Farage’s racism

[CuriousKangaroo]

I haven’t yet seen a post about this story: Twenty people allege he has a racist past. He denies it. Who’s telling the truth about Farage’s schooldays? | Nigel Farage | The Guardian

Farage no longer categorically denies these incidents, and is now trying to fudge things by saying he didn’t mean any harm and it was a long time ago - presumably because he knows it is true and realises that 20 separate people saying it means only the truly deluded wouldn’t believe he was a racist.

But what I am interested in is does this actually assist his election chances? We already know that many of his supporters are racists - does it actually work for him that this blatant racism from him shores up their support? Are they secretly (or perhaps not so secretly in some cases) pleased?

And what do those of you who are Reform supporters but believe yourself not be racist think? Does it make you change your mind about him or Reform?

Well they'd better come and arrest every single boy I went to school with then, racism, misogyny, derogatory terms against the disabled - you name it, they said it. The word 'woman' was their favourite insult.

we're not going to let this go

Agree.

Farage is courting us in Wales at the moment, sending letters to every household. It is horrible to have such shit invade the house uninvited. Many have been sending the letters back with, er, comments. I think the letters are actually uniting those of us who find Farage and Reform abhorrent, regardless of our usual voting habits.

Ah, so you went to public school?

Nobody has suggested arresting him, just that maybe he might not be the best choice for PM, or even MP.
I’m sorry all your school mates were like this. Mine, in the same years as Farage (he’s six months older than me and would have been in the school year above) were not. There were racists of course, and misogyny was rife, but not among my friends and certainly not ‘every single boy’. And as I’ve said upthread, praise for Hitler was certainly not common. The war was too close.

Of course those closest racists will defend it with was all back in the days when apparently it was acceptable to make such comments as it’s was only a bit of fun or since then he has seen the error of his ways

ifs not going to change anyone’s mind just a few maybe less vocal in their support.

Farage will just turn this narrative to suit him this has not and will not damage him

The only thing that may change voters support is the support from Russia and their influence certainly not highlighting what a racist he is

I am also more or less the same age as NF and casual anti Semitism was never cool. Even punk culture, which appropriated imagery like the Swastika for shock and antagonistic value was clear that there were lines that shouldn't be crossed. When that line was crossed, as in the very ill judged track Belsen Was A Gas, by the Sex Pistols, sincere regret was later expressed - by John Lydon in this case. Funny to think of Johnny Rotten as more decent than the Right Hon Nigel Farage.

His core voters won't mind but maybe the swing voters might stop and think.

One can hope.

I think people find Starmer less relatable. To keep it balanced, same with Theresa May. Theresa May is Farage-ish age, Starmer not all that much younger, but you can bet they never made those jokes in the 70s or whatever. But people don't find them relatable (best slogan that never was: "nobody's perfect, vote for Boris"). Unfortunately loads of people find Farage relatable. Says lots of unappealing things about our society though.

I do not think the issue was that he was racist as a child or even as a young adult people do change as I think many people were casually racist and often worse and didn’t give it much thought it was rife along with other forms of prejudice it was often so casual it went unchallenged

it’s that he still holds these views and thay he stirs up hatred

The article is about what schoolboys in 1975 said to each other. Probably some of it was pretty vile. I was at school in the 90’s and the jokes then would make peoples hair stand on end now. I don’t think people should be condemned for it. I think it’s weak sauce and won’t be the expose some were hoping for.

Just racist banter?

The 20 class/school mates didn't think it were just jokes.

Did you joke about gas chambers, Hitler?

@Clinicalwaste
Have you read this https://www.facebook.com/544215677/posts/10162095769605678/

It wasn't 1975. Nigel would have been a boy then. It was later when he was in the sixth form. It wasn't 'jokes' - it was this -

"One of the most vivid memories of my school life is Farage repeatedly coming up to me and, knowing that I was Jewish, saying Hitler was right and 'gas 'em', and that was frequently followed by a 'sssss', you know, kind of imitating the sound of escaping gas."

"It wasn't the normal sort of vaguely antisemitic banter that you might encounter in the school grounds at that time in the 1970s. It was much worse," he added."

Jean-Pierre Lihou said: "I remember him specifically talking about 'do go home, Hitler was right', singing 'Gas Them All' and all of these absolutely antisemitic comments directed straight at Peter."

Didn't the Welsh leader get jailed this week?

The candidate for our council elections a neighbours brother i was really shocked tbh but he was really just an older angry white man i always thought he was decent but quiet he got about 10 votes,and he ranted online about it!

I'm older than him and racism wasn't universally acceptable then. It was more open though and I had believed things had got better but now it's just as bad as the 70s, probably worse.

Do you think laughing at racist jokes is evidence of a sense of humour?

For all those saying Nigel Farage is "old", he's 61 - actually a couple of years younger than Starmer. So if he made these jokes when he was a prefect, it would've been in the early 1980s. I'm pretty sure people knew then that you don't make jokes about Hitler and gas chambers.

Yep. Nathan Gill, but Farage barely knew him...

That is hilarious about your neighbour's brother, what a humiliation!

Sure @FluffAndBrush will discredit the Guardian as a source but here is another breaking story about just how persistent Farage's racism and antisemitism were. It clearly states from 13-18. i.e. the entire span of his years at Dulwich. I think any of us could understand an occasional ill-considered stupid adolescent comment even if we didn't agree with it, but day after day after day, for years on end. That is WHO he is and he is not denying it.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/25/three-more-ex-pupils-at-school-with-nigel-farage-reject-banter-claims?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

He was absolutely raging it was all "the country has gone to the dogs" blah blah he got some "likes" on the FB post but was probably the men from the pub that voted for him😂

Bless you for trying to persuade me.

I still don't like the man. I still have no plan to vote Reform for many reasons.

I looked at the Facebook post.

People made distasteful jokes during those times, they often got no laughter if people didn't find it funny unless it was a company boss people didn't fake laugh and the fellow student said he had no friends at school .

Has anyone watched the film, The remains of the day? If so switch the countries around, it's not present day England or Germany with expansion behaviour telling you that's what they are.

And you're all so racist. i wish you'd just openly admit you're racist like Farage, Musk et al. Instead of dancing around it with "legitimate concerns" here and "controlled immigration" there. Just embrace your racism. It's done Nige no harm eh? You'll be fine.

When a racist tells you about themselves, believe them.

Don't worry, nobody is trying to persuade you to call out racism. It's clear you do not find it a 'big deal'

I am not trying to persuade you. You clearly have a very odd take on the past being another country and that persistent racism can just be swept under the rug. Even when that person is using othering, fear and racism as his entire platform to get elected. If you won't condemn it, you might as well own that you agree with him, regardless of your voting intentions.

Again, they weren't jokes. They were persistent, racist bullying.

The Remains of the Day is a film based on a novel.

@FluffAndBrushWhat news sources do you rate?