Good afternoon.
The Society of Black Lawyers might, just might have their hearts in the right place. But clowns like Peter Herbert belting around unchecked with irrational crusades drag serious efforts against genuine racial equality into a politically correct black hole of Calcutta. Hopefully common sense asphyxiates and crushes his idiocies some time soon.
Herbert’s latest mandate free publicity stunt is a masterclass that may yet eclipse his last piece of stupidity. But first, let’s have look at Herbert [who unbelievably is a barrister] was on talkSPORT this week. Citing the case of Daniel Alley a footballer who happens to be deaf.
Alley was indeed abused by fans for a grunting noise he made when communicating with fellow players one specific instance is recorded in decent enough detail here. Yet Herbert insisted this was not primarily about the poor guy’s disability, but because he was, ‘an Afro Caribean player who happened to be deaf.’
Then he went on to tackle the whole Mark Clattenburg fiasco, ‘We’re not commentating on this, it’s a matter for the police to investigate. We’re not going to take part in any trial by the media.’
That was the quote folks! Herbert was then asked, ‘What evidence do you have?’
His reply: ‘I don’t have any evidence… a report …widely reported in the media of racial abuse that appears to have been made and we are entitled to report that to the police… it’s a racial incident…we, on the basis of the information before us, we have the right to report that as a racial incident.’
Eh?
This ambulance chasing schmuck is putting back the cause of black people faster than Ainsley Harriot’s TV appearances [and no Peter, I’m not singling out Harriot because he’s black. It’s purely on the basis he’s a hateful arsehole].
Thank goodness THFC have stepped in with some sanity in response to the aptly named Herbert’s latest brainwave:
“If neither Tottenham FC nor the FA are willing to take a stand then SBL will report the matter to the Metropolitan Police Service for investigation and, if necessary, prosecution. The report will be made if this behaviour does not cease by 20 November. We will have monitors in attendance to observe what occurs.”
THFC replied:
“Our position on this topic is very clear. The club does not tolerate any form of racist or abusive chanting. Our guiding principle in respect of the ‘Y-word’ is based on the point of law itself – the distinguishing factor is the intent with which it is used i.e. if it is used with the deliberate intention to cause offence. This has been the basis of prosecutions of fans of other teams to date.
“Our fans adopted the chant as a defence mechanism in order to own the term and thereby deflect anti-Semitic abuse. They do not use the term to others to cause any offence, they use it a chant amongst themselves.
“The club believes that real anti-Semitic abuse such as hissing to simulate the noise of gas chambers is the real evil and the real offence. We believe this is the area that requires a determined and concerted effort from all parties and where we seek greater support to eradicate.”
Perhaps if Herbert really cared, I mean really cared, then he could do something about the hissing noises. Perhaps if Herbert really cared, I mean really cared, then he could do something about the coin throwing. Perhaps if Herbert really cared, I mean really cared, then he could do something about the extraordinary Jew hating chants that we are routinely subjected to by Chelsea, a club now routinely referred to as The Blue Racists.
Of course Herbert won’t be remotely interested in this. It requires far deeper issues being investigated opposed to picking and choosing like some witless grandmother mithering over a tin of Quality Street she didn’t even pay for.
Let’s Kick This 100% Herbert Out Of Football.
Oouushh
Oi…keep your nut down :ninja:
Oouushh..
How can someone who represents an openly racist organisation carry any credibility about this? Imagine the fuorore if someone started a society of white lawyers! Unless our own supporters make it clear they don’t like it, then it’s none of anyone else’s business.
Can you explain to me why white western males – the most privileged and unoppressed group of humans in the history of time – would need a special group to represent their interests?
I hadn’t realised that black lawyers were a particularly oppressed group of humans…
Really? Try finding out how many of them there are in comparison to their white counterparts and maybe it will become clearer to you.
Surely having an association for Black Lawyers indicates that regardless of race, you can actually become a Lawyer in this country if you’re determined enough?
Which would indicate that race isn’t a barrier and perhaps financial constraints are more likely to cause issue? Almost every doctor I’ve had to visit or pharmacist is Asian or am I imagining it? Are they not highly paid professionals? so, again race doesn’t appear to be a barrier merely the desire to work hard?
