In troubled times of recession political extremism tend to rise - with people rallying around nationalist parties and movements.
That is happening now, warns the organisation, Union of European Federalists (UEF).
It sees the growing presence of nationalist propaganda on different popular channels of communication , i.e. Facebook.
Saturday it sent a message to UEF-supports on Facebook in order to urge them to adress members on nationalist groups on Facebook and engage in discussions with them.
Sebastian Meznaric from UEF explained the idea in the mail:
We should educate people about the views like this, how they arose in the past and where they might lead us. One way to do this is through facebook. So I am sending you links to a few such groups where you can join and debate with people, in attempt to educate them (politely) about the reality of the situation.
The message contains links to two Facebook-groups ; Keep England English and No More Immigrants .
Both groups relates to british nationalism, but Sebastian Meznaric ask people for more examples of nationalist groups on Facebook that federalists and other pro-europeans should join in order to discuss with the members.
The question then is ; will online discussions at Facebook-groups convince the extreme nationalists that they are wrong - and that the pro-european internationalist in UEF are right?
Can discussions online move peoples opinions so radical ? I’m not convinced.
What do you think?
(12 votes, average: 3.25 out of 5)
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It’s worth trying, but I am also a bit pesimistic about the outcome. I have had many personal debates about nationalism and its consequences but they always ended as a nice try. However, I totally agree that it’s not enough to be pesimistic and only wait and watch. Maybe it would be also good to create the opposite group and promote positive vibes…Anyways, FB contains also some elements of popularity: so, who has more members and who is more recognizable…
In the end, communities are regarded as successfull when they provoke debate and raise attention. Might it be enough just to ignore such nationalistic messages - and not give them a platform at all?
And if you get such a message write back and say: Leave me alone with your wrong ideas?
The very idea of British nationalism is flawed, and hilarious. Nationalism in a federal kingdom comprising four distinct ethnic groups, with the dominant one actually not having any well-defined identity. Riiiight.
No, I doubt that trolling their facebook groups will do any good. In a different environment - yes, discussion can be beneficial, but Facebook is only one step above YouTube comment threads.
I do think facebook groups can help. Especially because all your friends get a message that you joined a group, making them think about it too. It is not that people will change their minds, but those not ‘infected’ yet, will be more aware.