He just announced that the .......only disease right now is racism.........!! This is an insult to all those families who have lost loved ones over the last few months to Covid 19!! I always thought he was a moron, and this proves it. All this crap over the last few days banging on about 'black lives matter', June 6th was the 76th anniversary of the D Day landings. What about the tens of thousands who died to give us freedom today; and yet no coverage on the television, only this crap about the blacks, and how hard done by they are. No mention is ever made about white folks being killed by the blacks; oh no, they do not matter. Racism is a two way thing, or has nobody ever bothered to tell Sterling, man is an absolute plank!!!
I don't really mind what Raheem Sterling says (short of inciting violence, which as far as I know he has never done). Doubtless he has been the target of a lot of vile racist behaviour in his life. If all of that had happened to me, I would probably do and say everything that he does/says. Racism is a vast and complex subject, and it happens between all races. It is not true for example to say that all non-white people in the UK are less likely to get good jobs. Members of some ethnic minority groups are actually seen as better candidates for some jobs than white people - because those ethnic groups have a reputation for placing a high value on education, self-discipline, hard work and respect for authority. Discrimination of this kind goes on all the time. Most of working life in this country is in the private sector. Recruitment there is conducted on the basis of maximum potential and minimum risk, and sadly some of that assessment includes views about the ethnic background of applicants for jobs. It should not be that way, but it is. Private sector employers may believe in equality of opportunity, but they won't put that ahead of self-interest. All lives do matter. But until we live in a world where migration has evened out all ethnic groups and individual national cultures no longer exist there will always be prejudice against minorities perceived as outside the traditional ethnicity of the country in question. The best we can hope for in the meantime, is to oppose racially inspired violence, and obviously racist (offensive and hurtful) behaviour inspired by automatic hatred. This process of positive change has been happening gradually for decades since the 1950's, as it happened in past centuries when other foreign communities became established in this country (Jews, Huguenots etc.). We can all work together to encourage the process of replacing hurtful racism with thoughtful respect and civility. But there is no revolutionary solution.
And to help civility, here's a bit about what Marcus Rashford has been up to: Marcus Rashford during lockdown has: Started a charity that has raised £20 million and helped feed 2.8 million children Launched a Christmas Box campaign with Selfridges to help Manchester's homeless Learned sign language to judge a poetry competition in a deaf school And has now come out in support of an autistic lad who has been the subject of bullying He's 22. A credit to his profession, his family but most of all to himself.
Marcus Rashford has proven many times what a decent person he is. Thousands of other people of colour have proven the same during the Coronavirus crisis. People in for less privileged positions than Rashford. People who have worked tirelessly and selflessly in hospitals, care homes and in the community. The shameful thing is that they should need to prove themselves at all. In my whole life I know for certain that I have never been excluded from a school, turned away from a club, turned down for a job, refused credit, refused a tenancy deal, been stopped in my car or stopped and searched on the street because of the colour of my skin. Because I am white, there is a natural assumption that I am law abiding and generally trustworthy - unless my specific behaviour proves otherwise. If I was black, among large sections of our society there would be a natural assumption that I was less likely to be law abiding and trustworthy - unless I actively strove to prove that I was. As an individual I would have to work to prove something that is assumed as a matter of course about most of the people around me, simply because of the colour of their skin. And every time I was denied something (a school place, entry to a club, a job, credit, tenancy) and every time I was stopped by the Police when simply going about my business and doing nothing of a suspicious nature, I would always be left not knowing if I had been singled out because of my skin colour. To say nothing of verbal or physical abuse I might receive at any time, where there would be no room to doubt why. Assuming a person is a second class citizen unless they prove otherwise, based on what colour they are or what culture they come from, is the basis for much of the traditional inequality of life chances in the UK. It's easy to provide evidence for why it happens, though much of that evidence is symptoms mistaken for cause. Unfortunately because of COVID19 this country is now in for a second depression and another decade of austerity, when we had not fully recovered from the last one. And depressions never lead to a reduction of inequality.
Hi guise, The OP has been reported to me. I also authorised the OP account into the gateway originally, as all accounts have to be by me. Generally I will look beyond reports, as at times we all disagree, and it generally is none of my business what happens on team boards. However, I have to weigh up the report, against it being a new account, and as many years of being admin, my gut feeling. My gut feeling tells me to ban the account, hence I have done so. Obviously I'm open to the right of reply, so for now the account will remain banned, until such time someone persuades me otherwise. Thanks for your understanding and all said with respect to you all. Enjoy the rest of your day lads
I understand your response on this brb, you are in a difficult position. Personally I wouldn't like to see debate on this subject closed down, as unpopular opinions should still be heard so they can be discussed. However the tone of the original post was pretty hostile. The more times I read it, the more uncomfortable I feel about it.
