John Terry

[Sam Slater]

Charged with racist abuse.



LOL.

[max_tranmere]

If he said it, he deserves to be punished. How they will prove he said it I do not know. What I find odd though is that if you have a punch-up with someone during a match all that hapens is the ref and your team mates pull you apart and the game starts again. So, physically attack someone and nothing happens - verbally attack someone and you end up in Court.

[Flat_Eric]

John Terry comes across as an arrogant, nasty fucker. But I still think that prosecuting someone for what is essentially just name-calling sets a dangerous precedent.

Today it's gays and "ethnic minorities" who are sacred cows but where will it end? Ginger folks? Short-arses? People with Jedward haircuts? Are they next in line for special protection under the law?

Well-meaning legislation for sure, but thought-policing and newspeak spring to mind. Thin end of the wedge.

[Grendel1]

Given the Suarez verdict yesterday, that you can't even mention someones colour when talking to them (let alone calling them a black cnut), Terry must be screwed, and rightly so cos if his punishment is any less than Suarez', then it makes a mockery of the whole subject.

Personally I agree, where do you draw the line?

[Sam Slater]

That wedge can be used for the other side. If you allow Terry to call the odd black player a 'fucking nigger' where does it stop?

[Flat_Eric]

I'm not condoning what Terry said but whatever he called him, at the end of the day it's still just name-calling. It may not be "nice" but that's all it is and people should be big enough and man enough to be able to rise above that kind of shit and ignore it.

Do we really want to start hauling people into court just for calling each other names? Because if we do then as I said above, where does it end? After all, why should calling someone a "black bastard" be regarded as any worse in the eyes of the law than calling someone a "fat bastard" or a "Scottish twat" or a "short-arsed cunt" or a "daft old fucker"?

If we're going to give one "group" special protection then surely in the name of "fairness" we should be legislating against "size-ism", "age-ism" and any other "-ism" you care to mention shouldn't we? Surely we should be legislating against "bigotry and prejudice" in all its forms, should we not?

Prosecute proper crimes by all means (violence and incitement to violence etc) but this is just politically-correct thought-policing.

[Sam Slater]

[quote]I'm not condoning what Terry said but whatever he called him, at the end of the day it's still just name-calling.[/quote]

I agree, but unfortunately generations of race-hatred which has lead to horrid discrimination and killings kind of makes some kinds of name-calling more serious than others. Without that sort of past then we might not have these seemingly inconsistent laws. In a world that's never had problems with racism then the people targeted may indeed take it like someone with a big nose may take a ribbing about his hooter. Unfortunately we don't live in that kind of world.

[Sam Slater]

And Alan Hansen just called all non-white players in the EPL 'coloured'................twice, when talking about racism. Lee Dixon's face was priceless.