A forum discussion is going to have next to zero impact on the next election. Chances are, most (potential) British voters here, either:
1. Didn't bother voting for various reasons. (top three reasons, i'd hazard a guess at couldn't be bothered, couldn't decide or didn't know it happened*).
2. Did vote, but didn't vote BNP, as they either agreed with another party's policies, or disagreed with the BNPs'.
It's preaching to the choir and maybe a couple of folk who walked in on practice. We mostly agree that the BNP's not the best choice. We might not vote, but we're not in agreement with the evil that some people believe parties like this represent.
At best, if the entire forum became british, and subsequently went out and voted next chance we had, then what? A couple of hundred more votes for a mixture of parties. If we all lived in the same yorkshire (or east london) area, we'd dent the BNP votes at something like 1%.
Not that big a difference, is it? Sure, you could do the same routine in a few other forums, but you'd still fail to make any impact on future elections.
I'm not saying having the discussion's pointless, as it MIGHT make someone rethink their opinion. I don't want you having any allusions that this thread might make the world a better place, though. Chances are pretty high that it won't. If you really want to make a difference, you need to aim a heck of a lot higher than us lot.
Yuffie, have you ever actually thought about going into politics? You're still young enough to get your foot in the door, and you're both intelligent and likeable enough to stand a pretty fair chance in a council/local election. You seem to care about the issues, and it'd be a shame to waste that sort of passion. (Saying that, I'm obviously unaware of any possible restrictions you might face, due to nationality). My point is, you could probably make a difference on a much larger scale than you've thought of, but only IF you're willing to put the effort in.
*(Also, for the record, I'll admit that I didn't realise the voting was happening until the day after. My fault entirely, partly due to apathy, but also due to my disbelief in the whole system in general. If I had a chance right now to cast my vote, even by clicking one button online, I wouldn't).
From the BBC site:
A tourist who was caught up in the melee was treated in an ambulance, after suffering an injured leg.
Not only is a pretty small demonstration (dozens of protesters, huge turn-out there), who have the ever-so original idea of throwing eggs, they can't even coordinate themselves as to not hurt passer-bys? To me they've just managed to make themselves look like amateurish, adolenscent pranksters rather than a proper protest. I wouldn't be surprised if the placards they were carrying had spelling mistakes. 'No to BPN!' or 'Racesm is BAD'. I hate to say it, but on this particular occassion, they're the dicks and the BNP are the sensible ones. If you're going to campaign against something, a modicum of thought and dignity should be present.
