UK Motocross Star Billy Mackenzie Revealed as Member of Radical Political Party
November 28th, 2008 • My Thoughts
It is clear that our world is in a time of extreme political tension. From terrorist groups to race supremacy groups, every country is facing some form of political difficulties. Motocross has been relatively free from political tension, although this is about to end. British motocross star Billy Mackenzie has been revealed as a member of the Britain Nation Party, an anti-immigration British political party. According to the article on Mail Online:
The 24-year-old, who is the UK’s reigning MX1 motocross champion, was described on the leaked list as an ‘activist’ and a ‘high-profile sportsman’, according to The Independent.
There has been a lot of debate over the morality of his public involvement in such a radical group, and as a result, I decided to share my views on the topic.
Personal Choice
-Photo from twmx.com.
The beauty of political parties is that every member of the country has the personal choice to support which groups they wish to. Without this concept, democracy simply would not work. In this same train of thought, it is perfectly acceptable for Billy Mackenzie, being a British citizen, to support the BNP. The BNP is a legitimate political party of Britain. However, their radical views regarding immigration and racial superiority have earned them the reputation of being white supremacists. Regardless, Mackenzie has the moral and ethical right to support whichever political party he chooses, and should not be pressured by his occupation or his sponsors to supports ideals and political philosophies which he does not agree with. This idea is the basis of free and open politics.
Obligation to His Sponsors
Despite Billy Mackenzie’s personal rights to support his favorite political party, the bottom line is that as a professional athlete he is also a representative to his sponsors, and his team, CAS Honda. Despite the alleged legitimately or radicalness of the BNP, the fact is that some British citizens take offense to their radical views. The companies and corporations which support Mackenzie and his team sponsor him because they want to push their brand onto new customers. However, by being associated with a member of a radical political party, it is possible that these companies could actually loose customers and damage their reputation through their relationship with Mackenzie. Although Honda claim to still support their rider, I cannot believe that there are not some people within the company that our worried about this relationship.
Honda motorcycles has announced that they are standing by the UK’s reigning Motocross MX1champion, Billy Mackenzie, whose name was released to the media on the ‘BNP list’ this past week.
What’s the Verdict?
It is definitely difficult to call where exactly I stand on this issue. On one side of the matter, Billy Mackenzie has the right to support this party, however, on the other hand, this party is very radical and borderline racists, and Mackenzie is a representative of his sponsors as much as an individual citizen. However, I believe that despite the fact that Mackenzie has an obligations to his sponsors, that he still has the right to support the political party of his choice. When nations such as Great Britain or the United States begin expecting public figures to lie about their true political beliefs, then the entire system of free elections will collapse. Mackenzie has the right, regardless of the parties views and his stance as a popular public figure, to decide on his own which political parties to represent.
You can learn more about the BNP here. I originally found the article regarding Mackenzie’s involvement here.
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