A sharp shot at Durham’s bubble

Here at Palatinate we take freedom of expression and speech very seriously – it is the basis of any news outlet’s operation. In these pages you will find a cross-section of voices putting forth their evaluations and opinions on the world around us. You are welcome to join their ranks at any time, because we are the paper of the student body.

When our fellow pillar of Durham democracy announced that they would be hosting two BNP members for a debate on multicultural Britain, our first thoughts were: “controversial, but a well-reasoned decision” – the level-headed part of our minds, “let’s prove these pricks wrong” – the rebellious youth student part, “are we giving them the oxygen of publicity?” – the parts of us that aren’t from these shores fear their rise in popularity, and finally, “this will make for a great story” – the journalist section of our minds.

At varying times since covering this story in our last edition these thoughts have competed in our minds. We know the DUS President personally, and having been in constant contact with her throughout this affair, we know she has acted professionally and at all times with the best of intentions. She has not sought attention or publicity for her society by courting controversy. She is in fact staying true to the soul of it by recognising that this debate needed to happen.

The river which wraps around our city might as well not have any bridges some times. When we arrive here in Freshers’ Week, some students enter a Truman Show -esque bubble where they are oblivious to the real world, like Big Brother contestants cooped up for three years. This debate was a needle to burst the bubble. In the four years we have studied here, we have never seen students discussing, debating and arguing over any event as much as this.

This is what students should be doing: we shouldn’t be perched on our white Durham picket fence, but should get informed, make an opinion, and argue for our causes. It’s not enough to simply click ‘Accept’ to join a Facebook group or RSVP to an event – we must actually leave our computers and make our voices and opinions heard in the real world. Ever since we first came across the Palatinate archives and discovered what our forebears got up to, we have been slightly ashamed of the collective apathy of today’s Durham students.

This bolt of political energy which has shocked us all is what we needed, and we commend the Durham Union Society for being brave enough to even contemplate staging this event.

The last time a DUS President extended an invitation to the BNP we were in a very different situation. Then, the party was still a fringe extremist loony one. Today, they are still an extremist loony one but they are sadly no longer fringe. Enough of the electorate last year felt that they were being ignored by the mainstream political parties that they voted these people in.

The BNP now thrive on playing this anti-establishment, ‘woe is us’ victim card. They know people are scared to stick their necks out and debate with them one-on-one. But they can’t handle the debate either – they prefer to chorus slogans in packs. We know that you, dear reader, as a student of one of the most academically acclaimed universities in the land, have the power to take to the floor of the Union Society and win every argument against them.

Finally, if you would like to comment on this editorial you are welcome to, but you can only do so by knowing all of the facts and considering them carefully. In order to do this you must be reading the end of this article, and we thank you for your perseverance because it has been difficult to draft! The disclaimer that you have seen in all of the correspondence on this debate usually sits right at the top so that any accusations of being a racist are dispatched quickly, but we decided to be different. So here it is: we abhor the BNP and their position. They are undoubtedly racist, fascist and homophobic. They provoke reaction and incite violence. As the BNP banner bus paraded through our city’s streets we were ashamed that our friends who don’t ‘originally hail from these shores’ were subjected to it. But we wanted the opportunity to confront the people propagating these views head on. We do not want an national organisation claiming to represent our interests saying we can’t.