Nick Griffin - Rights over rights and wrongs

Today (22 October 2009), Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party (BNP) will participate in Question Time on BBC1, despite vociferous opposition from both Government, press and antifascist organisations. Aside from the political ramifications of an extremist reaching a viewing audience of millions, it poses an interesting ethical dilemma - should freedom of speech be afforded to all…even the bigot…? Or should the political elite treat the populous as idiots and (as usual) try to tell us how to think and what to do…?

A shamelessly abridged history on the freedom of speech.

Following the violent upheaval of the French Revolution, in 1789, a turning point took place with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Article 11 stated: ‘The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man’. Over subsequent centuries, the right to exercise freedom of speech has become synonymous with democracy. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserts the ‘right to hold opinions without interference’ and ‘everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression’. A similar ideal is enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Countless lives have been lost in the protection of this most precious ideal through civil unrest and war. One only has to look at censorship and brutal suppression practices within autocracies to realise just how much of a nightmare free speech evokes in your average despot.

Early proponents of this ideal included John Milton who argued that ‘if the facts are laid bare, truth will defeat falsehood in open competition, but this cannot be left for a single individual to determine’. According to Milton, it is ‘up to each individual to uncover their own truth; no one is wise enough to act as a censor for all individuals’.

A mischievous take on the ascendancy of Nick Griffin

Born in 1959, Nick Griffin was the son of a Conservative MP known to secrete himself (as it were) at the occasional National Front meeting. By fourteen, disillusioned with Enid Blyton, Griffin delved into Mein Kampf. This brief flirtation with the philosophies of a jack-booted jingoist ‘hailed’ a new era for him. At fifteen, instead of spending hours in his bedroom (with a box of Kleenex and a copy of the Freeman’s catalogue), he was seduced by the allure of the National Front. A year later, he is alleged to have played a game of ‘hide the frankfurter’ with its organiser, Martin Webster. If true, the encounter would’ve certainly stood him in good stead for the rigors of campus life at Cambridge University. It was there he discovered new ways of knocking someone about the ring when another latent desire came to the fore in the form of boxing. After graduation, Griffin’s pugilistic instincts returned to politics and the National Front where he launched the imaginatively entitled publication Nationalism Today. This differed in style from the existing Bulldog newsletter with its innovative use of polysyllabic words.

Griffin unleashed his first political blitzkrieg in North West Croydon in Surrey. Hardly the stuff of legend, but not without its irony, since Croydon was heavily bombed by the Nazis in WWII. Much to his bewilderment, he was left scratching his head with only 1.2% of the vote (hmmm…surprising given the multicultural demographics). Unperturbed, he took up the firebrand of white supremacism again in the following year (this time amassing a grand total of 0.9% of the vote). It must have seemed like the only cropped-haired boot-boys in Croydon were those of the gay variety.

The early 1980s were wilderness years for the National Front. Oddly, their dip in membership had an inverse correlation to Margaret Thatcher’s ascendancy (coincidence, I’m sure). In those difficult times, Griffin began to assimilate the ideas of Roberto Fiore (an Italian fascist). From this rich manure of inspiration, Griffin cultivated ideas of a return to feudalism and the establishment of separate nationalist enclaves. In fact, instead of having a swear-box in his office, Griffin regularly imposed a 10p fine on anyone using the words ‘multicultural’ or ‘integrationist’.

By the middle of the 80s Griffin had already heaped praise on a variety of overseas tin-pot tyrants including Colonel Gadaffi and Ayatollah Khomeini. Following a spot of political infighting and getting into bed with Roberto Fiore (figuratively speaking), he left the National Front and formed the ‘International Third Position’. As yet, I haven’t discovered which position he assumed, but I can only hope he wasn’t expected to be the passive partner for those in the first and second positions.

In 1990, Griffin suffered a tragic accident and lost an eye, leaving him unable to work. Subsequently, he was forced to declare himself bankrupt and avoided politics for a few years. However in 1993, he again slipped back into the body politic, joining the British National Party.

Griffin proved pivotal in making his party more electable by abandoning forced repatriation of immigrants and pandering to populist, rabble-rousing tabloid causes e.g. capital punishment for paedophiles, rapists, drug dealers and murderers. The shift attracted moderate numbers of votes in places like Oldham West and Royton. Eventually, his dogged perseverance paid off and he was elected as a member of the European Parliament for North West England in 2009.

Nick Griffin isn’t simply a man with strong political convictions. He’s been hauled before the beak on more than one occasion. Maybe he’s got a thing about wigs? So far his brushes with the law have been non-custodial.

In conclusion

Whatever the majority think about Nick Griffin, I would suggest that eroding free speech is too greater price to pay simply to gag the unpalatable opinions of a minority by legislation. Besides which, Nick Griffin and his cronies are bound by existing hate crime laws; Public Order Act 1986, Part III Incitement to Racial Hatred, Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 etc. Moreover, on his present trajectory, it seems altogether possible that the man may experience a different style of ‘gagging order’ under the auspices of HMP Brixton. A brief sojourn at Her Majesty’s pleasure may open him up to new and exciting possibilities from the multicultural inmate population. He may even be obliged to take some of their points on board? [lucky thing, eh?].

Despite the dangerously seductive allure of his Griffin’s ideas, debate might make them subject to dispassionate, critical analysis rather than the whims of an egg-lobbing rabble, or worse, politically expedient censorship. Don’t our hard-fought rights of free speech far outweigh individual rights and wrongs?

Hugs all round,
Edwin B.

Quotes of the day:

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”
Voltaire.

“The British National Party is a legal, political entity. It has a right in a democratic society to put forward ideas and policies which some might find uncomfortable and some might find even offensive. There has been a tendency in this case to over-analyse speeches, to take one line here and one line there. You have got to look at the overall impact of these speeches - remember the context of each speech.”
Timothy King QC


Footnote:

Despite Timothy King QC’s sage advice, I’ve listed some of our Nick’s more delectable quotes for your squeamish delight, (my apologies for going ‘tabloid journalist’ and taking them out of context).

On the Holocaust:
“I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that six million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also once held that the world is flat.”

On the bombing of the Admiral Duncan pub by ex-BNP member David Copeland:
“The TV footage of dozens of gay demonstrators flaunting their perversion in front of the world’s journalists showed just why so many ordinary people find these creatures so repulsive.”

On what radical Muslim clerics wish for:
“... militant Muslims to take over British cities with AK-47 rifles.”

On green issues:
“Global warming is essentially a hoax.”