Whilst on a pre-Semester field trip to the Lake District, I was wandering along Keswick High Street whilst waiting for my undergraduates to finish a task I had given them and spotted this. There were other related toys such as wind up figures and music boxes, but these were the most striking. If I’d have more time I would have asked the store-keeper why they thought it was OK to sell items like these, which obviously carry such heavy connotations.

Lets hope its another 20 years before I see anything similar.

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On 1st September 1939, Europe and subsequently the rest of the world was forced into a bitter and protracted war which would see the mobilisation of over 100 million military personnel, and claim over 70 million lives. Britain, France and the Dominions declared war on Germany after vowing to protect Poland from Hitler’s greed for space and the unification of the German race, which had already seen the annexation of Austria and the Czech homeland.

It is now 70 years since the beginning of World War II and the prospect of total war in Europe is a distant memory, thanks in part to the 450′000 British servicemen who lost their lives along with those from other Allied countries.

However, 70 years is not such a long time to forget why these millions of brave men and women fought and died. They did so to protect liberal democracy from brutal fascist dictatorships, under which more than 6 million Jewish people and 27 million Soviet civilians perished.

I therefore think it necessary to contemplate the resurgence of fascist sentiment onto the British political scene. I have previously written about the re-invention and gentrification of fascism in Britain through the new-look British National Party (Two Wrong’s Definitely Don’t Make A Right – May 2009). The BNP is once again in the spotlight after the BBC issued a statement suggesting that the BNP would be invited onto the BBC’s flagship politics programme, Question Time.

This once again raises the question of whether or not it’s right and sensible to share a platform with a party that goes against everything that being British stands for. I’m of the opinion that not only is it right to share a platform with the BNP, but entirely necessary to in order that logical and rational thought can win against the bigoted and ignorant mouthpiece that the BNP sends to the BBC to speak for them. I only hope that the other political parties send spokespeople who speak from the heart and don’t just read from pre-prepared statements, afraid to drift too far away from the party line. The BBC obviously needs to act in an impartial way, but also needs to use sensitivity and acumen when selecting the show’s guests.

If the majority of sensible people in this great country can see the BNP for what they really are, not only racist bigots but actually a bunch of cowboys who just happen to be wearing suits and ties, then the BNP will quickly revert back to political obscurity, exactly where they belong!

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The democratic process in this country has really taken a beating over the past couple of weeks due to the Telegraph’s publication of MP’s expense claims, and rightly, most of us are pretty outraged over the levels of greed which have been uncovered. The majority of us have finally woken up to the fact that some people in public office aren’t there to serve – well maybe only themselves.

However, even though our anger is fully justified, there’s a danger that it could be channeled into the wrong places with disastrous effects. Namely, that we punish our elected officials in the upcoming European Elections by voting for minority parties with less-than-ideal ideals. The two which come under the brightest spotlights are the UKIP and the BNP.

The UKIP seem to be delusional about the role of Europe in the ‘downfall of Britain’. They seem to believe that most of the ills of our society stem from our integration with Europe and only breaking with Europe will ‘free our nation’. Even though most of these ideas are fundamentally flawed, UKIP are still fairly innocuous. This is stark contrast with the BNP. Most of the mainstream press has shied away from giving too much time to the BNP from fear of giving voice to their ideas. However, I’m of the opinion that the only way of defeating fascists is through free and clear outcry of their hatred.

Over the past few years, under the leadership of Nick Griffin, the BNP has tried to smarten up it’s image and shake off it’s reputation as a hang-out for National Front skinheads. Their representatives wear ties and hold family fun days. This smartening of racism is the kind of behaviour which may trick some voters suffering from feelings of apathy and anger at the current Government into voting for the BNP. Griffin’s gang has become quite good at putting on the front that they care for the British worker, the British taxpayer, and the British soldier. Even though this may be the case, the shoddiness of their latest Party Political Broadcast still suggests that intelligent and creative individuals refuse to work for racists (see Charlie Brooker’s Guardian column) - which is a great sign.

Even if you are feeling angry at Labour, Conservative, or Liberal Democrat expense claims, just think what a BNP MP’s expense claim might look like:

£50 for White Cape and Hood,

£10 for 10 meters of Lynching Rope,

£75 for a Wooden Cross (including lighter fluid).

Don’t think that a vote for the BNP is ever going to lead to anything other than a country that is intolerant and bigoted, and that really isn’t what being British is about.

We all know how Facebook is teaming with groups such as ‘The Bloke that Looks like a Thumb Appreciation Society’ or ‘I Love Swad‘ – that’s part of the reason we love it, isn’t it? These are a combination of good humoured pranks, appreciation societies for people or places or petitions for one thing or another. I recently stumbled across a group called ‘Let’s all join the racist groups and poke fun at the numpties‘, which is pretty self-explanatory – people join up to find out which groups on Facebook are dens of racial hatred, and join to poke fun at the ignorance and illiteracy of many of the members. However, it seems to have turned into somthing more.

The group seems to be developing into a campaign by the tolerant to re-educate the ignorant. For the most part this is done by trying to point out the mistakes and inaccuracies in the racist arguments and backing this up with facts, figures and stories of tolerance. 

The group ‘NO TO MUSLIMS HAVING A CAPITAL IN THE UK‘ is one example of a group which seems to attract those of a racist persuasion. The title of the group is enough for some start a torrent of abuse. The group’s owner, who I have tried to converse with on many occasions seems to be a fairly intelligent guy who wants to discuss the issues of immigration and Islamic separatism , but has gone about it in completely the wrong way. He began by blocking those people who held a more liberal view and spoke out against the group. He has now started a thread called ‘RACISTS – NAME AND SHAME’ where members of the group can post the names and messages of those members who continue to use racist and offensive language. Theses members appear to have been removed but he refuses to acknowledge that they were indeed using racial slurs.

A small group of tolerant members is trying to insist that the group should be closed. If the creator of the group wants a frank and open discussion on the issues raised then he should re-open a group with a title and outline less likely to incite hate and ignorance. This so far has not happened.

I understand that most normal people would find it difficult to join a group which has racist overtones but I think that the more liberal of us out there should do so in order to try and spread understanding amongst those more inclined to jump into blame and use stereotypical or racist language. It might be worth it in the long while!