Angry scenes greet Oxford debate

[The Bacon Guy]

BBC News | England | Angry scenes greet Oxford debate

A controversial debate at the Oxford Union was disrupted when protesters forced their way into a building. The BBC's Paul Moss, from The World Tonight, witnessed the angry scenes ahead of talks by BNP leader Nick Griffin and historian David Irving. It was a far cry from the normal image of Oxford and its students. Not a gown in sight, studies left behind for an evening, as hundreds of protesters besieged the Union Society, furious at the decision to invite the leader of the far-right British National Party to speak there, along with a historian who has denied that the holocaust ever happened. Nick Griffin was bustled in surrounded by a group of skinheads to protect him. David Irving's arrival was more low-key, but the presence of both set off a furious reaction among many students: "This has nothing to do with free speech," argued one protester, "it's about giving credibility to fascists, making them appear to be part of the mainstream." Another insisted, perhaps more improbably that "I would rather be at home writing an essay," but, he added, "an institution which I'm a member of is giving a platform to fascists and that is totally unacceptable." Banners were draped over the walls surrounding the Union Society, bearing anti-racist slogans, while chants reverberated through the narrow streets outside: "BNP - off the streets" and "Nazi scum - go home." Many had travelled from other cities to join the demonstration. A student down from Birmingham said it was important to have more people outside than among the audience. In fact, the audience for the debate was diminished because many Union Society members were not able to get in. Police blocked both entrances to the building to hold the protesters at bay, but that prevented even some of those with tickets from entering.

Ironic really that the anti-fascist groups are the ones willing to use force to censor opinions with which they disagree. These pathetic fools are all as bad as each other.

[Suburbanite]

Force? Censor? It sounds like healthy American protest to me, and what do you expect if you hold ridiculously violent and out dated morals. I wouldn't want Osama Bin Ladin talking at a university either.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Quote by: Suburbanite Force? Censor? It sounds like healthy American protest to me, and what do you expect if you hold ridiculously violent and out dated morals. I wouldn't want Osama Bin Ladin talking at a university either.

Suburbanite why not.

you cannot have freedom and censorship of words.

The right for people to express their inane views is important, once we censor or ask for correctness of speech we automaticaly open a can of frustration which cannot do other than lead to violance.

A great man once epxressed "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Sub and what do you expect if you hold ridiculously violent and out dated morals.

Neither Nick Griffin nor David Irving have acted violently, nor have they directly incited anyone else to commit violent acts. As for outdated, that's a totally subjective judgement on your part and is not grounds to censor someone.

[Winter wind]

My question was: who invited them? If the students want to lynch somebody, start with the idiot sociology professor who invited them.

The students should not have gotten out of hand, but being college students, it isn't surprising. However if they had just protested Oxford's lending these people a podium, I would agree with them.

And i don't think the student were censoring them as much as being pissed that they got to speak on their tuition's dime. I would be too.

[jose]

One police officer joked that it was the politest protest he had ever been to

Oxford students sit-in protest fails to silence Holocaust-denier David Irving and BNP leader Nick Griffin | the Daily Mail

[Suburbanite]

Quote by: Arawn-ap-Hywel Suburbanite why not. you cannot have freedom and censorship of words. The right for people to express their inane views is important, once we censor or ask for correctness of speech we automaticaly open a can of frustration which cannot do other than lead to violance. A great man once epxressed "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Yeah, the right of the students to protest. This isn't a public forum, so they don't have to honor the nazi's right to speak. If they want to talk, go o central park and stand on a soap box like all the other lunatics.

[Suburbanite]

haha, i found on wiki a poem David Irving wrote:
I am a Baby Aryan
Not Jewish or Sectarian
I have no plans to marry an
Ape or Rastafarian.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Suburbanite Force? Censor? It sounds like healthy American protest to me, and what do you expect if you hold ridiculously violent and out dated morals. I wouldn't want Osama Bin Ladin talking at a university either.

Except it isn't American: it's British.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Turning free speech into a negotiable commodity | spiked

try this

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Quote by: Suburbanite Yeah, the right of the students to protest. This isn't a public forum, so they don't have to honor the nazi's right to speak. If they want to talk, go o central park and stand on a soap box like all the other lunatics.

Suburbanite the speakers were invted to debate. The Oxford Union is a well respected debating society, that likes (welcomes) shall we say, to encourage controvosy occasionaly
Thankfully it enables others to air their views no matter how it might be hmm unacceptable

[Suburbanite]

Quote by: Chancellor Except it isn't American: it's British.

duh, how stupid of me.

Quote by: Arawn-ap-Hywel Suburbanite the speakers were invted to debate. The Oxford Union is a well respected debating society, that likes (welcomes) shall we say, to encourage controvosy occasionaly Thankfully it enables others to air their views no matter how it might be hmm unacceptable

I don't really get what you're tripping out about, they were allowed to continue on with the debate weren't they? If they have the right to air their opinions, protesting seems just as fair, no cops tasered anyone thank god.

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Sub If they have the right to air their opinions, protesting seems just as fair

Peaceful protest is fine. Forcing their way into the building and barring participants from entering goes beyond peaceful protest and hence is not "just as fair".