For dp considering Tommy Robinson

[birling]

Got one of those vote Tommy Robinson flyers through the door today. I jokingly asked DP if he wanted to read it before I chucked it in the bin.
His reply "why chuck it? He's not half bad as they make out?"

Me - "you kidding me?"

Dp (serious) - you seriously need to start watching his videos, Gary (mate at work) is voting for him.

In shock. DP is English, I am foreign. Haven't said much to him since . What now?

He and Gary are clearly very dim.

Maybe tell them there is a special offer on at wetherspoons on Thursday and they'll get distracted and forget to go and vote.

I'm more shocked he's come out with this when I am foreign! Feel like he's just completely changed!

OP he hasn't changed, this is the real him, been hiding in plain sight all this time.

I must admit, I'm not altogether clear on whether Tommy Robinson is full-strength 'BNP racist' or more UKIP-style 'xenophobia disguised as patriotism'. Mainly because i avoid anything that mentions or involves him. So i don't know how blatant his leaflets are.

Is there any scope there for your DP to be uninformed and clueless?

The bit where he asked you not to chuck it in the bin is completely fair enough. I remember getting a BNP leaflet through the door when I was younger and still living at my mum's. I looked at it, laughed, and then threw it in the bin. Later on I told mum about this and she told me off. She said that even if I thought they were a ridiculous party it was still not ok to deny someone else the opportunity to read something from a political party. Mum would never have been interested in BNP but I think she had a great point and I learned something from it. Everyone should have the chance to listen to what a political party has to say, even if most people think it's bollocks. Political censorship is never a good thing.

That being said, it is never good when your partner comes out with something shocking when you're discussing politics. Maybe you two need to sit down and have a chat? If him voting for Tommy Robinson would be very bad in your eyes (and I would agree with you!) Then you two might have some difficult conversations ahead...

TWO THREADS!

UGH. It's time to engage and discuss, find out why he thinks this moron of a human is not half bad?

If you need a lot of information let me know, I do a lot of political work.

Tommy Many-Names is a loathsome racist. YANBU.

Is your DP generally naive when it comes to politics? Has he been brainwashed by his mate Gary at work?

This must be upsetting for you, OP. For me, I'm afraid it would be a deal-breaker if DP suddenly took it into his head to develop a fondness for far-right nationalists and Islamophobes.

LTB!

Are you foreign but white by any chance? If So, he's probably just forgotten (I've had "friends" like this). Or maybe he believes being in a relationship w you validates you somehow?

...relationship with him...

Do you want to be with someone who is dim and racist?

Maybe suggest he and his equally thick racist friend Gary get married, because you’re out?

How does your partner feel about supporting someone who attacked and abused women working at a rape crisis line? He and his followers blocked the line so victims of rape could not get through.
What about how Yaxley- Lennon has almost enabled paedophiles to walk free by filming outside a court during reporting restrictions?
What about his domestic abuse charges? The fraud charges? The list goes on.

Yaxley-Lennon/Robinson is a scum bag. My partner wouldn't vote for that cretin because if he did, he would no longer be my partner. I couldn't be with someone that supports a fascist.

I'm Asian although born and raised here my parents are "immigrants" and very traditional. He hasn't mentioned it since and neither have I.

He was always brexit and seemed quite into all that. TBH, I'm not really into politics so I didn't really enter in to any discussions about it. Although I know enough to realise Tommy Robinson is a racist twat!

@Andromeida59

Tommy did that? No way, never heard about the rape abuse at all. Everything else you mentioned, I'm aware off.

I couldn't bear to be anywhere near him knowing he had such abhorrent views.

Sorry this must be a horrible shock for you. What will you do now?

Maybe tell them there is a special offer on at wetherspoons on Thursday and they'll get distracted and forget to go and vote.

That made me snort....!!! 😂

Haven't said much to him since . What now?

You need to talk to him about it. Simmering in silence won't achieve anything.

Even considering supporting him would lead me to suggest leaving him. The fact op is asian makes it even more egregious

I find it telling he said "watch his videos". Yaxley-Lennon/Robinson and many others of the same mind are, I will admit, very good when they control the entire image of being charismatic, sounding convincing, and painting themselves as the victims. If someone had never heard of his vile actions before and their first/main/only exposure was some of his own online videos, I can definitely see why they could be convinced he's 'not as bad as they make out'. I don't think someone is automatically bad or whatever for falling for it, depending on which videos we're talking about - cleaned up guy in a suit in a university room talking about police brutality he claims he suffered paints a very different picture to his hate in the streets - but when presented with the images he isn't in control of or the actions he doesn't talk about, that's when you can see if there is room for concern, I think.

Alongside his vile actions of which there are many, ask your DH why Robinson hasn't released the documentary that he's going on about for ages that is meant to 'prove' all the horrible things he claims has been done to him. The answer is because he was told if he does and it contains any libel or slander - lies - he will be sued. He knows he's lying and full shite. He has shown nothing but contempt for his supporters when he isn't in control of the camera, outright saying how he wastes the money they give him - but when he in control of his image like on what social media he has left, he's very good at painting the image he wants. That's what makes people like him terrifying - he's not just vile, but he knows how to play other people like a fiddle and make them dance for him.

OP, here is the link:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47260020

This must be pretty horrible for you, OP. The best possible interpretation of what your P has said is that he is wilfully ignorant, clueless and thoughtless and, in his eyes, you're not 'foreign' because you're his DP - it's all the other people who share your background who are bad and inferior. He may think that you must know he doesn't mean you, particularly if you are (culturally if not practising) a Sikh or a Hindu rather than a Muslim.

There are a fair few straight white men who have this mindset rather than an actively malevolent one: they think that they themselves are good people who don't want to hurt anyone but that feminism has gone too far, that 'political correctness' is out of control, and that straight white men are now a persecuted minority: these are the idiots that Yaxley-Lennon and Farage pander to and encourage.

This is red flag for you. Do you/have you ever talked about race and racism within your relationship? Do you have mixed race children?

Either way, for your own peace of mind you need to find out what elements your OH is taking seriously - why does he think Gary from work is justified in voting this way (and I would now be wondering about Gary at work who is successfully peddling his politic and influence with your OH).