Hopefully the Society for White Lawyers can talk some sense into them and point out where they - and David Baddiel, as he was doing the same a couple of years back - are making a long list of factually inaccurate mistakes that a simple Wikipedia search would nip in the bud. Oh, wait, we're not allowed to have a Society for White Lawyers are we? Damn...
The thing is, THFC and the Jewish community have been in that part of London for some time, they have'nt just moved there! So, if in all this time no complaint has ever been recieved, one now would carry little weight, why get upset now? However, I agree in the present climate it may get looked at, but as other posters have pointed out nothing has happened so far. Its a unique situation that can not possibly be compared to anything else, making the gooner comments extremely wide of the mark so far.
You can all you like, but the report seems to suggest that Spurs have been singled out by the Jewish Community for failing to address this very issue. Spurs fans may claim that they are using the word in a 'positive' manner, but I'm arguing that it's a grey area. Any fan of any club could chant 'Yiddo' and then claim that they are using it in a 'positive' manner. This is why I think it's dangerous to assume that Spurs fans will be given the benefit of the doubt, especially when the Jewish Community has inferred that it is not happy with what is happening at WHL.
No, it doesn't. It suggests that anti-Semitic chanting at the Lane hasn't been dealt with to the satisfaction of some members of the Jewish community. It almost certainly refers to the behaviour of away fans, especially given the timing of this declaration, which falls just before we face West Ham who are probably the worst culprits. There's absolutely nothing that suggests otherwise.
This is what I mean by making dangerous assumptions. I can see where Spurs fans are coming from, and don't get me wrong, I'm not in favour of any clamping down on Spurs fans using the word 'Yiddo' What I am saying is that in the current climate, complaints that have been ignored before, are now in sharp focus. If the report is right in saying that the Jewish community is upset with what is happening at WHL with regard to chants pertaining to Judaism, then Spurs fans may well find themselves in the spotlight for chanting 'Yiddo', regardless of their intent behind it.
It's not the Jewish community, it's the Society for Black Lawyers who, to hazard a guess, aren't Jewish.
That is an example of what I'm saying about making dangerous assumptions. Again, what is to stop a Jewish person supporting any team chanting 'Yiddo' and claiming that they are celebrating their religion ? Or what gives a non Jewish person the right to chant 'Yiddo' ? It's a grey area. It could be argued that if one football fan is allowed to chant something, then you cannot reasonably stop another fan from chanting the same thing.
Watford fan in peace (honestly!). I can't believe that it would be aimed at home fans and their chants and if it is then it's utterly ridiculous. If elements of the Jewish Community were up in arms about this I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the Jewish Chronicle or the chief Rabi would have bought it to the attention of the wider public - and knowing a fair number of Jewish people who support a number of different clubs including Spurs I suspect the majority would be ridiculing the complainants rather than supporting them. I do hope that it doesn't become an issue as Spurs supporters are going to find it difficult to defend the rights of its supporters to chant a word which some may consider to be offensive regardless of the context in which it is used. I don't know what levels of anti semetic abuse you get subjected to as a fan base now but I do remember it being pretty atrocious in the 80s with even my own club indulging in it now and again. If away fans are still making reference to the Holocaust etc. then for me that's worse than some of the other stuff that's being stamped on now and it's got to stop. I
It's not a dangerous assumption at all, it's just following the evidence. There's nothing to stop a Jewish person from chanting Yiddo and claiming that they're celebrating their religion, but there's also absolutely nothing to suggest that this has ever happened. The reasons behind the chants at WHL are well established and, again, there's nothing to suggest that anyone's objecting to them. It's not a grey area, at all. You're attempting to claim that positive and negative songs about the same subject are equal, when they're clearly not.
This is the grey area that I'm talking about and the subsequent dangerous assumption that it's okay for one set of fans to chant it and not okay for another set of fans to do so. I give the example of Arsenal again. Many of our fans are Jewish too. If a large section of Arsenal fans started chanting 'Yiddo' at WHL it would be assumed that it's derogatory, when in fact those fans could argue that they are simply celebrating their religion as Spurs fans are. When it comes to the law. I don't think it's robust enough to rest on the preference of the team you support, to defend your intent.
Also black people that tend to use the word "nigga" also use it as a friendly term to white people they know, the whole point is to take away the hate from it. Some of the hispanic community(particularly Puerto Ricans) in America also use it. Even ignoring that you said that "in a sense" it's "similar" and it's hard to argue there aren't similarities in two groups of people using a derogatory term as a positive to stick it to the twats that think it's clever to be racist. Swing and a miss from COYG. Anyway there isn't any anti-semitic chanting in the stadium from away fans anymore, it's coming across certain sets of fans on the way to games where you can get that kind of stuff. The huge elephant in the room is still homophobia in football and there seems to be no impetus from any organisation to take a serious look at improving the situation for gay footballers to come out. The rules are there but little else and if they think that's enough they're clearly mistaken. Ironically I think any incidents of homophobia in the Russian or Qatar World Cup's could help be a catalyst in getting tackling the problem higher on the agenda where it should be.
It was a huge benchmark in racial equality in a country where less than 60 years ago there was huge amounts of segregation and racial minorities were seen as an underclass. That said "first female prime minister" isn't the first thing that springs to mind for many when they say Thatcher. Maybe being a total **** is the answer
For now maybe, but if this report gathers pace and people do start to be charged for using anti-semetic language, then you can reasonably assume that if an 'away fan' is charged for chanting 'Yiddo' then they will point to the fact that Spurs fans are also using the word. The intent, is always going to be questionable. You're making an assumption again. I'm not claiming that positive and negative songs are equal, I'm asserting that in a case of law, the intent will be difficult to prove. If Spurs fans are allowed to chant 'Yiddo' in a 'positive' light, then an away fan can reasonably claim that they were doing the same - especially if they are Jewish.
The intent isn't questionable though, that's the point. Intent is massively important in this area of the law, too. No, you're making the assumption that intent's difficult to prove, when it clearly isn't. The fact that you have to invent a Jewish away fan using an anti-Semitic chant as an example is a superb illustration of this.
It's amusing to note that, if this is what they're focusing on, then the Society of Black Lawyers are opening themselves up for complete dissolution. If context is irrelevant and positive discrimination is just another form of discrimination, then they're gone.
Another spud making sad attempts to attack a poster rather than the post... Anyway, what you are saying is that you can say what you like to whoever you like and it is ok just because you do not intend insulting or upsetting them? That they might be insulted by you, however unintentionally, counts for nothing? Next you'll be one of those repeatedly saying 'it's political correctness gone mad' in a poor attempt to justify inherent racist tendencies like some on this board seem to do. The fact is that if you go up to a black guy and say 'sup my nigga' he would have every right to crack you in the mouth. You claiming that no malic was intended would count for nothing.
