UK Party Leader Attacks Satirical Mobile Game Made By Teenagers Interested In Politics
from the well-okay-then dept
Nigel Farage, head of the British political party UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party), is certainly an interesting character. UKIP is something akin to a vastly more organized version of the Tea Party here in the United States, in that their policies are typically further to the right of the more common conservatives within the political system. Farage is known to be controversial, to say the least, in part because of some opposition to his party's policies (which probably applies to most leaders of political parties in general), but more so because he often times enjoys getting in front of reporters and cameras and doing really stupid things, such as going ad hominem on a group of politically-minded teenagers who created a satirical mobile game jabbing at UKIP's policies.A phone app made by school students and featuring a character called Nicholas Fromage kicking immigrants off the white cliffs of Dover has been criticised by the Ukip leader, Nigel Farage. Farage claimed the game, developed by a group of sixth-formers from Canterbury Academy, was “risible and pathetic” and that it had “crossed the line”, despite saying he welcomed the opinions of young people.The game, which is again clearly parody, is a cartoonish jab at some of UKIP's policies with regards to immigration. Without taking any stand on the issues being discussed by the game, it seems almost too facile to point out that Farage's taking on of the students, particularly going so far as to call their efforts "risible and pathetic", is ill-conceived at best. To leave those attacks with a footer claiming to welcome the input of younger generations simply serves to spotlight how dumb this is. Open dialogue ought to be a politician's best friend, particularly for the leader of a self-ascribed libertarian-leaning party. The school where the teenagers developed the game, thankfully, has the children's backs.
But the school’s principal, Phil Karnavas, has defended the app, which he says is a bit of fun to celebrate “brilliant, traditional British satire”.Imagine instead if the footer had been the entirety of Farage's response. What if he had simply said that he welcomes the input of younger Brits and suggested that political interest from the young is a good thing? After all, for all of the ribbing in the game, some of it quite sharp, the whole thing was framed by a disclaimer that the point was to create political dialogue. For Farage to pretend like some kind of line was crossed simply makes him look more childish than the children he attacked.
"It’s a bit rich, bearing in mind some of the things the members of Ukip have said, for their leader to say they have crossed the line. Mr Farage can’t have it both ways. He cannot expect young people to engage in politics and then criticise what they say when they do.”
[Farage] said: “Those elements are risible and in many ways pathetic. I think I’m quite well known for having a sense of humour."Pro-tip: if you have to tell a reporter about how everyone knows you have a great sense of humor, you don't have a great sense of humor.
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Filed Under: apps, children, humor, immigration, nicholas fromage, nigel farage, satire, teenagers, ukik, ukip
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"BAH! What do these kids know! It's not like they can twitter their way to being the Mayor of London or something!"
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Simple mistake
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Re: Simple mistake
He's probably just frustrated that he can't blame this one on immigrants, his go-to scapegoat for everything up to and including him being late for public appearances (yes, really).
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Re: Re: Simple mistake
FTFY.
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Re: Re: Re: Simple mistake
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I'm pleasantly surprised to see a principal who appreciates satire (and freedom of expression). That's good news.
Also of note (from the school's "principal introduction" page):
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You have information about how this principal has responded to satire about those groups?
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Re: Nigel Farage
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Which reminds me
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This slides, yet another ill-timed comedian is imprisoned...
So what does the U.K. do? Arrest the person because he has a sick sense of humor.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/12/23/glasgow-crash-tweet_n_6371428.html
While here, they let things slide.
Interesting choices indeed.
Nice to know the U.K. is consistent in it's... erk - wait, no it isn't. If one slides, the other certainly should as well.
Time for someone to kick the U.K. leadership in their collective arses, since it appears that's where they've stowed what they use for brains.
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A game no-one has every heard of, and looks like crap, is pushed in front of ukip to demand a responce. They say it's a bit pathetic , and then you invent some headlines around it.
"UKIP ATTACKS GAME".
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Re:
By "invented", do you mean someone came up with the words, or that the events described didn't actually happen? Or something else?
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So, only popular speech is to be protected now?
"and looks like crap"
Only a fool thinks that the graphics of a game is in any way related to its quality, doubly so if the point of a game is to make a political point. Is political speech only valid if it looks pretty now?
"then you invent some headlines around it."
Which part of the headline is inaccurate?
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They are a bunch of separatist lunatics who want to blame all of Britain's woes on the European Union. We already have a separatist movement in my home country of Scotland in the form of Scottish nationalist separatism. Enough problems as it is, without these British nationalist separatists adding to them.
We seriously need a party committed to state unity over state amputation that is anti-nationalist and pro-internationalist. And we haven't got one. The closest thing we've had to such a global movement in recent history were the international socialists that were hostile to U.S. imperialism and Soviet Union imperialism alike. It died when socialism died, and all the nationalist cracks are appearing as a result (as well as bullshit alliances between the so-called "left" and far-right extremist Islamist movements).
The Simpsons can still on rare occasion be funny during their long-prolonged new episodes that just don't seem to end. This is a joke I saw that sums up UKIP and their sympathisers perfectly. Mr Burns has a memory lapse and has to be educated by Smithers on the history of Europe:
Mr Burns: What happened?
Smithers: World War One.
Mr Burns: Then what?
Smithers: Treaty of versailles
Mr Burns: Then what?
Smithers: World War Two.
Mr Burns: Then what?
Smithers: Cold War.
Mr Burns: Then what?
Smithers: Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Mr Burns: THEN what?
Smithers: European Union.
Mr Burns: European UNION?!? Good heavens.
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Globalist scum.
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Which would be all well and good if he hadn't managed to con people into voting his party some actual parliamentary speech. Given that his party has some actual leverage in the running of the country (whoever small that might currently be), his ideas need to be publicly revealed, mocked and countered. Simply ignoring the xenophobic idiocy isn't going to work at this point, unfortunately.
Sadly, a party running on the positive counterpoint to his party's obsessions isn't going to be so effective. His base are the people who think that Daily Mail headlines are accurate - not the brightest or most intellectually curious bunch.
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thats bollocks!!
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Re: thats bollocks!!
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internationalist: a member or adherent of a communist or socialist International.[*]
That train left the station. Hell, let's go back to city states. They were more controllable.
[*] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Internationalist
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He was probably thinking of this definition:
internationalism:
n.
2. A policy or practice of cooperation among nations, especially in politics and economic matters.
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TORIES: get poor people to blame poorer people.
too many poor people strugling in the UK now
UKIP: get poor people to blame immigrants and immigration.
Don't blame tories for cuts. Don't blame tories for austar ity. Don't blame tories for lowering taxes on the rich. Don't blame tories for raising vat. Don't blame tories for low inerest rates and high inflation.
NO, don't blame tories for ideologically making poor people poorer.....blame immigrants.
That's ukip. Ukip are literally tories. That is a fact.
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Re: Nigel Farage and the UKIP
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But yes those who vote conservative unless in the 1% vote against their interests, that seems a universal rule. Except in Reverseland, er, australia, where the Liberal party is "Conservative", and there's no Conservative party.
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regarding the United Kingdom Independent Party
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Nigel Farage and UKIP
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thin-skin
You probably also find a pedophile, but that's a different story.
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Re: thin-skin
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Fake libertarian
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Re: Fake libertarian
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control is what it's all about
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Re: control is what it's all about
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Not really surprised
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That wasn't really phrased well. It's not that he criticized what they said - he didn't really address what they said. He criticized them for saying it. That's what's inappropriate.
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I had to look that word up. Apparently it means something that's intended to cause laughter.
Why does that make it despicable in the eyes of this politician dude?
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