"I don't think it's nice to have diversity anywhere, myself."
October 11, 2009 3:43 PM Subscribe
BNP Wives. A 46 minute documentary following three female members of the far-right British National Party.
"awww, look at the neighborhood racists. they're just like us."
posted by krautland at 4:36 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by krautland at 4:36 PM on October 11, 2009
It's like Footballers' Wives, but trashier and nazier.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:39 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:39 PM on October 11, 2009
Mr. Monsters and I caught this show when we were in the UK. Blazecock pretty much nailed it, above. Ignorant racists are ignorant racists- after a while they all start to look the same. I'd say the best use of this video is disabusing Americans of the notion that all Brits are 'classy' and reserved.
posted by Monsters at 4:55 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by Monsters at 4:55 PM on October 11, 2009
Could someone please explain the "spoons" thing in acb's link?
posted by griphus at 5:04 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by griphus at 5:04 PM on October 11, 2009
The bed's too big without you
and it gets so awful cold,
I miss your arms around my waist
but I don't miss your stinkin' feet,
You used to smoke them roll-ups
and I lived in this foggy haze,
Your clothes stunk and your breath smelt
and it lingered round for days.
No-one keeps the garden nice
and I get so short of brass,
I miss your voice, I miss your fun
and no-one calls me "our lass,"
When things go wrong and I'm all alone
that's the time I'll break down and cry,
Though you're just an adulterous tosser now
you were once one hell of a guy.
Well that was a bit odd.
posted by forallmankind at 5:32 PM on October 11, 2009
and it gets so awful cold,
I miss your arms around my waist
but I don't miss your stinkin' feet,
You used to smoke them roll-ups
and I lived in this foggy haze,
Your clothes stunk and your breath smelt
and it lingered round for days.
No-one keeps the garden nice
and I get so short of brass,
I miss your voice, I miss your fun
and no-one calls me "our lass,"
When things go wrong and I'm all alone
that's the time I'll break down and cry,
Though you're just an adulterous tosser now
you were once one hell of a guy.
Well that was a bit odd.
posted by forallmankind at 5:32 PM on October 11, 2009
Heil, honey, I'm home.
posted by gimonca at 5:39 PM on October 11, 2009 [13 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 5:39 PM on October 11, 2009 [13 favorites]
I wish I could watch this, but I just can't the willful stupid racism.
posted by Decimask at 5:50 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by Decimask at 5:50 PM on October 11, 2009
Could someone please explain the "spoons" thing in acb's link?
The British news/politics satire magazine Private Eye always includes a faked interview with some sort of well-known figure. It's generally written to parody the figure's writing or speaking style, and has them giving answers to various nonsensical questions. For some reason, the faked interview always includes at least one question about spoons - their importance in the figure's work, whether the figure collects them (the answer is always yes), or, whether anything amusing has happened to them involving spoons. I can't tell if it's just a running gag or included to make absolutely clear that it's a satire piece and not an actual interview.
I guess the interviewer here is a Private Eye reader. Either that, or it's a tell that the "Babes of the BNP" is itself a satire piece. Given some of the incredible answers in it, my faith in humanity would actually go up a few notches if the article is faked.
posted by metaBugs at 5:54 PM on October 11, 2009
The British news/politics satire magazine Private Eye always includes a faked interview with some sort of well-known figure. It's generally written to parody the figure's writing or speaking style, and has them giving answers to various nonsensical questions. For some reason, the faked interview always includes at least one question about spoons - their importance in the figure's work, whether the figure collects them (the answer is always yes), or, whether anything amusing has happened to them involving spoons. I can't tell if it's just a running gag or included to make absolutely clear that it's a satire piece and not an actual interview.
I guess the interviewer here is a Private Eye reader. Either that, or it's a tell that the "Babes of the BNP" is itself a satire piece. Given some of the incredible answers in it, my faith in humanity would actually go up a few notches if the article is faked.
posted by metaBugs at 5:54 PM on October 11, 2009
Damn you metaBugs, you took my job!
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:00 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:00 PM on October 11, 2009
Oops, I meant to write:
I guess the interviewer here is a Private Eye reader who wanted a funny ending to a disturbing interview. Either that, or it's a tell...
goodnewsfortheinsane - that's me, comin' over here, takin' your job. I'll be after your wimmin' next. Something ought to be done about it, I'm tellin' ya...
posted by metaBugs at 6:03 PM on October 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
I guess the interviewer here is a Private Eye reader who wanted a funny ending to a disturbing interview. Either that, or it's a tell...
goodnewsfortheinsane - that's me, comin' over here, takin' your job. I'll be after your wimmin' next. Something ought to be done about it, I'm tellin' ya...
posted by metaBugs at 6:03 PM on October 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
Thanks guys! Sadly, considering this, I think the piece wasn't satire at all. At least not the fictional kind.
posted by griphus at 6:10 PM on October 11, 2009
posted by griphus at 6:10 PM on October 11, 2009
I can't tell if it's just a running gag or included to make absolutely clear that it's a satire piece and not an actual interview.
