To sum up: An Independent journalist, researching a potential story of voting fraud in East London, was beaten up by a gang of Asians outside the house of the politician he wanted to interview. Hopefully, the perpetrators of this stupid and unnecessary act of violence will be brought to justice. Here’s a link to the article. It’s probably NSFW unless you work somewhere with a relaxed attitude to images of bloody noses. It’s very Andrew WK.
I had a brief look at the comments, though I don’t know why. What did I expect? That the majority of commenters would see this attack as a sign of political and economic turmoil? That it’s just as well one of the attackers dropped his mobile phone, at least the police have more than one viable lead? Well, yes. Those are all fine, but what about the fact that these perps are IMMAGRUNTS???
“Urallwelcome” helpfully points out at 1.42am (who’s up at that time? Doesn’t he have a job to go to? I was in bed by midnight to get up for work this morning):
“if [sic] you allow huge numbers of people into Britain from countries where attitudes to political corruption are very, very different to mainstream British ones don’t be surprised that those people bring their culture with them. Most Independent readers seem to love the notion of UK culture being “enriched”…”
Ah yes, us Asians enrich UK culture, not by our food, or our love of patterned fabric (Paisley, anyone?), or Panjabi MC, but by our systematic beating up of the peaceful indigenous population (I hate that word, it makes white people sound like wild animals). Perhaps, in this instance, the beating up of Jerome Taylor was racially motivated, in which case this gang of yoofs is all made up of arseholes – all racists are arseholes, that’s a scientific fact. Maybe, as is suggested by the tone of the article, he was beaten up for trying to stir up trouble for the lawbreakers and they responded the only way they know how: by kicking the shit out of him. If that’s the case, then they are still arseholes.
The funny thing about arseholes is that most people have one (Chernobyl aside), and so most people have the propensity to behave like arseholes. Does it occur to any of these commenters that it doesn’t matter if you’re black, brown, white, or green and noodly and from outer space, ethnicity and arseholety are not mutually exclusive? Just because these arseholes happen to be brown, it does not follow that immigration is to blame. Is that so hard to understand? I feel like I’m banging my head against a Brick Lane wall (aythankyou) because it seems crazy, and correct me if I’m wrong, that people who blame EVERYTHING on immigrants (not just limit it to cases where immigrants are to blame) are… well…. Thick.
Prisoner Ben, commenting on some of the commenters puts it so nicely:
“People seem to enjoy all of the benefits of the Web – i.e. a public voice – without any of the downsides. And without taking advantage of the heart of the Web its breadth of knowledge. There is no longer any excuse for ignorance before posting a comment.
I hope I am wrong. Once I have direct access to the net then I hope that I will be stunned and delighted by the quality of the debate, that the idea of the web raising levels of knowledge is not a false one. After all, the direction our future civilisation takes will be guided by the web, and if people treat it as a mere public megaphone whilst ignoring its ability to be an endless university then we risk a future which is both extremely loud and decidedly stupid.
I’m just glad that I have excellent comments posted on this blog.”
Aside from “Dr” Nancy Malik trying to convince me that homeopathy works, weeks after I’ve moved onto talking about something else, I am extremely happy with the comments I get on here and in the pub (or from my Dad who I just found out reads this – Hi Dad, happy anniversary btw). The web has been an invaluable tool since we first got it at home back in the late 90s – hours spent LMAOing on MSN Messenger with local Goths, Wikipeding homework (in order to check out the reference links at the bottom, natch), keeping in touch with family and friends across the world, reading the opinions of those with more life experience than I (some good, some interesting), looking up details for my family tree, catching up on Dr Who – the internet is a fantastic place. How sad that some people choose to only read the stuff they agree with. How pitiful that in 2010, I feel loathe to call “Urallwelcome” and others like them a bigot, despite them making bigoted comments. And how utterly, utterly wanky that this incredible tool of democracy and free information is being wasted on these poor souls.
I’m not “ok because I’m not like the rest of them”, I am the rest of them. Some of us are nice and pay taxes and clean hospitals and cook great food and run TFL. Some of us, just as in any group of people, are arseholes. To blame all immigrants for the actions of a bunch of arseholes is like blaming the Irish for a lack of bins on the London Underground. To those who happen to agree with “Urallwelcome” and those like them, do grow up.
