Firle bonfire - racism ?

[Titanic]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/3259887.stm

In todays p.c. society - this does sound like a slightly dodgy decision by the organisers. On the other hand, are arrests really necessary ?

 

[Raphael Meade]

i thought this was superb when it was in the news a few weeks back. did have a feeling that the ob might catch on though

 

[REDLAND]

I woudn't call it rasism, just a wanky middle class stunt, they should be ashamed !!!

 

[Pavilionaire]

Bloody Blair's Britain!!

This action strikes me as being therapeutic - the village has been lumbered with pikeys and have been understandably pissed off, this is a good way of having a laugh, getting it out of the system and moving on.

The police and authorities are wasting their time and my taxes. Catch some frickin' criminals instead of arsing around on a p.c. trip...

 

[DTES]

The society denied any claims the caravan, which had P1 KEY written on the side along with a message which said "Do you as you likey Driveways Ltd - guaranteed to rip you off", was designed to be racist.

 

[Raphael Meade]

ok.. it may have been slightly ott to have a pikey family standing in the window as it was burnt...

 

[Pavilionaire]

Why? It's bloody hilarious!

 

[Bwian]

Bloody Blair's Britain!!

This action strikes me as being therapeutic - the village has been lumbered with pikeys and have been understandably pissed off, this is a good way of having a laugh, getting it out of the system and moving on.

The police and authorities are wasting their time and my taxes. Catch some frickin' criminals instead of arsing around on a p.c. trip...

So what next in your "getting it out of the system" ideology?

If you want racisim eliminated ( I assume you do?) then the rules have to be applied to every situation-you can't cherry pick and blame Blair yet again because you don't happen to like the group of people insulted by the idiots of Firle.

I don't particularly like 'travellers', think they are a blight wherever they park their caravans but you can't do shit like that. There'd be all kinds of shit flying around if that nonsense was directed at blacks, asians, etc., so why allow a bunch of Hooray Henriettas and Tarquins to do what they did.

 

[Pavilionaire]

At Peterborough every Albion supporter - man, woman, girl, boy and FG - were all singing the pikey word at that motley rabble of Posh burberry twats across the way.

Not racist. Entirely justified.

 

[fatbadger]

I really do think that the thick twats who bang on about 'p.c. society' etc really should go away and research political correctness (a linguistic theory) - that way you won't make an idiot of yourself spouting utter nonsense.

Separate from that issue is the issue of the Firle bonfire - which is clearly hate-mongering of some kind (I am happy to call it racism, but if you aren't, perhaps you can at least recognise it is despising people for their way of life). In particular, the use of the phrase 'pikey' is highly objectionable.

If the good people of Firle had put a representation of blacks on the bonfire with the word '******' written on it, or a representation of south Asians with the word 'Paki' on it, I would hope you would consider that racist. If you do, can you please explain the difference between what actually happened and these two hypothetical cases?

And don't use the excuse of 'custom'. It has, in the past, been customary to call blacks 'niggers'. And to treat women as chattels. And to treat the lives of the poor as expendable. And so on. Luckily, 'custom' has not been used as a pathetic excuse to maintain these practices in MODERN Britain.

 

[Bwian]

At Peterborough every Albion supporter - man, woman, girl, boy and FG - were all singing the pikey word at that motley rabble of Posh burberry twats across the way.

Not racist. Entirely justified.

Unbelievable!

 

[Titanic]

and all sport should be non-competitive, just so we don't upset the feelings of anyone who doesn't win ?

 

[Bwian]

I really do think that the thick twats who bang on about 'p.c. society' etc really should go away and research political correctness (a linguistic theory) - that way you won't make an idiot of yourself spouting utter nonsense.

Too late unless he discovers 'edit'.

 

[JJ McClure]

Bloody Blair's Britain!!

This action strikes me as being therapeutic - the village has been lumbered with pikeys and have been understandably pissed off, this is a good way of having a laugh, getting it out of the system and moving on.

The police and authorities are wasting their time and my taxes. Catch some frickin' criminals instead of arsing around on a p.c. trip...

Well said that man.

 

[DTES]

There's clearly a slight difference between setting alight an effigy of a family, and shouting abuse because someone wears Burberry. Not that it makes it right, but to suggest they're exactly the same might be going a little far.

 

[FatboyTim]

Surely any accusation of racism is predicated on there actually being a race of "Pikeys".
After all, these aren't Gypsies or Romanies they're talking about, just the Irish on holiday!

 

[REDLAND]

So what next in your "getting it out of the system" ideology?

If you want racisim eliminated ( I assume you do?) then the rules have to be applied to every situation-you can't cherry pick and blame Blair yet again because you don't happen to like the group of people insulted by the idiots of Firle.

I don't particularly like 'travellers', think they are a blight wherever they park their caravans but you can't do shit like that. There'd be all kinds of shit flying around if that nonsense was directed at blacks, asians, etc., so why allow a bunch of Hooray Henriettas and Tarquins to do what they did.

Good on ya Bwain, there are still educated people on the forum then !!

 

[Mr C]

The Firle residents/organisers decided to use this as a way to vent their displeasure at the travellers perhaps. They have been pissed off by them and quite understandably.

It is the reaction that we all seem to have to such events ... "oh we can't have that - so and so might get offended" which fuels racial hatred in the first place.

The sooner we stop arresting people for stuff like this and start investigating the real causes (and dealing with it from that), the sooner it will all stop.

 

[Bwian]

and all sport should be non-competitive, just so we don't upset the feelings of anyone who doesn't win ?

Just what the hell has that got to do with a bunch of bigots displaying hatred in a very public way?

 

[DTES]

Spot on Mr C. The sooner we deal with the real problem, and stop letting these bloody foreigners in in the first place, the sooner our Empire can grow again.