I always took it to be a comment on the utter vacuousness of that format of celebrity interview.
posted by Abiezer at 2:21 AM on October 12, 2009
I always took it to be a comment on the utter vacuousness of that format of celebrity interview.
posted by Abiezer at 2:21 AM on October 12, 2009
Interesting documentary, and some bewildering characters. On the whole I found it well-made, but especially with Suzy you really felt that the producers were pushing her to talk about regrets, and how her life could have been different. And the results were not so surprising - she was tired of being judged on politics first, and her life would be much easier if her husband was still a squash instructor. You could probably say that about the spouse of any politician.
I would have liked to hear more of their thoughts on the position of women in the BNP too, considering the white-haired woman’s surprising comment about how the BNP was largely run by men: “Thank god!” And this, coming from a woman who intends to move up in their ranks.
posted by creeky at 2:56 AM on October 12, 2009
I would have liked to hear more of their thoughts on the position of women in the BNP too, considering the white-haired woman’s surprising comment about how the BNP was largely run by men: “Thank god!” And this, coming from a woman who intends to move up in their ranks.
posted by creeky at 2:56 AM on October 12, 2009
There's a great moment of unintentional comedy when the car, driving around the estate to promote the local council candidate, blasting out rousing 'British' tunes starts playing the theme from The Great Escape.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:04 AM on October 12, 2009
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:04 AM on October 12, 2009
Given some of the incredible answers in it, my faith in humanity would actually go up a few notches if the article is faked.
every time I see someone desperately trying to demonstrate how despicable they are I know it's real and not satire. this interviewer gives them just enough rope to hang themselves and not one can resist the urge.
posted by krautland at 3:55 AM on October 12, 2009
every time I see someone desperately trying to demonstrate how despicable they are I know it's real and not satire. this interviewer gives them just enough rope to hang themselves and not one can resist the urge.
posted by krautland at 3:55 AM on October 12, 2009
I think last time I saw Babes of the BNP linked I commented how Britain desperately needs more immigration from places like Poland and India, mostly so the women become more attractive.
posted by jeffburdges at 4:42 AM on October 12, 2009
posted by jeffburdges at 4:42 AM on October 12, 2009
Here is the thread we had previously discussing the "Babes of the BNP" interviews.
I think last time I saw Babes of the BNP linked I commented how Britain desperately needs more immigration from places like Poland and India, mostly so the women become more attractive.
Yeah, I remember finding that comment a bit creepy back then, too.
posted by creeky at 5:10 AM on October 12, 2009 [7 favorites]
I think last time I saw Babes of the BNP linked I commented how Britain desperately needs more immigration from places like Poland and India, mostly so the women become more attractive.
Yeah, I remember finding that comment a bit creepy back then, too.
posted by creeky at 5:10 AM on October 12, 2009 [7 favorites]
Wait, isn't Poland OK in the BNP's eyes? I thought they'd now pretty much openly defined British as caucasian.
I love the BNP in a way that only someone whose ancestry is from that other island involved in the Norman expansion can. They're like the alchemical symbol for irony forged from pure irony. You probably couldn't sneak the Romans, Saxons, Angles or Cumbrians by, but I'll bet you could get them to tell you the Jutes and Frisians had no place in Great Brittan.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:18 AM on October 12, 2009
I love the BNP in a way that only someone whose ancestry is from that other island involved in the Norman expansion can. They're like the alchemical symbol for irony forged from pure irony. You probably couldn't sneak the Romans, Saxons, Angles or Cumbrians by, but I'll bet you could get them to tell you the Jutes and Frisians had no place in Great Brittan.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:18 AM on October 12, 2009
Wait, isn't Poland OK in the BNP's eyes?
"It's not like the BNP are against Polish people as a nation. We are against Polish people coming over here and undercutting British workers. "... but OK with them flying Spitfires in the war... no actually I should think they would be anti-that.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:45 AM on October 12, 2009 [2 favorites]
"It's not like the BNP are against Polish people as a nation. We are against Polish people coming over here and undercutting British workers. "... but OK with them flying Spitfires in the war... no actually I should think they would be anti-that.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:45 AM on October 12, 2009 [2 favorites]
You probably couldn't sneak the Romans, Saxons, Angles or Cumbrians by, but I'll bet you could get them to tell you the Jutes and Frisians had no place in Great Brittan.