Race is a major barrier. The fact that there are some black lawyers means that it is possible for them to become one, it doesn’t mean that there are no barriers or that their path is as smooth as it is for white people. Which is the definition of equal opportunities. Black people as a demographic earn a lot less than white people and fewer of them reach higher paid or powerful positions in society. If you truly believe that inequality isn’t a factor in these measurable facts, then what would you attribute them to?
I think you’re confusing class and race-It’s just as difficult for a working class white bloke to get ahead, given the levels of education and financial considerations involved-as well as the family support required to allow the time in education, when earning money to survive becomes paramount-as I pointed out earlier- Asian kids seem to be more than doing alright-why is there a difference? or Jewish kids for that matter when they came to the UK from Europe early last century, wasn’t Disraeli a Jew? We’ve got everything from Black Police chiefs-Lawyers, Bankers, Doctors and so on-so how is race a barrier? Class is a far bigger obstacle in my opinion.
I think it’s pretty dangerous to argue that racism doesn’t exist to the level you seem to be doing so. I also think it rings a bit hollow coming from – I presume? – a white male.
Class is a factor of course. But so is race, and I’m certainly not confusing the two. You might also ask why a disproportionate number of black people are ‘working class’?
As for Asian kids doing ‘more than alright’. Are they really? Or is that just a slightly generalized assumption based on your own experiences at the chemist? I don’t mean to be dismissive but really, there may be more Asians achieving relatively more success than black people – but are they really as represented across society as white people? Are there lots of Asian politicians? TV or sports stars even? The answer is ‘no’. Is that because they also don’t ‘work hard enough’? It’s quite a dangerous thought progression which leads to essentially racist ideas itself, no?
You might also do well to compare the different experiences of black and asian people in England, and indeed the wider world. Whereas black people were subject to slavery and dispersed around the world where they faced different issues, the asian experience is considerably different. You might think this is all ancient history, but all these things continue to leave a mark on the way society operates today and the attitudes which prevail in it. Just like the holocaust happened 70 years ago and you might think would show people the catastrophic results of this kind of thinking, anti-semitism is still a problem across Europe. All kinds of racism are not equal. And all should be treated in context.
While racism certainly exists-I just don’t believe it’s a barrier to succeeding in life that’s all. Yes I’m white, but I’m also part Irish (Catholic),a nationality of which has been subject of the most horrendous acts of barbarism, starvation and exclusion in the past-In fact until 1971 Northern Ireland had a religious apartheid of sorts. If you’re suggesting that working class Brits had it any better, then I suggest you try looking at the apprentice laws and living conditions that existed long AFTER the abolition of slavery in this country-a skin colour isn’t the only means to exclude, oppress and ridicule a fellow human being-society has far more effective ways than that LLL, namely education or lack thereof and the class system of course to name but two. The irony however is while working class white and black lads bicker about who’s the worse off-the real culprits are carrying on regardless and getting away with it.
Believe me, I am quite well versed in the issues of Irish oppression and class struggle. But these are two different issues. Irish oppression was / is a discrimination based on culture and nationality (and religion). Class oppression is a way of siphoning off a larger share of wealth for an elite by keeping a mass of people relatively poor and excluded. Discrimination based on race is quite a different matter.
Let’s put it in very simplistic terms. A working class boy can get himself a suit and change his accent. Same as an Irish person. Same way that Jewish people have changed their surnames and played down their heritage in order to assimilate. A black person can’t ever change the colour of their skin. And for some people, that’s the first (and last) thing they notice.
Look at America – where you can commonly find entire neighbourhoods that are 80-90% black working class (often with Latino’s making up the other 10-20%), where the white working class live entirely different lives in entirely different communities. Are you seriously telling me race is not a factor?
So let’s be even more simplistic then-How did any black guy become a lawyer in the first place?
That’s my point-you can make points all night long but the fact remains it’s possible to be want you want to be-it’s just a longer harder road if you’re working class, black, Irish, Outer Mongolian or Inuit etc- But if you’re middle class, educated and have got the right connections it’s a piece of piss-same ol’ same as!
