Absolute nonsense. You make it sound like that racial abuse is what Twitter is for and if you join it and get abused then you shouldn't complain! Swords, you say some things on here that Sepp Blatter would be embarrassed about and you just respond with 'What's got up your nose'. Wise up.
Come on man, stop talking nonsense would ye? A professional footballer goes on Twitter and gets an abusive message. Shock horror! Hold the front page! Call the Cops! The world has gone mad. Absolute nonsense.
You're acting like he just told Bothroyd he was sh*t at football. It wasn't just an 'abusive message', it was racially motivated. There is a world of difference. The world hasn't gone mad, the world is getting better at understanding racism and it's impact. There's still some way to go, but the first step is to report people like this and not trivialise it as you seem to be.
That's the problem though LoneRanger, actual racists like the idiot on Twitter are very much a minority but there are far too many people with Swords view on it, he's certainly not alone. While there are people like Mr Blatter and Swords dismissing the problem, the problem will continue to be as damaging as it is.
General abuse, I'd agree with you, Swords. But there has to be zero tolerance towards racism. Anything else in unconscionable
It's his account. Whoever actually sent them, he's legally responsible, and the 'my friends sent them' defense doesn't apply.
In some ways I have to agree with Swords. Anyone who signs up to Twitter (and other social media site that allows the same sort of interaction) leaves themselves open to all sorts of abuse. This is especially the case with any "celebrity". Anything that is written by the site owner immediately becomes public property and can be used by the press and others. It is then easy to use someone's Tweets out of context to create or supposedly substantiate "stories". Celebrities often use Twitter as a way of keeping their profile in the public domain. Many do not because of the risk to them, their families and careers. Footballers don't need this sort of exposure as the nature of their work means that they are not having to keep a high profile in order to continue to find "work". Whilst nobody should be frightened of using these sites because of the possibilities of misuse by others anyone who signs up to this sort of social media site should know the risks. Where celebrities are concerned, whether they be plastic TV personalities, professional footballers or members of parliament, they are more open to abuse (of any nature) by the mere fact that they are well known and probably have just as many people who don't like them as do. We also know that there are lots of sad people who will use the (suppoosedly) anonymity of the Internet to abuse with little chance of being challenged. The form that Jay's abuse has taken, in this instance, is racial abuse. Totally unacceptable. It is the most obvious and easiest way to abuse someone. However, if you decide to subscribe to this sort of social media you leave yourself open to all forms of abuse. It is a sad indictment of our society today. Yes, we should be able to go about our business without fear of abuse of any nature. Until such a time as we have laws and technology in place (and being used in all cases) anyone - especially people with a high profile - need to be very wary of Twitter and be fully aware of how it may affect them. Having said all that, I hope they get this twat and dish out a suitable punishment. The more that are caught and dealt with the more emphatic the message that abuse of any nature is intollerable and will be punished.
Sticking your head outside your front door opens you up for abuse. Doesn't make it right, or acceptable. I fail to understand why twitter is any different, and therefore have no sympathy for Swords' views whatsoever.
Me too; I was going to post much the same, just not as well phrased. Swords view seems to me to belong to the same sort of school as "if you wear that you're asking for it" and I don't think he's thought his argument through; my opinion only, of course!
Agree with Eamon in the sense that Twitter is a modern day universal 'speakeasy' on many levels, not least as a shop window for marketable entities like footballers. That said, it's also a fire base for red-neck types with hate agendas. The only way to minimise their influence is to continually expose and challenge them. If victims of unlawful abuse fail to report such incidents, they effectively condone them. Well done Jay - bit of a catch-22: ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't.
Its a pity you're not like the rest of the guys on this thread who have given very strong and persuasive arguments on this issue and not just abuse. Very well put Twins, that is where I'm coming from but only to a small extent. Nobody deserves to be racially abused or victimized in any way, however these things need to be contextualized and have the hype stripped away from them. And in my opinion, Bothroyd was asking for trouble. There was a huge furore a while back when a Canadian Copper advised women not to "dress like sluts" to reduce the risk of getting raped. A terrible way to put it of course. However I think the point being made was that we don't live in a perfect world and we must take some personal responsibility at times to protect ourselves and not do stupid things that might bring unwanted attention from nasty people. Nanny State can only look after us so much.
