Freesteel Blog » UKIP lives on a reservation

UKIP lives on a reservation

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 8:33 pm Written by:

Sometimes there are leaflets that just take my breath away.

There are the execreble ones, like Roger Godsiff’s attack on his opponent’s party for having the temerity of suggesting we abide by a 2005 European Court ruling that we stop routinely stripping voting rights from all people in prison without the say-so of a judge.

But this one, with the native american behind the slogan: “He used to ignore immigration; now he lives on a reservation”, is a stroke of utter genius.

The story works. It punches. Until you think: “Hang on, weren’t we the immigrants he’s talking about?”

You get there by imagining this poster being used in other anti-immigration contexts, such as in America, where there is quite a movement of white guys who want to close the border to Mexico to stop all the immigrants coming in and flooding “their” country.

But it was us, white guys, who pushed those native americans into the reservations. We’re the bad guys in the story. Don’t you get it?

I have a fantasy of some group of red-necks in America seeing this poster and getting the initial story, but not thinking it through (what’s new?), and printing lots of posters of it to take on their next rally. No one will know what to think.

It’s much more interesting than pictures of Hitler. You know he is a bad guy. But a native american. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? The story is a Necker cube.

Update: Some quick checking on-line searching traces this particular idea to the right wing Northern League in Italy in their 2008 elections. (link) Even though they don’t have a StraightChoice.org, their posters are available on their website. The funny thing is I always thought that italians were better dressed than that baggy green sweater guy.

1 Comment

  • 1. UKIP compares immigration&hellip replies at 22nd April 2010, 8:15 am :

    […] the Freesteel blog writes that: “Some quick checking on-line searching traces this particular idea to the […]

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