Re: *** Warning: Racism ***
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 8:36 pm
Just my 2 cents on this matter:
(pardon my English)
Being a Dutchman, I'v been following some posts with some kind of curiosity and also a feeling of "been there/done that"
There were indeed some postings that I consider to be strongly offensive.
Despite the fact that I strongly reject any kind of racism or intolerance or alike,
I fully understand the shock that's going through the British community at this moment which is asking to itself: "What's has been going on, and what kind of nation have we become lately".
Remember, in the last few years we were confronted by 2 murders, one on a politician (who questioned for example the moral downfall of our society), and one on a filmmaker who got killed for his opinions by a muslim extremist on a "holy mission".
Both crimes have changed our way of life and self-conciousness forever.
Both crimes were committed by persons who seemed to be perfectly fitted in our everyday society, just as your suicide bombers.
Either way, they weren't committed by alien forces from abroad.
We have been confronted with some reactions of revenge, payback-time and the like.
Hopefully, you British people won't go this far.
But in this perspective, both the offensive posts AND the reaction of the forum's admins, should maybe be considered out of proportion. I think this is just part of a natural process of a nation that is trying to understand, reflect on, and cope with the events that happened lately, trying to find and re-define themselves again in a obviously changing world around us.
Of course, this forum should prevent any attempts on any kind of the spreading of hate, dividing between groups of people, or racism.
In time, things will normalise and be put in perspective. l It will take some tme and effort. In the meantime, everyone should be aware of the fine line between serious sceptism regarding the question " what has become of us" and simply blaming an entire part of your community for the acts of some vicious lunatics.
(pardon my English)
Being a Dutchman, I'v been following some posts with some kind of curiosity and also a feeling of "been there/done that"
There were indeed some postings that I consider to be strongly offensive.
Despite the fact that I strongly reject any kind of racism or intolerance or alike,
I fully understand the shock that's going through the British community at this moment which is asking to itself: "What's has been going on, and what kind of nation have we become lately".
Remember, in the last few years we were confronted by 2 murders, one on a politician (who questioned for example the moral downfall of our society), and one on a filmmaker who got killed for his opinions by a muslim extremist on a "holy mission".
Both crimes have changed our way of life and self-conciousness forever.
Both crimes were committed by persons who seemed to be perfectly fitted in our everyday society, just as your suicide bombers.
Either way, they weren't committed by alien forces from abroad.
We have been confronted with some reactions of revenge, payback-time and the like.
Hopefully, you British people won't go this far.
But in this perspective, both the offensive posts AND the reaction of the forum's admins, should maybe be considered out of proportion. I think this is just part of a natural process of a nation that is trying to understand, reflect on, and cope with the events that happened lately, trying to find and re-define themselves again in a obviously changing world around us.
Of course, this forum should prevent any attempts on any kind of the spreading of hate, dividing between groups of people, or racism.
In time, things will normalise and be put in perspective. l It will take some tme and effort. In the meantime, everyone should be aware of the fine line between serious sceptism regarding the question " what has become of us" and simply blaming an entire part of your community for the acts of some vicious lunatics.