Britain First and Niemoeller's prayer

Martin Niemoeller was a clergyman who was imprisoned by the German government in the period 1937 to 1945.  Nowadays his fame rests almost entirely on a quote which is often referred to as Niemoeller's prayer.  It exists in various forms, and I merely offer one version without suggesting it is the most accurate:

First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me — and by that time no one was left to speak out for me.

As I write, the leader and deputy leader of the political party Britain First have accepted draconian conditions imposed on them by a totalitarian police force.  They have done this because to fight the police force in the courts would have left them exposed to the likelihood of a vast legal bill.

Much as I dislike Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, I will admit that I respect his decision on this occasion.

I sometimes wonder how long it will be before someone in authority tries to shut down my blog.  Maybe it will never happen.  I also wonder how long it will be before one of Britain's national newspapers is the target of a publicly funded lawsuit.  Or maybe one of Britain's major church denominations will find themselves facing publicly funded lawyers in the courtroom.

Related previous posts include:
Britain First and the fiction of a free country