h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm not missing any points kea. I've had the full reality shoved at me from this scum.

Sorry all ready getting wound up again and irrational. Shall take a break.

Its part of the argument because of the disgusting hypocrisy of turning a total blind eye to it internally but making such a hissy fit when it comes from elsewhere from a few loonies.

But you're coming at it from a totally different cultural context of NZ...and won't properly understand it.

I get so tired of all this wittering about different cultures. And yet I live in SE London with all these bloody bornagain churches..and people who don't know the nightmare of that if you're not straight, can have all these theoretical opinions about a bunch of those baptists in Scotland.

In this culture where I live they are already here in abundance. A few more Baptists would be irrelevent.

But yes kea you make sure you keep NZ free of them.

"I'm not missing any points"

Sorry, but you are.

The point here is not "do we tolerate homophobia?". The answer to that question, as you've apparently learned personally, is "Well, yes, we do, up to a point." We shouldn't, but we do, but as I said, that is not the point at issue here.

The point here is "Do we let this bunch of foreigners into our country or not? (Oh, btw, they're a bunch of raging homophobes)" To which the answer so far is undetermined, but my personal preference would be to respond with a "Certainly not.".

It really is two different questions.

This post has been removed.

And a point I've made previously is that the only visitors to be excluded are those which do *actual violence* Nuke them from orbit.

Not having anything to fear from something is not the same as giving it the privilege of letting in.

I have nothing to fear from a pig, but I wouldn't want one in my house.

I've alaways found the Kirk to be quite Conservative in outlook So a few Homophobic Baptists is unlikely to cause them anything more than a

Didn't you exercise your Democratic right to protest agianst the Papal visit FFR's ? Do you not extend that Democratic right to others because it doesn't suit your own parsimonious, blinkered, tenets?

Hoisted by own petard, springs to mind

Well maybe its an identity thing then?

I like the idea that Britain is able to deal with such crp without resorting to banning them. That looks like weakness to me.

Oh dear one of my previous posts has now been censored. Obviously far too threatening.

We really are turning into a pygmy society in so many ways.

"Didn't you exercise your Democratic right to protest agianst the Papal visit FFR's ? Do you not extend that Democratic right to others because it doesn't suit your own parsimonious, blinkered, tenets?"

Er... what?

Westboro Baptists have NO "right", democratic or otherwise, to protest ANYTHING in this country or any country outside their native US. They have no "right" to even enter this country, unless and until they can gain citizenship and a British passport. I won't hold my breath. This is a simple matter of fact not open for discussion.

The question is whether we should let them in. I'd say no.

You support simple censorship Twiglet? Hmmmmm, interesting Do continue?

Yidwig it might be fun if you and I were immigration officers together I'd be saying yes and you no. We'd do the British thing and toss a coin.

>>But you're coming at it from a totally different cultural context of NZ...

Sure, but what you're talking about isn't referring to any large difference that I can see.


>>and won't properly understand it.

So you keep saying. It now seems like your default reply to me when you don't like what I am saying. How would you know if I understand or not?


>>I have nothing to fear from a pig, but I wouldn't want one in my house.

That pretty much sums it up*.

I wonder if that would make QotD on noohootoo


*although some pigs are dangerous, so who knows?

Only the feral ones im the Corramandal Mountains, keafield. They make good eating though

Wild pigs for sure, but I think some farm pigs can be pretty aggressive too.

I don't think there are any mountains in the Coromandel


>>
Westboro Baptists have NO "right", democratic or otherwise, to protest ANYTHING in this country or any country outside their native US. They have no "right" to even enter this country, unless and until they can gain citizenship and a British passport. I won't hold my breath. This is a simple matter of fact not open for discussion.

The question is whether we should let them in.
<<

It begs the question of why when that point has been explained so many times in this thread people are continuing to ignore it.

>>>But you're coming at it from a totally different cultural context of NZ...

Sure, but what you're talking about isn't referring to any large difference that I can see.
<

Well that shows your arrogance that you can't comprehend what my part of south east London maybe like from NZ..that's where I come from..and Baptists can come here a plenty. Nearly everyone would laugh at them besides the bornagains..which although present in numbers are still thankfully the minority.

I wonder how much you know about the culture of Peckham?

Everything you've said in this thread could just as easily be an example from NZ. Of course there are big cultural differences between Peckham and Auckland or Wellington or wherever. But issues of multiculturalism, homophobia, ridiculing fundamentalists... there is common ground there.

If there are more specific things about Peckahm that could never happen anywhere else, you haven't named them yet.

"People are happy enough for Islamists to attend funerals at Wooten Basset."

People *aren't* happy, Islamists *don't* protest at Wootton Basset (as Ed has already pointed out), and they're *not* funerals. Otherwise, spot on. People got absolutely incandescent with rage over the mere suggestion, made by a publicity hungry loon who never had any intention of carrying it out.

While I *do* trust the British people to treat any hypothetical Westboro lunatics with the contempt they deserve (rather than, say joining in), that won't un-ruin a funeral and make the extra distress magically go away. And the "contempt" might be violence and disorder, and we've had more than enough of that recently. And even if they're only planning on protesting at ordination ceremonies, if we believe in religious freedom (including humanism, atheism et al), then we must believe in freedom to carry out religious services without interruption. The Pope's visit, I think, was different in that it wasn't just a religious service. There will be problem cases, though.

The question of whether we should distinguish between lunacy and anti-social behaviour between visitors and citizens is an interesting one. Obviously we're in a position to do more about visitors than we are about citizens - we can throw them out, or not let them in. I also think there's an extra duty that can be fairly expected of visitors - when in Rome, and all that.

But I'm not sure we should be tolerating that kind of behaviour from people who are citizens here either. If some UK born again loons started protesting outside funerals or any similar stunt, they'd face the full force of the law.

We do have a culture of freedom of speech, but we don't have a culture (fortunately) or allowing "freedom of speech" to trump each and every other right and freedom.

Okay things here are that people totally value freedom of speech. All the nutjobs who might be out on the streets blabbing Baptist style stuff..an incredible variety of races...like you wouldn't believe...who have an incredible variety of opinions and values...and obviously vast numbers of homophobes such as bornagains and the Muslims. And there's a few of us whites in the nicer areas.

Talking and community seems to help though..and leads to compromise.

Apart from when everyone goes on the rampage smashing it up.