I don't know - doesn't the speaker at the BNP rally in the documentary claim that his race have been there for fifteen thousand years? I think that means white English people somehow materialised towards the end of the Ice Age.
posted by creeky at 6:06 AM on October 12, 2009 [1 favorite]
I don't know - doesn't the speaker at the BNP rally in the documentary claim that his race have been there for fifteen thousand years? I think that means white English people somehow materialised towards the end of the Ice Age.
posted by creeky at 6:06 AM on October 12, 2009 [1 favorite]
Did we have some story about how 10 Downing St. being upset by Polish kids packing up & heading home when the pound dropped? I think they feared it might exacerbate the recession.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:04 AM on October 12, 2009
posted by jeffburdges at 7:04 AM on October 12, 2009
Yeah - Racist Britain hates the Poles too. It's even got a special racist name for them.
posted by seanyboy at 9:36 AM on October 12, 2009
posted by seanyboy at 9:36 AM on October 12, 2009
pianomover: your link is broken, sorry.
I do wish that the documentary in the FPP did more than try to get outrageous quotes out of people.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 9:41 AM on October 12, 2009
I do wish that the documentary in the FPP did more than try to get outrageous quotes out of people.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 9:41 AM on October 12, 2009
Bloody hell - that's the first time I've heard that, Seanyboy, but it's certainly credible.
There's an element of pointing and laughing at the thickos that makes me slightly uncomfortable about these things. It's like the Louis Theroux - where you ask a series of leading questions which highlight how insane your interviewee is, and how completely unaware they are that they are insane.
There's an edge of class here, also - although, of course, the leadership of the BNP, the ones who draw the salaries and get the limousines, are relatively posh, but also about smart enough not to appear in things like this.
One thing that the documentary, and the BNP's own efforts, seem to demonstrate is that it's hard to present the acceptable face of the BNP because, quite simply, there isn't much face to go about. Take this video, here, which is represented as showing what the BNP really are, beyond the lies about being racist or Nazi. The speaker manages about thirty seconds before veering into talking about the MOBOs, and then starts listing her entire family history and its skills in embroidery.
Notwithstanding, the appearance of Nick Griffin on Question Time is going to be interesting.
posted by DNye at 10:35 AM on October 12, 2009
There's an element of pointing and laughing at the thickos that makes me slightly uncomfortable about these things. It's like the Louis Theroux - where you ask a series of leading questions which highlight how insane your interviewee is, and how completely unaware they are that they are insane.
There's an edge of class here, also - although, of course, the leadership of the BNP, the ones who draw the salaries and get the limousines, are relatively posh, but also about smart enough not to appear in things like this.
One thing that the documentary, and the BNP's own efforts, seem to demonstrate is that it's hard to present the acceptable face of the BNP because, quite simply, there isn't much face to go about. Take this video, here, which is represented as showing what the BNP really are, beyond the lies about being racist or Nazi. The speaker manages about thirty seconds before veering into talking about the MOBOs, and then starts listing her entire family history and its skills in embroidery.
Notwithstanding, the appearance of Nick Griffin on Question Time is going to be interesting.
posted by DNye at 10:35 AM on October 12, 2009
Notwithstanding, the appearance of Nick Griffin on Question Time is going to be interesting.
I've got this horrible premonition that he's just going to be turned on by the other panellists in a way that will actually allow him to further play up the BNP's supposed "anti-establishment" credentials to its supporters and potential supporters.
posted by Abiezer at 1:26 PM on October 12, 2009
I've got this horrible premonition that he's just going to be turned on by the other panellists in a way that will actually allow him to further play up the BNP's supposed "anti-establishment" credentials to its supporters and potential supporters.
posted by Abiezer at 1:26 PM on October 12, 2009
Well, maybe they do have a legitimate issue with Poles comming to do work in England, but I dare say it's not a common point of view.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:58 PM on October 12, 2009
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:58 PM on October 12, 2009
Send the buggers back.
Take time to read the comments - which are comedy gold.
posted by panboi at 4:14 PM on October 12, 2009
Take time to read the comments - which are comedy gold.
posted by panboi at 4:14 PM on October 12, 2009
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posted by acb at 4:24 PM on October 11, 2009 [2 favorites]