I thought it was a fairly horrible post, and looking back it is. As you say Lardi, it's generally not a Good thing to close down debate on the back of disagreeing with a post, but that one was pretty nasty. Thanks for removing the account brb.
I hear protesters are looking to tear down some more statues. And the Government is going to revue all the statues in London to see if non-PC ones should perhaps be removed. That's about 90% of them I should think. (sorry, a bit off-topic as far as Raheem Sterling goes. Maybe this should become the general thread for the wider subject).
They'd have to move my dead body before pulling down Churchill's statue. It's probably not even the ethnic minorities who have taken offence to certain statues; its more likely a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals with too much time on their hands.
It probably is time that statues of men who made their fortunes slave trading are removed from public places. Putting aside the good things done in local communities by such people (the reason they have statues in the first place) how they made their fortunes cannot be ignored anymore. Slave trading, like any kind of human exploitation and abuse, has no justification and cannot be defended. Jimmy Savile raised millions for charity, but nobody would suggest he gets a statue. But a line must be drawn between the historical veneration of people who made their fortunes from trading slaves, and an assault on British culture. The Union Flag, a statue of Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph are not symbols of racism. To brand them as such and then seek to desecrate them is not an act of protest against inequality. It is racially motivated violence. No different from singling out non-white Police officers for racist abuse during demonstrations. That is something the far-right extremists like the EDL would do. If so-called "Anti-racist" protesters adopt exactly the same behaviour, what conclusion will people draw from that? The accusation has been made by some protesters that all white people are racist unless they actively oppose racism. In other words, just being white is racist by definition, unless you behave the way the protesters want you to behave. Even if you personally have never been racist in thought or word or deed, you are racist simply because of the colour of your skin. And you are required to prove otherwise. That reduces to the simplest expression of hostility: If you're not with me, you're against me. Such dogma never leads to reconciliation or peace. You cannot force people to agree with your philosophy, even if it is a valid one. Opening peoples' eyes to injustice is a difficult thing, yet I feel progress has been made in these last couple of weeks. There are very uncomfortable truths to be faced. But turning rage and direct action against the wrong targets will undo all that progress, and act as a recruiting call for the far-right.
Club legend Chris Dickson has chirped up, saying Lyle Taylor is getting such a hard time from us and the media because of...wait for it....the colour of his skin Jesus fvcking wept
Really not a Good time for that sort of stuff. The reason Lyle Taylor is getting stick is because he has a contract until the end of june, but he doesn't want to work during the tail end of his contract. If the season had finished in early may and the club decided not to pay the last couple of payments as he wasn't actually kicking a ball imagine the row. But he decides his next contract is so important he can down tools and sit out a very important nine games for the club that paid his wages when he went to play a meaningless match for Montserrat and got injured in the process. The fans are angry because he is sticking two fingers up at them, as well as his team mates.Personally, I'd like to see the EFL stick a nine match ban on his next contract so that future clubs can get a taste of how he treated Charlton, but by the time they get around to considering this, he will probably be retired.
Dickson would only be right to say that if he is talking about racist abuse that Taylor might have received. Certainly not just general criticism and disapproval. I'm pretty unhappy with LT's attitude. But even if I wanted to insult him I would never refer to his skin colour, and I don't think the vast majority of other Charlton fans would either. If I decided to call Lyle Taylor a hypocrite or a coward or a mercenary, none of those things would have anything to do with his race. They would be references to his character. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King Jr. Lyle Taylor should certainly not be immune to criticism of his character because of his skin colour. Every person of any race should be measured by how they behave (their character) rather than what they look like. But of course, any Charlton fan who might use racial slurs against Taylor would be totally out of order. It would be useful to know exactly what Chris Dickson has said. Is there a link to a reliable quote?
Statues pulled down. Graffiti on our Cenotaph. Harmless films and shows axed. Police attacked in the street. People afraid of their own shadows. This is not going to end well.
Sadly but inevitably I suppose, we hear now that there is an "attack list" of statues and monuments around the UK, and various Police forces are advising councils to remove statues themselves before mobs destroy them. Criminal damage is against the law, regardless of political motivation. Peaceful anti-racism protesters, who have a huge and valid argument to put forward, should distance themselves from acts of vandalism and desecration.
