Normal UK political discourse branded as "hate speech"

Glenn Reynolds, of InstaPundit fame, is a well-known right-wing blogger who tends to rest on his laurels as one of the most popular and earliest bloggers, while not actually having one of the features that makes a web site a blog - namely, comments.

But then, Reynolds is known for craven dissembling, post-hoc adjustment of his posts, and vapid rhetorical devices wheeled out whenever he’s proven wrong (which happens roughly every dozen posts, or every one and a half days).

So here’s my own contribution to Fisking Glenn Reynolds’ partisan ignorance of UK politics. Consider the post in question:

I THOUGHT THEY BANNED HATE SPEECH IN BRITAIN:

But the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, branded Mr Bush as “the greatest threat to life on this planet” whose policies will “doom us to extinction”. The mayor also said that he did not recognise Mr Bush as a lawful president and he condemned America’s rapacious capitalist agenda.

I guess that’s only for people who say things that are politically incorrect. But is Bush safe with government officials spouting in such inflammatory fashion? If some loony takes a shot at Bush, I’m blaming Ken.

Well, first of all, taking one paragraph from a right-wing and Murdoch-owned newspaper isn’t exactly getting the full story, is it? Let’s consider this more in-depth overview from the Independent (the Guardian appears not to have covered this story):

Although he made his many differences with the Government on a range of issues clear, he reserved his strongest comments in an interview with The Ecologist magazine for the American President.

Mr Livingstone recalled a visit at Easter to California, where he was denounced for an attack he had made on what he called “the most corrupt and racist American administration in over 80 years”.

The mayor said: “Some US journalist came up to me and said: ‘How can you say this about President Bush?’ Well, I think what I said then was quite mild. I actually think that Bush is the greatest threat to life on this planet that we’ve most probably ever seen. The policies he is initiating will doom us to extinction.”

Mr Livingstone, who is holding a “peace party” for anti-war groups in City Hall tomorrow, added: “I don’t formally recognise George Bush because he was not officially elected. So we are organising an alternative reception for everybody who is not George Bush.”

He said he supported stronger links between European Union countries only because he wanted to see a powerful bloc emerge to rival the United States. “The American agenda is sweeping everything before it, and although it’s not perfect, the EU is better on environmental issues. It’s a less rapacious form of capitalism.”

The PA clarifies some remarks:

[h]he said that he did not formally recognise Mr Bush as President, because of the uncertain result of the 2000 election, which saw the former Texas Governor win fewer votes than Democrat rival Al Gore and claim victory on the basis of a contested count in Florida.

So there we have it. Interviewed by an environmentalist magazine, Ken Livingstone says that the US environmental policies are a long-term threat to the entire planet, and the EU is a useful bulwark against them, even if the EU is capitalist. He adds that George W Bush wasn’t elected in the normal way, and therefore lacks legitimacy.

This is normal political speech. Indeed, in most of Scotland, and I dare say in much of Europe (I believe, for instance, most of France, from what I know of that country, having lived there 10 years) it’s just saying what everyone believes.

For Glenn Reynolds to equate this with hate speech, and to posit that a loon (as opposed to a political terrorist) attempting to kill Bush, would have been swayed by this sort of commentary, is offensive in the extreme, betrays a monumental ignorance of the politics of this country, and is a bare-faced attempt to equate perpetuation of the dignity and respect of the Presidency of the United States with the continuation and election of George W Bush, who deserves none of the above, no matter which office he happens to occupy at the moment.

I’d like to finish with the Sun’s characterisation of the incident. Bear in mind that Bush recently gave an exclusive interview to the Sun, that the Sun is very pro-America, and in general is as close to the US point of view as you would find in the UK. Well, let’s hear what they had to say:

LONDON Mayor Ken Livingstone was branded an idiot last night after an outrageous attack on US President George Bush.

Lefty Ken sparked fury when he dubbed President Bush “the greatest threat to life on this planet”.

And he added to the insult by REFUSING to recognise Mr Bush as the lawful US leader.

Red Ken’s outburst came 24 hours before the President flies in on a state visit.

Tory mayoral candidate Steve Norris said: “This is an idiotic statement that shames the office of the Mayor of London. It is so absurdly over-the-top it defies belief.

“He’s the Mayor for God’s sake and shouts his mouth off like a teenager. He must surely realise the US is London’s best customer for tourism and financial services.

“This kind of irresponsible and self-indulgent politics will do massive harm.”

Mr Livingstone’s attack came in an interview in the Ecologist magazine.

Under fire … Bush
Picture: REUTERS

He said: “I actually think Bush is the greatest threat to life on this planet that we’ve most probably ever seen.

“The policies he is initiating will doom us to extinction.” In a jibe at Mr Bush scraping through his 2000 election after a contested count in Florida, he added: “I don’t formally recognise George Bush because he was not officially elected.”

Livingstone then went on to boast he was trying to organise an anti-Bush reception at his swanky London HQ - at council taxpayers’ expense.

The tirade is a huge embarrassment to Prime Minister Tony Blair. He had been on the brink of welcoming Livingstone back to the Labour Party after he won the £110,000-a-year job as an independent.

Anti-Bush protests were also fuelled by Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy.

Gate mail … Lindis Percy, 61, unfurls anti-Bush
flag on Buckingham Palace gates yesterday

But Mr Blair insisted Britain should stand firm with America. He said recent bomb attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia showed the need for a united war on terror.

And he defended President Bush, stressing he would NEVER go to war without just cause.

He broke off a speech in Birmingham to say: “Now is not the time to waver - now is the time to see it through. I hope people understand nobody takes a decision to go to war lightly.”

Mr Bush and wife Laura will be guests of the Queen and Prince Philip at Buckingham Palace. A formal banquet will be held there tomorrow night.

The President will have talks with Mr Blair in Downing Street on Thursday morning before visiting the:00 PM’s Sedgefield constituency on Friday.

Let’s make it clear. The Sun is no friend of Ken Livingstone. In fact, they hate him. This last article was in no way neutral; it was a partisan view of a recent event. Nobody in the UK could say that the Sun was trying in any way to be friendly to Ken Livingstone.

Yet, for all of that, it gave a more straightforward account of the whole affair, and it gave more background information, that did Glenn Reynolds’ travesty of a blog post.