[punky]

Originally Posted by Damien

I honestly do not know what people are complaining about. Did they really want the BNP not to be questions on the aspects of racism rife in the party and Nick Griffin's own history? Instead being asked questions as if it were any other Question Time?

I didn't see people complaining at the editions of QT where the expenses scandel dominated the agenda. Labour got pretty much the same treatment as Nick Griffin did! Jeering, Booing, People shouting things out. Even though it was not limited to Labour.

They should have just have run Question Time as normal. Instead it was focused solely on the BNP. All but one question was BNP related. Sure during the expenses scandal it was justified, but just because the BNP was on? Sure may be one question about should the BNP be on there but tearing apart their manifesto? Then there was Dimbleby. He didn't seem all that impartial allowing Straw to give off his scripted rant at the BNP. There there was the audience. I don't buy that it was overly multi-cultural but it was predominantly young and disn't seem to reflect the balance of politics or the guests on Question Time. And that's without going into the more paranoid/conspiracy theories like Nick Griffin being twice on the audience sheet and the fact all the quotes from other guests are solely from a mutlicultural perspective.

It accomplishes nothing. The BNP aren't held to the scrutiny that the other parties are. Furthermore the boosts you talk about is because being martyred like that often do it just reenforces what people believe - that they are unfairly persecuted. Even people like Alan Davies on This Week afterwards said the same thing.

Incidentally I do not see where they were misrepresented? All the quotes were from Nick Griffin's own mouth. He refused to deny any individual quote apart from "Hitler went a bit too far". It seems he was presented with his own words, his own past, and his own policies and think it was bullying to be confronted with them.

The misrepresented part is Foreverwar's post which is why I pulled him up on it. It is counter-productive, or even dangerous to take quotes out of context in order to address them IMO. The BNP need to be confronted on a level platform. Not only is there a moral right but ultimately that's what will sway the large bulk of impressionable voters away from them.