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Friday 17 February 2012

Florence and the Killing Machine


Florence Anderson, it would seem, has been a little intemperate in her language. The Sunderland Labour Councillor has received a rap over the knuckles (in fact, she’s been suspended from the Labour Party – so no real concern for either side really) for calling upon the IRA to bomb the Conservative Party Conference. Why? She doesn’t like the Conservative Party. Well, neither do I, but I’ve a feeling that I probably wouldn’t get along too well with ‘Flo’ either, for if she’s called for IRA bombings against Conservatives, she’d probably request that I be knee-capped then summarily shot. 

From what platform did Anderson issue this call? Why, from Facebook of course! Her precise phrasing was as follows:
It could, feasibly, have been nothing more than light-hearted japery on the part of Anderson, who also happens to belong to a Facebook group named “Margaret Thatcher doesn’t have to be dead before we give her a funeral.” However, Florence also saw it fit to ‘good-naturedly’ append a comment to this page stating that she hopes Thatcher “burns in hell”. So, overall it looks as if any comedic intent upon the part of the suspended Labour Party member was probably lacking, and to be honest, IRA members have not exactly been renowned for their sense of humour, having had something of a track record with bombing, killing, maiming and all of that other stuff that Anderson would appear to be at ease with. Their members aren’t that well known on the comedy circuit, so far as I’m aware, and I don’t recall them having had any input to Father Ted.

Does Anderson’s comment actually constitute incitement to a terrorist act? Arguably, it might do, yet we do not know whether her tongue was held firmly in her cheek or otherwise when she posted this comment (looking at the picture below, I am not so sure. Any thoughts?).

Although the Labour Party moved quickly to suspend Anderson, can you imagine what would have happened if a member of a nationalist party or the EDL had said something similar? Do you think that they would suffer the mere indignity of suspension from their organisation accompanied by a few angry press articles, or are you of the opinion that a serious police investigation would be launched post haste? I incline towards thinking that the latter would be the most likely eventuality.

Now, although I am no fan of the Conservative Party and am of the opinion that it has done, and continues to do, great harm to my country and its people, my opposition will forever remain within the civilised bounds of disagreement, counterargument and electoral contest. Some, at various times in history in the name of many divergent causes, have however preferred to impose their will through the bullet and the bomb. In our age, we are surely all painfully aware that there are many real threats from violent individuals and groups, predominantly of an Islamist disposition, which would seek to impose their views upon us through just such means. It is to the credit of the security services that they have been so effective in interrupting and thwarting many plots of this type in recent years, yet of late the mass media has been playing up the phantom "threat" of "far-right terrorism". As commented previously, this is a manufactured threat, designed to cow individuals and political organisations opposed to globalism and the consequences that it brings.

Given the unreality of the so-called “far-right” terror threat, should we conversely put any credence upon the existence of a “far-left” terror threat? Well, there are certainly many far-left groups that advocate and instigate violence and which routinely align themselves with Islamists, and the far-left has a long history of using and claiming legitimacy for such violence. The IRA itself is a Marxist-Leninist organisation, and it is not that far back in history that the Red Army Faction and the Red Brigades unleashed their violence upon German and Italian civilians.Why then, do we not see shrill media headlines about such potential threats?

Taking into consideration the above, particularly the recent bloody history of the IRA, was Anderson’s comment a throwaway remark in bad taste; indicative of genuine malice, or perhaps, a real incitement to violence? Does it not, as Cygnus points out, also serve as a rather glaring contrast to the treatment of Emma West, who has been “charged with two counts of racially-aggravated public order offences, one with intent to cause fear”? In England today, it would seem that you are permitted to call for the bombing of your political opponents provided that they are on the ‘Right’ of the political spectrum, but if you desperately blurt out your frustrated emotions over the consequences of mass immigration on a tram, you will be put in the dock. Emma West threatened nobody with violence, whereas Florence Anderson seemingly did. Where is the justice in the disparity between the treatment of these two incidents, both born of contemporary social media?

Florence Anderson: Malign?

 

10 comments:

  1. Well put, the left seem to think themselves immune to criticism for actions and words that had anyone on the right done anything similar would in some cases had themselves charged and up in court for incitement.

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    1. They do. Do you recall Paxman attempting to insinuate that Tommy Robinson was calling for Breivik-style attacks in Britain? Baseless of course, but it didn't prevent ample sneering innuendo from Paxman.

