Britain First Conference Halted

[agchristie]

On what legal grounds could Kent Police call an immediate halt to this event behind closed doors?

Is this not another attempt at stifling freedom of speech and enforcing political prejudice?

[agchristie]

Ellipsis,

There again BF were prevented from getting their own message out anyway, no leaflet distribution and imposed restrictions by the police despite prior agreement!

[Ellipsis]

That must be why they only got 56 votes despite all the publicity and the 500,000 Facebook followers.

What's your explanation of why you believe the authorities would be "vindictive" when it comes to BF but would be protective of Islamic terrorists?

Also, why would BF would field their own candidate for the first time ever, their deputy leader no less, then recommend to voters that they vote for UKIP instead, delivering a pathetically embarrassing 56 votes?

[agchristie]

Ellipsis,

The reality is that BF only stood for one issue so even if residents agreed with their stance the wider appeal of the main parties would hold sway. UKIP clearly have the momentum and if we are going to dwell on figures then the main three took nearly 80% of the vote.

You mention the 500,000 Facebook followers but only 78,000 voters were eligible in last weeks election and as I've stated, the vast proportion of voters were always going to vote for the main three.

For the record, I have never been interested in Facebook and don't hold an account and I am aware of how the system can be manipulated. I know BF's page has been taken down before, I wonder if this will be permanent one day?

BF knew they were never going to pull up any trees in the by-election and the electorate had already made their mind up that Lab/Con need to get their acts together fast before May.

I think Jordyboy summed up the situation well between attitudes towards BF and those who preach hate against us. There is no consistency.

As I've said before, it seems that in some quarters you can't even broach subjects surrounding Islam, Immigration and Europe without accusations of racism.

[Ellipsis]

You're seriously suggesting (on this or your previous thread) ...

* the authorities are vindictive against BF but tolerant of other extremists, to the extent where they halt "conferences" that are legal and arrest and charge people without grounds
* for its first ever foray into national politics, BF chose to run its deputy leader and then told people to vote for somebody else! And that's the reason that thousands voted for UKIP and only 56 for BF
* Facebook took BF's page down before and BF didn't deserve it

You simply don't answer the questions that are put to you. It's clear that, like many members of extremist organisations of all political persuasions, you're suffering a persecution complex:

---------------------------------

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Persecution_complex#In_politics
Those who try to rationalize their persecution complexes often turn to political extremism, in particular, the sort that posits some secret or invisible "oppression" of some group of which the persecution complex sufferer is a part.
---------------------------------

That makes it difficult to have a rational debate with you ...

[agchristie]

Ellipsis,

I can assure you that I don't have a persecution complex but let me try and be clearer (and confirm previous statements).

I have suggested there are inconsistencies in the authorities approach. Im not sure where you get the idea of charging people without grounds? In the previous thread, I put forward reasons why it would be difficult to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Golding is guilty of harassment and wearing a political uniform.

Regarding UKIP, they won the election fair and square. I questioned what influence BF had in influencing the vote. It is on record by BF themselves that they weren't too interested in their vote count. My view is that BF's influence on the UKIP vote was very minimal. I did say the big three were always going to claim the majority vote regardless.

Concerning Facebook, I think you misunderstood me. My meaning of manipulation was in relation to BF artificially controlling their pages to suit and bloc buying 'likes' to create a more favourable image.

I hope I have satisfactorily answered your questions?

[Hypognosis]

@agchristie
(retyped. lost the good version due to a tech problem)

--I'm not sure why you added the word worryingly to knowledgeable when all the facts are in the public domain. --

Worryingly as in the way that the rest of us would simply dismiss them as far right extremists and have no further interest, until some upset, damage or violence is caused by them.

If you were in the police or security services and detailed to surveil their activities then your level of interest is entirely appropriate and professional.

--My interpretations, I believe, are based on sound logic. You asked me, strangely, if I was a PR officer, --

Okay, that was sarcasm, on my part. The existence of this thread gives them publicity they could not otherwise afford.

--which I answered and then qualified by adding my interest to attitudes adopted by the authorities. --

Yes, this and any differential with regard to other extremist groups is of interest to us all. Yet I still think a triage approach is sensible. Rank not just in capacity or intent to harm but in order of tendency to 'catch on'.

--As Naomi pointed out in the last thread, --

I have no hope of tracing this without a title or a link offered here. :(

--I am not on trial or any political allegiance I may have is of no consequence.--

Of course not. If you encounter dog poo on the path, by all means stick a flag in it so that others can avoid it too. Very public spirited of you. :)

--You stated you did not know what BF stood for and then tried to unravel the party name and then made a comparison to 1930's Germany! --

Well,
National Front: Front as in battle front. Implies a war.
English Defence League: Implies England under attack
Britain First: Not as English-biased as EDL but still basically all about saying how we're better than everyone else.

Hence, "shades of 1930s Germany", because nationalism was how that ball first got rolling.

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel"
(attribution to be looked up later)