Tonight, the leader of the British National Party is going to appear on the BBC's Question Time. This has caused a furore. Some people think the party is illegal, and shouldn't be given a forum by the BBC. Other people think that it is not up to the BBC to decide who gets a forum on national television, and that since the BNP has two elected representatives in Europe and many thousands of supporters over the UK, they have earned the right to appear on QT. I think the BNP is gross but until they have been found guilty of a crime (and I do believe they are guilty of inciting racial hatred, among other things), I think they must be heard in the same way as any other revolting group. My love of freedom of speech is far greater than my fear of the BNP.
My friend Luke has two tickets to be in the audience at QT tonight, and asked me to join him. I was sorely tempted, but I already have tickets to go and see Dizzee Rascal play at the Brixton Academy. There is some degree of irony involved in this situation, as I used to encourage Luke to become more politically motivated, while he used to bemoan my seriousness. Now he'll be spending this evening discussing freedom of speech, while I'll be dancing like a mofo in front of a black rapper whose controversial songs include charming numbers such as 'Pussyhole' and 'Suk My Dick'. And while there's everything wrong with spending money to see a sexist, it's just a bit of hypocrisy that I'd rather not think about, because his beats are raw, aiii?
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