamphlet on the UKIP makes interesting reading.

I would recommend studying UKIPwatch.org’s blog and Junius on UKIP.

Still, I must have missed out any number of questionable characters snugly hidden in the UKIP family, or other examples of racism within UKIP.

I would welcome readers’ contributions on bigotry in UKIP.