Nick Griffin BNP MEP appeared on BBC Question Time last week
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has recently been quoted, saying he believes Nick Griffin feels that the BBC have given him an early Christmas present, and that he should not be allowed on Question Time. The question came to my mind: who the hell is he to say who should and should not be on the BBC?
The BBC is supposedly a sovereign media organisation, therefore the government should not only not have a say in who goes on the show, but it’s arguable that he should be allowed to ‘kick off’ in public about it. After all, what’s the point in a sovereign media organisation which reports the news having to do what high-up officials say? If that rule was followed, we would never get honest news. In the same way as the Huddersfield Student has to, the BBC will have to report the truth and offer different sides of an issue, irrelevant of who it upsets and offends, because that is its duty.
However, when watching it I became increasingly annoyed by the format of the ‘debate’. Don’t get me wrong, I dislike the BNP more than most, but the format did in actuality give the BNP an early Christmas present. They isolated Nick Griffin and bullied him for an hour, which is simply going to increase his defence and reinforce the BNP follower’s determination to the cause.
Firstly, a chair of any sort has to be unbiased and fair. David Dimbleby simply ripped into Nick Griffin almost constantly, barely giving the man time to really skirt around the question, something afforded to the other panelist by Dimbleby.
Furthermore, the content was based almost exclusively on the BNP. The show is meant to be about issues – not a scathing attack on a guy who looks like he’s a product of inbreeding and was constantly shaking with what I can only imagine is fear from the academic lynch mob in front of him (I guess now he knows how it feels).
The show should have talked about the issues of government, not just immigration policy. We all know how racist the BNP’s policy is – why not ask him about healthcare provisions and watch him go “errrrrrr”? Short of their immigration policy, the BNP have diddley-squat.
The BBC were well within in their rights to have Nick Griffin on the show, but I believe that the format benefited the BNP and was detrimental to viewers. Toward the end it was pointedly obvious that very few issues were really touched upon. I have always been a promoter of the open-platform policy, purely because when you give these people the floor to speak, they really show their true colours, and people see the crazy spilling out of them. The BBC failed in that objective because they couldn’t maintain a very basic professionalism (though I can’t really blame them for doing so).
Clearly, you are not really British.
I’m actually part welsh and part english which makes me more ‘British’ than most, so try again?
Sorry but I have to disagree with Ben on a few points.
Firstly, it must be said that I completely agree that the BNP should have been allowed on. The Welsh Sec has no right to start threatening an independant media and news company. FACT. Some MPs simply don’t know there place
But unfortunately I have to take up the argument that the format of the program was spot on, or as spot on as it could be with a fascist on the panel.
With regards the the bullying that clearly went on – I thick it was great to see polititions from left and right standing up for the principles they believe in and showing Griffin that yes he is ‘welcome’ on the show, but not to expect a warm welcome when all he can do is vomit hatred. I think that they probably had every intention of trying not to ‘gang up’ on him but their principles got the better of them, and I think the show was better for it…
Secondly, with regarding to the ‘format’ of the show – Ben is right to point out that it did not conform to the usual format in which Question Time is usually held. But then again, having a fascist on the panel is quite normal either. The show usually does talk about various different issues which tend to be dictated by current news on the weekly, or monthly, or yearly, political agenda. Nick Griffin on Question Time was ‘Big News’ for many weeks and many of the British public who are horrified by Griffin had never really had the opportunity that they had last thursday and so rightly so, they wanted to use the time wisely. Furthermore, the questions, and therefore the format, are dictated not by the BBC or David, but by the audience and if the audience had many many questions they wanted to ask that focused on Griffin and his NF party dressed in slightly better skin, then they had to right to do so.
hmmm… Off to work. Hope everyone enjoyed my rant
Ben? What did I do?
Lol… i retract my reference to Ben! Just realised it was frodo. My most humble apologies
Racism begins with our families, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, people we admire, respect and love.
However, as we grow and mature we come to the realization that what we were told by our family when we were children were slanted lies base on their prejudices. We realize that most people are like ourselves and not so different and want the same things, like a home, steady work, a Medicare plan and schools for our children (if you travel you will see this). We realize that most people are of good hearts and goodwill.
This reminds me of a parable from the good book where a Levite and Priest come upon a man who fell among thieves and they both individually passed by and didn’t stop to help him.
Finally a man of another race came by, he got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy and got down with the injured man, administered first aid, and helped the man in need.
Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his fellow man.
You see, the Levite and the Priest were afraid, they asked themselves, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?”
But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”
That’s the question before us. The question is not, “If I stop to help our fellow man (immigrant) in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help our fellow man, what will happen to him or her?” That’s the question.
This current climate of blaming others for our woes is not new. We have had this before and we have conquered it.
Remember “Evil flourishes when good men (and women) do nothing”. Raise your voices with those of us who believe we are equal and we can win this battle again.
Wow, Mark and Paul the Gospal’ are here.