Dissecting stupidity

A week away from work which has largely been spent at home. The dubious attractions of cable TV relaying images of a globe with a death wish.
When I was a kid summer heatwaves would be seen as a Good Thing, a chance for the kids to amuse themselves while the parents could get some respite. Not any more. These days, consistently high temperatures are seen in the context of global warming. A sobering thought to act as an effective antidote to the facile cheers of those who don't think about the long term effects of being baked.
In the 1980s there were certain causes which many of us on the revolutionary Left embraced. Nicaragua, as well as the rest of Latin America was a pet topic. The Middle East, on the other hand, we tended to avoid, save for the occasional vague hope that the PLO would adopt a more Socialist path. For the most part, however, concerning ourselves with an issue which went back millenia & invoked religion (fundamentalist religion at that) made us atheists & agnostics feel deeply uneasy. The news coming from the Middle East in the last week paints a grotesque portrait of a region still mired in 12th Century theological arguments, yet using 21st Century military technology.
Feeding on feelings of unease caused by a world in flux & turmoil are the far Right. It was my misfortune to have a BNP leaflet pushed through my letter box over the weekend. Before binning the offending piece of paper, I decided to make a note of the glaring inconsistencies in their position. I have always thought that the fascists display stupidity & bigotry in equal measure. The leaflet confirmed that.
IMMIGRATION: "On current demographic trends, we, the native British people, will be an ethnic minority in our own country within sixty years."
[The source for the "current demographic trends" is not named. Nor do they care to define "the native British people". Celts, Vikings, Saxons, Normans, Hugenot French, & let's not forget the Romans, have all helped make British identity down the centuries. We know that these creatures don't see anyone from an Afro-Caribbean or Asian background as being British, so we'll just observe that the white British identity the BNP claims to represent is drawn from different parts of Europe.]
The BNP say they will "encourage the increase in the British birthrate which is the only real answer to the looming demographic crisis of an ageing population."
[The hapless lads who read the "ladmags" & surf "adult" websites will, presumably, be the shock troops in this Aryan baby boom; they'll think Christmas has arrived early.]
ECONOMY: "Globalisation, with its export of jobs to the Third World, is bringing ruin & unemployment to British industries & the communities that depend on them Accordingly, the BNP calls for the selective exclusion of foreign-made goods from British markets."
[Shall you tell them, or shall I? Wake up & smell the coffee, boneheads!]
NORTHERN IRELAND: "Long term, we wish to end the conflict in Ireland by welcoming Eire as well as Ulster as equal partners in a federation of the nations of the British Isles."
[Ah, now, isn't that nice of them to welcome the Irish Republic & its people back into Britain's bosom after the failed experiment of Irish independence & sovereignty spanning more than 80 years!]
EDUCATION: "We will...seek to instil {sic} in our young people knowledge of & pride in the history, cultures & heritage of the native peoples of Britain."
[Waterloo, yes. Peterloo, no. Hang on, isn't this line dangerously close to saying Britain is multi-cultural & multi-racial? I know it hurts your heads, folks, but do try to THINK before you come out with this crap.]

I do not wish for one moment to minimise the threat that the fascist filth pose. However, it is necessary from time to time to highlight the stupidity which underpins their arguments.