There's been one story that has dominated the newspaper columns and TV news bulletins in the last couple of days, culminating last night.The decision by the BBC to invite British National Party leader Nick Griffin onto Question Time has sparked all sorts of emotions amongst people, including those who protested (some violently)outside Television Centre during the recording of the programme yesterday evening.
I managed to catch most of the show and feel it gave Griffin far too much publicity, a special treatment, and was far too much about him rather than politics and issues. He was verbally attacked, bullied you might say, by members of the audience and others on the panel, including the chair David Dimbleby and, whilst I would wholeheartedly agree with their sentiments and totally stand against what the BNP stand for, it wasn't particularly balanced, fair and democratic.
What needed to happen, more fully than it did, was for each topical issue - such as immigration, the recession, workers' rights - to be explored and addressed to each of the politicians there, particularly Jack Straw as a member of the ruling Labour party. Instead, it turned into solely the Nick Griffin show. And in that he lied through his teeth, contradicted himself and came out with some stunningly outrageous statements, which showed exactly why people are so passionate in being against him and the party he leads.
I tried to glean positives as I watched it, and one was the fact that the audience was multi-racial, including people of different ages and backgrounds, and almost to a man/woman standing together against fascism, racism and ideologies that tear communities apart and are ultimately about hate, and not love.
Whether we like it or not, God loves Nick Griffin as he loves each one of us. As a church housegroup last night we prayed for Griffin, and I pray for him as I type this - that God would reveal his love in some way to him, that he would repent from how he has acted, and see that there are better ways to go about being politics - and life.
(Photo credit: Rex Chen)
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There were a few obvious BNP supporters in the audience. Or thats how it seemed to me, they got a chance to ask some loaded questions too.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was fascinating, but not entirely satisfying for reasons I'm still trying to ascertain. The questions were undoubtedly the questions the audience wanted addressed and the BNP has become something of a story in itself in recent weeks because of this prog. So the audience members were part of the story. The single question about different issues (Stephen Gately) felt slightly out of place, but in fairness to Mr Griffin, I felt he ought to have been given more opportunity (along with other panel members) to get beyond the introspective. Giving publicity to this man and his views is unpleasant, but there is a clear support for at least some of his ideas out there and in that respect we need to hear them discussed more fully. Check out my own blog on the subject, prior to the broadcast...
ReplyDeleteI agree. To those who despise what the BNP stand for (i.e. you, me and everyone reading this) Griffin looked a smirking, hateful excuse for human being. However, to his core support, Griffin looked as if he was picked-on by the so-called 'liberal establishment'.
ReplyDeleteShould Griffin should have been on QT? Yes. It's not the BBC that have given Griffin credibility, it is the voters who sent him to Brussels. Was QT fair? I think so. If he had any nouse at all (evidence suggests not) Griffin should have seen this coming. London is the most ethnically diverse city on the planet so what did he expect? An able politician with confidence in his views should be able to air them anywhere.
For what it's worth, I believe the immigration debate, like the debate over Europe, is not happening for a simple reason: the truth is not particularly palatable to much of the electorate. In terms of immigration, the UK's population is ageing - there are already more pensioners than children - and eventually there won't be enough younger people to look after/provide for the older ones. You can't *force* people to reproduce (ironic chuckle) so immigration is really the only answer.
Government incompetence over headcounts and tabloid myth-stoking haven't helped.
I'm one of those who doesn't think QT was the right forum. I think it gave the BNP what they really wanted, a seat alongside serious politicians on a serious political discussion show, as though they were somehow now included in the political mainstream.
ReplyDeleteYes, the BBC would be right to find some forum in which the views of hte BNP and Griffin himself were given the right and fair time and space to be explored, challenged and answers sought. This format gave reason for him to smirk, to dodge and ultimatley pervert the normal course of the show to it becoming all about him.
Now, I think his performance was so poor that it may well show some people what he really his, a hollow and little man, but it also gave the air of publicity in an unnecessary way.
I've blogged about my response on http://www.tooktheredpill.blogspot.com/
Grace and peace.
Jonathan