So this is my first blog post, after having been in London for almost two months now. What was meant to be just a fun "study abroad" semester has turned into a life changing, eye opening experience for me. The UK is not what it seems to the outsider whose never been - especially those who come from it's Commonwealth countries.
Growing up, I had always been aware of the National Front in France, seeing reports on the party's leader, Jean Marie LePen, back at home on CBC was my first glimpse at the racial undercurrents that exist in France. However, it wasn't until I watched "This is England"(2006) the Brit film about a boy who falls into a group of skinheads that I became aware of a similar force in the UK.
It seems to me that the last two weeks, the British media has gone through a slight "BNP witch hunt". All week in various newspapers, there were reports on a list of BNP members and where they are concentrated throughout the country. I was thoroughly shocked to see that it did have such a large following, especially in various areas in the North of England.
It's not hard to understand what drives the white working-class to seek comfort in these party memberships. Their "Englishness" is probably one of the only things they probably feel that they have left. Immigration has changed the face of England, for better, in my opinion, but to many, the country was better off lily-white. Immigrants apparently "take all of their jobs" and push them to the marginal of a society that they believe is inherently theirs.
Tonight, as British National Party leader Nick Griffin appeared on the BBC Question Time Tonight, I was completely taken aback by his arrogance. He obviously could speak as he wished because he does have a huge following. He did not even try to convey the "PR version" of himself as Baroness Sayeeda Warsi pointed out. He was very direct, going so far as to back up his views on Winston Churchill being a likely BNP member, had he still been alive.
I commend the BBC for exposing the extreme-right wing's views. It is, as the organisation said earlier, their duty to be "impartial."
I also commend the men and women of all races and ages that protested the BNP leader's presence on the television programme. All week long it had been anticipated. As I was coming home on the Tube, I noticed some teenagers, possibly around 16 years old, of all ethnic groups, wearing t-shirts and signs that condemned the BNP. It was a very uplifting moment, seeing these youth start out so young to voice what they believe in.
I'll return next week with a second post after my break in Italy.
V.K.L
Check out a few minutes of Nick Griffin's appearance on BBC Question Time:
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