Lawrence Auster on totalitarianism
The Times of London reports,
Jacqui Smith, the [British] Home Secretary, showed little sympathy over the leak. She told Sky News: “It probably says something about the BNP that people don’t want to have it known that they are a member.”
The “leak” Miss Smith refers to apparently regards the theft and publication of a confidential membership list of the British National Party (BNP), betraying the members’ names, home addresses and telephone numbers.
“Andrew W.” observes,
Smith’s Labour party is seeking to pass a bill that would make it legal for trade unions to bar members of the BNP, and she has the chutzpah to insinuate that people don’t want their BNP membership known because it is something shameful, conveniently “forgetting” the fact that the group is being legislated against, members are actively discriminated against in the workplace, as well as being subject to threats from leftist thugs.
Lawrence Auster replies,
What the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said shows the spirit of the true totalitarian. Your garden variety dictator just oppresses you and takes away your freedom. The true totalitarian mockingly states that your fear that he will oppress you and take away your freedom proves that you have a guilty conscience and thus that you deserve to be oppressed and have your freedom taken away.
Here is the relevant hyperlink.