BUT, we live in a country where black is a minority group and so it is used as a reference point. When I lived in Kenya I was very much referred to as a white fella. I think we skirt around this issue far too much and worry about everything and anything being racist.
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[News] Liam neeson
- Thread starter Publius Ovidius
- Start date
BUT, we live in a country where black is a minority group and so it is used as a reference point. When I lived in Kenya I was very much referred to as a white fella. I think we skirt around this issue far too much and worry about everything and anything being racist.
Miserable Les
New member
- Jan 17, 2019
- 99
Ok, I've thought about it a bit more. Accepting that we are all to some extent 'racist' towards out-groups (it's the way we're wired), and that most of our behaviour is dependent largely upon the conditions in which we exist (in terms of how easy it is to control or even be aware of our more base nature), this to me looks more like a case of a young man with anger-management issues than an ideological racist worldview. It might be a stupid thing to confess, but Neeson seems like he's illustrating a very human desire - to learn from our experiences and strive to be a better person because of them, rather than giving in to irrational hatred and letting that shape your life forevermore.
Never discussed it at all, my mate was reading something on his phone and pissed himself laughing. He said one of his skills is tracking people down but he couldn't find a single black man in a whole week.
Yes, no surprise he doesn't want to be labelled as racist now.
My dad was at a Sussex v Lancashire match in the 70s when Clive and David Lloyd* were batting together. The bloke next to my old man said that he got confused between the two Lloyds and asked which was which. My dad replied that Clive was the one wearing glasses - and that seemed to satisfy the questioner.
* Note for non-cricket fans: David is a white Englishman about 5ft 7; Clive is a black West Indian of about 6ft 5.
My god the journalist is getting her 15 minutes worth of fame.
Just listened to the interview and it’s clear Neesom is being honest about irrational revenge. He clearly states that after a week or so of going round with these irrational thoughts, he stopped himself and learned a lesson.
All this journo has done is shut down any rational debate by shaming him for a bit of a tabloid scoop.
We all learn lessons.
I remember when I was at school in Worthing in the early 80s. We had one black guy in the school. I remember leaving school one afternoon and we got into an altercation. I was about 13 years old. I remember I used a racial slur to his face (it doesn’t need repeating here) and I was ashamed. I don’t know where it came from. I’d never used such language before, but somewhere the word came from within me.
It was his reaction that bought my lesson home to me. He could have struck me, and would have been within his rights to do so, but instead he just gave me a look that expressed disgust and showed me how small I was. It was a mix of disgust and real hurt. I can still feel that shame to this day.
I learned so much about the power of words that day - that the use of casual racism isn’t casual at all, it’s real and spreads like a cancer. I understood that my racist outburst came from a total lack of understanding of race; also it came from some sense of entitlement that had somehow found its way inside me through societal conditioning. I felt superior to him because I was in a racial majority. Total foolishness.
I thank god that I learned this lesson when I did.
I challenge myself everyday to think outside of my narrow world, but I know that can only happen if people are allowed to be honest about the lessons they have learned from past experiences.
Neesom isn’t a racist. That he can have this conversation shows that he isn’t a racist. The real racists wouldn’t a) admit to it or b) have the self awareness.
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Just listened to the interview and it’s clear Neesom is being honest about irrational revenge. He clearly states that after a week or so of going round with these irrational thoughts, he stopped himself and learned a lesson.
All this journo has done is shut down any rational debate by shaming him for a bit of a tabloid scoop.
We all learn lessons.
I remember when I was at school in Worthing in the early 80s. We had one black guy in the school. I remember leaving school one afternoon and we got into an altercation. I was about 13 years old. I remember I used a racial slur to his face (it doesn’t need repeating here) and I was ashamed. I don’t know where it came from. I’d never used such language before, but somewhere the word came from within me.
It was his reaction that bought my lesson home to me. He could have struck me, and would have been within his rights to do so, but instead he just gave me a look that expressed disgust and showed me how small I was. It was a mix of disgust and real hurt. I can still feel that shame to this day.
I learned so much about the power of words that day - that the use of casual racism isn’t casual at all, it’s real and spreads like a cancer. I understood that my racist outburst came from a total lack of understanding of race; also it came from some sense of entitlement that had somehow found its way inside me through societal conditioning. I felt superior to him because I was in a racial majority. Total foolishness.
I thank god that I learned this lesson when I did.
I challenge myself everyday to think outside of my narrow world, but I know that can only happen if people are allowed to be honest about the lessons they have learned from past experiences.