A black guy became a lawyer in the first place because a. they made it legal for him to do so and b. because he worked really hard against lots of obstacles. If you really believe society is now a completely level playing field unless you are working class, tell me why there are still fewer black lawyers than white, working class or otherwise? And why there are still a disproportionate amount of white faces on TV than any others – working class or otherwise?
Where did I say society is or has ever been a level playing field?,what I’ve said a quite clearly and quite often is Society has never been nor ever will a level playing field if you’re anything other than middle class
Apologies LLL, got cut of midstream-I think you’ll find something like 85% of the top jobs in the UK are held by those attending public school-so a fairer synopsis would be how many of those remaining 15% are held by non-fee paying-comprehensive pupils rather than their race as the vast majority of those by demographic proportion would be white I’d had thought, being that the majority of those resident in the UK are indeed white.
Essex, I’m 90% with you on that. All I’d say is that if you look further at these kind of statistics, that black people and other minorities are even further disadvantaged in society and actually make up a disproportionate number of the working class itself.
So a revolution it is then-Where’s Billy L when we need him-power to the people- for without opportunity talents a sheer waste!
I think the point LLL is attempting to be made here is that if this was a white group pressing for the rights of Whites (anywhere in the world) it would be seen as wasteful because in most cases having white skin has never been a real hindrance. Yes, its 2012 and pockets of racism still our out there but its rare and does not affect most people in their daily lives.
That said you would be hard pressed to say (especially as an American) that law defining, segregation, and acts of violence based solely on race are that far off. It was from 55-68 when African Americans started fight for and receive equal treatments. That’s only 50 years which is not even a life time ago. So there are cases where peoples parents and grandparents where subject to terribly demeaning and awful treatment. Which is why there was a justifiable rise of Black societies….
As for the group up for discussion they seem to be misguided and way off the mark on their comments about Spurs and Spurs fans. Yes racism should be irradiated…unfortunately this society has missed the mark. Don’t attack a club that has never shown itself to be racist towards any group, and a club proud of its Jewish Constitutes and have adopt the Yid Army as a way to back them.
Very good post Mr. Yid from the States.
I also like the notion of ‘irradiating’ racism ;-)
LLL :daumen:
why dont you come and live in London, somewhere like Tottenham or Hackney and find out which people are really oppressed?! people like you aint got a clue what the real world is like son. places like hackney and tottenham dont give chances to white working classes, i think you call us chavs or little englanders, sometimes a bus doesnt stop for you because you have a white face, still you probably dont know what a bus is!
Is this a serious post?
Let’s hope there aren’t any rappers thinking of playing any gigs in this country again or this total moron and his discriminatory colleagues (ANY organisation that demands you be of a certain colour or skin to belong to it is discriminatory and I’m pretty sure you have to be black to be in the black lawyers’ club, or whatever they call themselves) will be having them all arrested for their liberal use of the “n-word”, presumably. Or are Jay-Z and Snoop alright because they’re black.
This self-publicising toad of a man should stop this nonsense crusade. As you said, HH, Peter Herbert and his divisive cronies are actually putting things back not promoting the equal and accepting community that we need to go forwards.
I’ve been thinking much along the same lines. Hypothetically, if a black guy is arrested for using the n-word, would this Herbert a) congratulate the police on a successful collar or b) accuse the police of racially motivated harassment?
I know which one my money is on.
Would you be allowed in if you were black balled :cop:
And what do you black folks think?
too busy breeding to communicate
God knows what the Irish blacks are up to, eh? :shocked2:
Ask your relations on Aran :daumen:
We be dancin, mainly… to be sure, to be sure…
Congratulations. Even though most of your posts consist of short, crude insults, you’ve managed to conjure something even uglier. Some going.