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  2. Christ, I thought this would be a young BDS floozy, but what have we here: a frustrated old biddy who wants some attention! Pathetic. Someone stick her head in a bucket of Sanatogen!!

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    1. BDS? The British Deer Society: http://www.bds.org.uk/

      She certainly doesn't have doelike eyes, does she?

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  3. Celtic fan..what else can one expect

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  4. Its not just the humble like Emma West who are being persecuted and oppressed. They have just got the Wests major patriot figure Patrick J.Buchanan. Incidentally, a patriotic writer is being harassed by the Metropolitan police and is am to be interviewed as a "witness" under the Terrorism Act. He is not involved with nor has never met anyone in the counter Jihad movement like the EDL leaders or Gates of Vienna blog, so this must be fabricated evidence to incriminate him.
    hhttp://www.thepoliticalcesspool.org/jamesedwards/2012/02/17/pat-buchanan-the-new-blacklist/

    http://thebritishresistance.co.uk/the-editor/1638-emma-west-pleads-not-guilty

    http://www.amerika.org/politics/under-the-microscope/

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    1. Thanks for the links. The articles on Pat Buchanan and at Amerika by Brett Stevens are worth a look for any readers who've not seen them already. The latter deals with the hounding of a writer who goes by the nom de plume of 'Mr Fox' - David Hamilton.

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  5. I have just come across this blog of which I was the subject.
    I think you should get your facts correct. I allegedly 'liked' a tongue-in-cheek anti-Tory comment posted on Facebook July 2010 of which, incidently, I have no recollection. I made no comment whatsoever.
    The Thatcher should burn in hell comment was a separate incident - made in a debate with a young Tory 'friend' on Facebook in October 2010 and released, by his Tory masters in Sunderland, to the Press.
    In the same debate the said young Tory accused Arthur Scargill of stealing money from the NUM -not that the Press would be interested in that of course but there again, I would never dream of releasing comments made in a private debate on Facebook.
    If my alleged 'like'of a facebook comment gave offence to anyone I would have willingly apologised, but I was never given the chance. I was tried and convicted by a virtual lynch mob whipped up by the media without having an opportunity to give any explanation.

    As a veteran of the 1984/84 Miners Strike and the widow of a miner, I make no apology whatsoever for my hatred of Thatcher & Co.,for the brutality inflicted upon my family and my community at that time.

    The National Standards Board to which I was reported,upheld my right to 'freedom of expression' and agreed that my Facebook page belonged to me as a private individual.

    It has,rightly been pointed out by some of your respondents that I am an old woman - is that an offence ? As such, after 33 years as a Councillor and moving towards the end of my political career, it amazes me that my political opponents go to such lengths i.e. cyber stalking, in their attempts to discredit me.

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    1. Florence, I think that I made it quite clear in the piece above that it was uncertain as to whether you were joking or being serious, but on balance it struck me that it was the latter. As for 'stalking' you, I had never heard of you prior to this, or subsequent to the above having been posted. I dislike calls for violence or violent use of language by anyone irrespective of their political position, and as for Thatcher, I have no personal liking for the woman and most certainly do not admire her, as she did huge damage to the country, mining areas such as yours being amongst those that suffered the most. However, I'm not interested in dancing on anyone's grave, and would never make any remarks that were favourable in tone with respect to the IRA. Even if I were Irish, I wouldn't have anything good to say about the IRA.

      Of course being 'an old woman' is no offence, and I made no, and would never make any, derogatory comment on that score. Moreover, it was not 'some of [my] respondents' who used language in this way, but only one. You may, for all I know, be a decent local councillor who works hard on behalf of all of those who live in your ward; you may not be. As you have served 33 years in that capacity, it would seem that local voters would be on the whole inclined to view you as a good councillor.

      You appear also to have missed the primary point of the above article, which was not to launch a personal political attack upon you, but simply to illustrate the different manner in which intemperate language employed by people of your particular political bent is treated far more leniently than that used by people deemed to be on the 'Right' of the political spectrum (if you're wondering where I am on the political compass, my closest match is apparently Mahatma Gandhi and I'm placed within the Libertarian Left quadrant, but because I oppose mass immigration, EU membership and dislike an obscurantist religious dogma named Islam, that is apparently deemed sufficient for malicious individuals to start tarring me with inappropriate labels such as 'racist' and 'fascist').

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