http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8514736.stm

We now need to get every single black, asian, sikh or any other ethnic group I have missed to join and bring the party down from the inside. maybe we should get all the Poles and other east Europeans to join to make a resolution that all BNP meetings are to be held in Polish?

It’s a paper exercise to try to keep them legitimate. I am sure they will make any non-white member to feel very unwelcome.

Quite. I can't imagine anyone of non-white origin wanting to join. Having said that, I suspect there are a lot of groups that would be immediately hostile to people who might want to join them. I'd imagine I'd get very short shift if I applied to join a militant feminist organisation, for example. Extremism is wrong, whatever line it's pointing along.

Jon

[sarcasm] Now the flood gates will open and they'll be swamped by other colours wanting to join. [/sarcasm]

We all know none care about this or think it will make a difference to anything all it is really is a method of making the BNP uncomfortable. Which is fair enough.

Lambs to the slaughter? The BNP are too lazy to go out and find victims, they just put them through the "membership rituals"...

I have to agree. While doing an OU course I had a mate who was doing sociology via the OU. One of the courses was Women studies. At Summer school women voted to exclude him from the lectures. The Uni went along with it but gave him 1:1 tuition. I wonder how it would have been played out if someone had voted to keep out women from a course

I know an british-asian who votes BNP

It'd never happen, because you'd never get a course through called 'Men Studies'. That would be sexist.

Jon

I saw a job interview a couple of months back that was for men only, basically because of the chemicals involved that would cause massive birth defects if women were exposed to it. IIRC the ad had more wording relating to governmental release from equal rights employment than it did for the role itself.

In the last couple of days I've seen a couple of hospitality jobs in Oz for women only. No mention of equality.


*wonders what would happen if I applied to Spearmint Rhinos?*

Also I frequently see adverts for women only gyms, anyone see any for men only.

Can I just point out that none of the examples given so far include political parties?
It's perfectly legal to found a group (like the WI or Black Police Officers Association) which is exclusive in it's nature due to promoting a group, but political parties aren't (and rightly so IMO).

Really? So you're allowed to be racist or sexist provided you're not political about it? That's news...

Jon

Well both those organisations discriminate on sex and race for their membership, and yet they persist, as they are solely interested in promoting the interests of their audience. Were the BNP to leave politics, there would be no issue with them being a solely whites only group, as far as the law is concerned, AFAIK.

Mm.. A relative of mine was on the committee of a golf club (he's not posh, just has a lot of free time) and they were specifically told that that they had to comply with all available legislation in terms of non-discrimination of membership - basically in terms of running the same facilities and competitions for men and women. They also couldn't have dress codes that were substantially different for men and women for example. They were told that if they did not comply, the local council would take various measures like withdraw their licence to sell alcohol and what have you. They were, obviously, an entirely apolitical organisation. So the law is not the whole of reality. There is plenty of discrimination that is within the law, in all directions.

I don't think anyone would actually argue that, for the vast vast majority of cases, equal access to facilities should be the norm. But the bald fact is the gym I go to has a section which only women are allowed to enter and use the equipment in but it has no such section which is male only. I'd love to hear a viable excuse as to why that isn't discriminatory.

Jon

One town in America is looking for public defenders, and they are looking for people with disabilities.

Under the disabilities are listed: mental retardation and mental illness!

Saying that, you won't get your bar association certification if you are mentally ill...