LLL – I posted in support of you earlier today but don’t worry, you’re no longer tainted by association with me – I thought political correctness (‘Gone mad’ if that’s preferable) went with AVB/Levy love like Garth Crooks with pomposity, or Sol Campbell with greed, but clearly it’s everywhere now. By the same token, Essexian 76 talks total tripe about Spurs, but makes perfect sense on the relative oppression of black slaves and Irish peasants – my Irish and English ancestors didn’t promote or benefit from slavery, and I certainly don’t feel guilt or a need to make amends to anyone alive today for crimes committed long ago by one group of people against another, all long since dead. There’s a whole industry now, based on taking offence and then seeking to profit from it, and it’s deeply depressing to see how many apparently intelligent people are happy not to have to think for themselves on this issue – just echo the BBC/liberal establishment line, and close your ears and eyes to the destruction of free speech and a free society, which is rapidly gathering pace in this shambles of a country. Oh, and I don’t think AVB is doing a very good job either.
Hello Cheshuntboy, thanks for your support. Sorry that I’ve lost an advocate with my waffling though. My post here is in response to Rich, whose post I felt was pretty offensive.
As for what you say about political correctness, I think that in as far as we shouldn’t judge people on their race, religion, background etc and we should respect difference, being politically correct is the right thing to do. If people want to focus on it ‘going mad’ that’s a different issue. I personally think it’s right that people act nicely to each other, that’s all.
As for your own lack of guilt or whatever, I’m a bit confused. I don’t think you should feel personally guilty either. Guilt doesn’t come into it. Awareness, sensitivity and empathy do, however. Quite different. As I said, it is quite easy, perhaps even hollow, for a white male to announce that racial or sexual or discrimination is no longer a force in our society. Even if you are an Irish white male(as I am by descent).
I also don’t know what you mean by echoing the liberal establishment. Last time I checked we had a Tory government? Free speech? Well that is here, we are all speaking freely. It doesn’t mean you have a right to incite hate though. Whichever direction it’s flowing from.
Oh, well, last season’s happy clapper makes a radical the next I suppose-how fickle are we?
f***in chill out
Gutter talk.
LLL – I daresay this exchange of views is dead, but I’ll just say that when a group of people choses to label itself as ‘black’ (whether lawyers, policemen or footballers) and then looks around for issues to become irate about, it’s no surprise that there’s an understandable (and justifiable) reaction – and even David James was scornful of the motives of those proposing a black footballers’ group. So far as the ‘liberal establishment’ is concerned, do you seriously believe that having a Cameron/Clegg duopoly in power means that we’re labouring under the yoke of right-wing tyranny? Free speech means being able to say unpalateable and even offensive things (‘Free’ speech isn’t ‘free’ if it’s qualified in ANY way) without falling foul of the law, but we’ve got people being arrested for ‘offensive’ twitters (actually, all twitters are offensive – I’d happily see Stephen Fry back in choky for his relentless twittery), and I’d love to see how anyone brave or stupid enough to speak-up for Jimmy Savile would get on in our tolerant and inclusive homeland today. Would Salman Rushdie find a publisher for the ‘Satanic Verses’ today? He doesn’t think so, neither do I, and free speech is trickling away like sand in an egg-timer.
I don’t think there is a problem with the labelling but I do agree that their choice of targets is misguided.
As for the Cameron/Clegg duopoly – call me crazy, but I do believe that. Well, not tyranny, but regressive, right-wing policy, yes, most definitely. The recession and deficit is the perfect excuse to push through measures even Thatcher pulled short of.
And free speech? I just don’t think that this is a major issue. One of the only examples you can come up with is someone sticking up for Saville. Well, why would anyone? And what would society gain from that? And would this person be prosecuted or just pilloried? And yes, I absolutely believe that Rushdie’s book would find a publisher. Infact, it is still in print and being published today, which rather debunks Rushdie’s fears, no?
How many people are actually prosecuted for ‘saying’ bad things? In law, racist language itself is not illegal, which is why you can find so much of it wafting around the internet. Just check twitter, youtube comments for examples of everyday, offensive racism being spilled out in plain view. The law rules against language which includes a level of ‘incitement’. And even when cases of racist abuse are taken to court, as we’ve seen from the John Terry saga, there is as with any other crimes the burden of reasonable doubt which is extra difficult to establish with language.