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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Really angry that the postman delivered a BNP election leaflet this morning

268 replies

MissM · 14/05/2009 19:06

He handed it to us with the rest of our post (included a parcel so he rang the bell). Why is this racist cr*p allowed to be delivered with the post? Obviousy they're too spineless to put their hatred through people's letterboxes themselves. Am thinking of complaining to the post office.

OP posts:
HolyGuacamole · 15/05/2009 11:47

I am not against the BNP having their freedom of speech. What bothers me is that they have rebranded themselves to make them look 'normal' and fighting for the 'working man'. This is because their real views would be illegal and they would not be allowed to stand for election. There will always be people who agree with their extremist views but there will also be people who fall for their re-branding.

A spade is a spade and if you wrap it up in pretty paper and put a big bow on it, it is still a spade.

katiestar · 15/05/2009 11:50

'A spade is a spade and if you wrap it up in pretty paper and put a big bow on it, it is still a spade.'

Unfortunate metaphor for making a good anti-reacist point !

ilovesprouts · 15/05/2009 11:51

i just put mine in the reycle bag im not going to vote for anybody they are all just has bad as each other

daftpunk · 15/05/2009 11:52

was thinking exactly the same katiestar....not sure the op knows tbh.

HolyGuacamole · 15/05/2009 12:08

Where I come from the word 'spade' is not racist and neither is the phrase. I would struggle among my Asian friends to find one of them who would be offended by that phrase TBH. IMO the phrase describes someone who say's what they think in a plain speaking way and who does not dress it up to mean something else.

WinkyWinkola · 15/05/2009 12:10

If Nick Griffin were educated, he would know that the history of Britain is in fact a history of immigration.

I know lots of people who went to university who are as thick as planks and came out as ignorant as they went in!

mayorquimby · 15/05/2009 12:12

i thought spade was racist slang for black people not asians. i.e. the colour of spades in a card deck

HolyGuacamole · 15/05/2009 12:14

A history of the phrase a spade is a spade

Not racist.

daftpunk · 15/05/2009 12:15

HG; a spade was a derogotory term used for black people.

but not everyone would know that.

daftpunk · 15/05/2009 12:18

yep..mayorquimby...black as the ace of spades.

mayorquimby · 15/05/2009 12:20

oh no HG i know the phrase in itself is not racist or of racist origin. it's just been high-jacked a bit by "blokey" acting racists who think it's the height of wit to use when someone gives out to them about referring to someone as a coon or nig nog or paki. because if they get pulled up on it they can use their by the numbers line of "i'm not a racist, i just call a spade a spade me." followed by guffaws.

HolyGuacamole · 15/05/2009 12:21

Thank you Daftpunk. No, I did not know that and just for the sake of clarity, I'd like to say that the thought would never occur to me, to refer to any person as a spade.

StealthPolarBear · 15/05/2009 12:22

"ban all leaflets!"
Yes, i could go for that too Most of mine end up straight in the recycling or bin anyway, whatever they are

daftpunk · 15/05/2009 12:23

hey..HG..it was obv from your post you didn't know...

mamadiva · 15/05/2009 12:35

Just got one through the post too along with UKIP one (which I have never heard of in my life), does'nt bother me in the slightest I actually find them quite funny as with all the other cheesey election leaflets you get with old Maggie down the road on the front proclaiming her undying love for Gordon Brown because he helped her with her pension

YABU don't vote for them if you don't want too. Racist it may be but there are a fair few of them in the streets so no point in arguing about it really those who will vote for them shall do so regardless of how much fuss is kicked up about a leaflet IMO.

mamadiva · 15/05/2009 12:36

Oops that was arguing about the leaflets not about racism

Yes stand up to racism but leave the leaflets alone.

geekgirl · 15/05/2009 12:43

we always get them

I just so want one of them on my doorstep, but they never come to our house . I'd love to get their opinion on EU citizens coming to the UK, marrying British men and then sending their pesky little mixed-nationality children to British schools and all that . I wonder whether they can tell by the electoral roll that there's a foreign national living at this address or something? We do get the Tories visiting.... that's fun too, but BNP or UKIP would really liven up my day.

Jenbot · 15/05/2009 12:57

They knock on the door and deliver them by hand where I live.
They asked me if I'd like to put a flag up in my garden.

welshone51 · 15/05/2009 12:58

Hi I too received this but I have opted out of receieving junk mail, I guess it must be different if it is leaflets delivered by racist bigots political parties. I personally find it offensive but I guess people are entitled to free speech although I personally thought racism of any form was illegal!

drlove8 · 15/05/2009 13:08

its disgusting, shameful that trees are being used for such . still if i get any , will be using it to wipe dogshit from my buggy wheels lol,

KayHarkerDoesNotSimper · 15/05/2009 13:32

drlove8, lol

BTW, I'm not going to go into my racial history, but suffice it to say that not everyone who believes the odious shits should be given enough sunlight to burn them is coming from a cozy 'white british' background and has nothing that would mean they would be targets for these idiots.

apostrophe · 15/05/2009 13:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

MIFLAW · 15/05/2009 13:43

Hear, hear, Drlove! It's such a shame they can't print their exercises in free speech on something a bit softer and more absorbent.

OddHair · 15/05/2009 23:37

Yes, I had one of these leaflets too. It appears that this time they prefer to hide behind the Royal Mail rather than come round and face people with their crap.

A few years ago one of them did come round here, though, and very quietly put a leaflet through my letterbox. So quietly that I didn't hear it, and my letterbox was an old fashioned one that clanged loudly. So he/she was very careful not to be detected. When I found it I felt like they'd sneaked into my house and it made me feel uncomfortable and angry. So I rang their answerphone to complain and asked them not to delivery anything to me again. To be fair, my language was a little strong and I did say that I'd rip up any future leaflets and stuff them down the neck of the deliverer, but I know that I didn't swear because both dses were with me.

A month or so later I had the police on my doorstep. They'd recieved a complaint that I'd left a threatening and abusive message on the BNP's answerphone. The BNP had submitted a transcript that more or less followed the gist of what I'd said but they dropped in a raft of F words, made up a whole section and beefed up the threat to something altogether more sinister.

I refuted the whole thing and told the police what had really happened, especially that I'd felt violated by the sneaky leaflet tactics. They were great, very sympathetic and said that I wasn't the first person that this had happened to - BNP's Telford office were quite well known for making rubbish claims against people who stood up to them. The officer said he'd be taking no further action and told me that I could, if I wished, think about pursuing them for slander. Tempting as it was I had no way of proving the actual content of the conversation and was too knackered with work and small children to go ahead.

I'm just looking forward to the day when the b*stards come electioneering round here for real.

edam · 16/05/2009 00:04

wobbegong - the BBC does not have any editorial control over the content of party political broadcasts. No point you attacking the Beeb, all parties with a sufficient level of support are legally entitled to a broadcast. Now the BBC can do about it - nor should they, it's not up to any broadcaster to censor election material.

(As it happens, I despise the BNP, but demanding that broadcasters interfere in election communications is a bigger threat to democracy than they are, at least at the moment.)

MissM I guess the reference to Muslims abusing soldiers is to those idiots in Luton who harangued a regiment marching through the town on return from a tour of duty the other month.