relatives and shame (or why you should never google for people you know)

[burntcopper]

Oh. Dear. God.

...If anyone's seen anything about The Freedom Association and ID cards or muslim demonstrations on CNN or any other tv stuff, and noted an early twenties bloke from TFA with dark hair, slight Geordie accent, being terribly articulate and witty but horribly right-wing in on the debates?

Understand that I'm hiding my head in shame. All resemblances of this bloke to the cloning operation that is the male side of my family are completely coincidental.

Completely.

....This is what happens when one branch of the family are natural Lib Dem supporters and the others are so right wing they think Thatcher was soft.

(For the record, Mark is actually funny, nice, witty, completely lovely person, it's just his politics that make me want to hide under the blanket of shame)

Comments

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

That's OK, he's young so there's always a chance he might change his mind someday. And it happens in every family. Why - some of my relatives are...are...registered Republicans. Very nice people, they just are a bit politically whacked.

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

I just saw the TFA website. Scary place indeed.

But, I think an honourable mention must go to the tea towels (http://www.tfa.net/shop.htm#The_Freedom_Association_tea_towel).

[mrslant]

Personally, I find a Labour government that's introducing compulsory identity cards, imprisonment without trial and evidence obtained through torture considerably more scary than some people who believe in freedom and happen not to be socialists. But I guess I'm just evil... ;-)

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

There are all kinds of scary. I don't necessarily agree with the details of what Labour are doing, even if I agree with some of the principals (for example, I don't necessarily disagree with it being compulsory to have some form of ID, but an actual compulsory ID card? Some of the details of what it will actual contain?). Yes, in some parts Labour scares and appalls me - trouble is, try and find me a political body that doesn't (and wouldn't).

Although what I was particularly referring to on the TFA website was some of the quotage and comments (as in from visitors).

[mrslant]

I remember the comedian Mark Steele once wrote about when he used to go to Labour meetings: "you'd be having a discussion about the holes in the road, and someone would get up and make a speech blaming it all on the failure of the German revolution of 1923..." Both left and right have their share of fruitcakes! :-)

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

Well, yes... quite clearly that was the fault of the Romans...

[mrslant]

The only people we hate more than the Romans... are the Judaean People's Front! Splitters!

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

I thought we were the Judean People's Front?

:runs and hides before somebody slaps me:

[mingmerciless.livejournal.com]

I came across a "discussion" on a BSG newsgroup where some American chaps were labelling Thatcher an ultra-leftist (like everyone else in Europe) solely because of her stance on gun control!

While, in general, I love BSG fandom, it does also seem to have more than it's fair share of ultra-right wing types...

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Yes, but do they proudly ally themselves with the bloody green ink brigade?

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

can't stand the Labour government, Blair, Brown, etc, didn't like them before then. Especially when they're trying to wipe their arse with the Magna Carta. I'm a Whig. (or to put it another way, a paid-up Roundhead and Parliamentiarist) There's a big difference.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Front for People's Rights in Judea, me. Has anyone seen the Popular Judean Front?

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

it's military. It attracts lovely people like Republicans.

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't be so bad if the Magna Carta had been written in MS Word (http://www.computerbytesman.com/privacy/blair.htm).

Actually, I have a dilemma. Ignoring the things I can't really be arsed about (a fair amount doesn't really make much difference to me, or any ruling party would deal with in much the same way), some things they do OK with, and others REALLY get up my nose. I don't like Blair's politics, I really don't like the mechanics of his politics.

I wish I could stand up and say NO. But the overall handling of the economy - the consistency of it - is about as good as anyone could do. More importantly, I'm really rather scared about how the others would do. And that's the most important thing for a government to get right (exceptional circumstances and utterly abhorent policies not withstanding).

[hackenbacker.livejournal.com]

He's over there (http://www.mwscomp.com/movies/brian/inlines/07_popul.jpg)

[mrslant]

That Cromwell sold 12,000 Irish children into slavery in Barbados, you know. Not a nice man. I'm with Lilburne, Overton and Rainsborough myself.

[mingmerciless.livejournal.com]

But BSG seems to have a much higher quotient of "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out"/"Nuke 'em till the glow and then shoot them in the dark" types than Stargate or even Space: Above And Beyond, the most gung-ho military SF series I've ever come across.

Ah, it's probably because BSG is rather deeper than any of those and hence more likely to attract people of extreme views.