Neesom isn’t a racist. That he can have this conversation shows that he isn’t a racist. The real racists wouldn’t a) admit to it or b) have the self awareness.
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If those same scouts were scouting players in another country (let's say somewhere in Africa, where the majority of players are black), for another team in the same league, they'd be more likely to use the word 'white' when recommending a white player, and making no reference to colour when recommending a black player. Is it then mild racism by the same scouts towards white people this time?
Live by the sea
Well-known member
- Oct 21, 2016
- 4,718
According to the latest home office met police reports as reported in the evening standard , 73 % of all violent knife crime in London is committed by either Black or ethnic minority males usually under 25 years old. Clearly this is a big issue and not just people being racist. Better to accept the facts and try to address it than hide behind racism as an excuse.
You’re right to get back to facts.
But working with the figures you provide, why do you think 73% of all knife crime is committed by black of ethic minority males?
Equally, why do we think that 67% of politicians are male? Is it because they are more likely to be better at politics than women?
Let’s talk about the issues that sit behind the facts and then we can decide if engrained racism or sexism are the true barriers to progress. Then we can consciously do something about it.
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All of this.
Edit: I now see from another post he was stitched up by the journalist....should have guessed.
Last edited:
Iggle Piggle
Well-known member
- Sep 3, 2010
- 5,332
He maybe racist, he may not be but I'd rather put my money on it being total bollocks. Liam has spent too much time waving light sabers, scrapping with Batman and speaking Taken dialogue. He thinks it's all real.
greyseagull
New member
As someone else has said, the John Barnes take on it all is very interesting
[video]https://news.sky.com/story/john-barnes-liam-neeson-deserves-a-medal-for-race-admission-11628709[/video]
[video]https://news.sky.com/story/john-barnes-liam-neeson-deserves-a-medal-for-race-admission-11628709[/video]
And even moreso this. It is interesting how the revelation of facts changes the landscape.
Interesting, elsewhere, how easy it was for people to support or attack LN without the facts. Including me, I'm sure.
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Wrong-Direction
Well-known member
- Mar 10, 2013
- 13,422
I found what Neeson said to be quite shocking.
However, his point was about ‘revenge’ turning you ‘evil’.
In addition, Police prioritise race when talking about suspects as they generally start with the IC code (so why shouldn’t Neeson?)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_codes
A typical description could be:
IC4. Male. 5,10”. 20s. Heavily built. Blue cap and black parker coat, blue jeans, white trainers.
However, his point was about ‘revenge’ turning you ‘evil’.
In addition, Police prioritise race when talking about suspects as they generally start with the IC code (so why shouldn’t Neeson?)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_codes
A typical description could be:
IC4. Male. 5,10”. 20s. Heavily built. Blue cap and black parker coat, blue jeans, white trainers.
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,830
This sort of thing keeps coming up doesn't it. The word black shouldn't be included in that statistic as it infers that the colour of your skin affects your propensity to violence. Which is obviously absolute ****ing nonsense. The underlying reason is surely that black people just so happen to be the highest poverty group out of all ethnicities.
I actually find what Neeson said fascinating, and am in two minds about the whole thing - beyond anything else it was remarkably naive, unless he genuinely thinks it's a topic that should be discussed. I mean, why can we not be honest about having racist feelings and being ashamed by it? Everyone has some sort of prejudice that is there from their upbringing or experiences and we should be able to have the courage to talk about that and be challenged on it. You don't stop racism by shouting at anyone that talks about it.
Whislt I was walking my harmless puppy at Bedgebury in the summer, she saw a middle-aged man and bounded up to him, jumping up, mildly embarrassing but I was in the throes of training her. The bloke went absolutely nuts at me for not controlling my dog - perhaps fair enough, but a little OTT. He stalked off as I apologised, leaving his wife to explain that his family had fled Bosnia when he was a child, and he was attacked by an Alsatian at a police checkpoint - he's hated dogs ever since. Obviously he has nothing to fear from a 6 month old puppy, and hating an entire species is not rational... but many of our life experiences do not lead to rational thinking. A friend of mine from the village got mugged twice - by black people - and he is racist and admits it, he has black friends of course (all racists do), and mentally he can exclude them, but his default view of any black man is that he's a criminal.
As an aside, the media have a ****ing nerve getting the knives out, considering that they are a massive part of this problem.
How did he know the black man wasn't a Scot, a Welshman or (unlikely) a Lithuanian?