Comments:UK student jailed for 'racist' Twitter posts about footballer Fabrice Muamba

Back to article

This page is for commentary on the news. If you wish to point out a problem in the article (e.g. factual error, etc), please use its regular collaboration page instead. Comments on this page do not need to adhere to the Neutral Point of View policy. Please remain on topic and avoid offensive or inflammatory comments where possible. Try thought-provoking, insightful, or controversial. Civil discussion and polite sparring make our comments pages a fun and friendly place. Please think of this when posting.

Use the "Start a new discussion" button just below to start a new discussion. If the button isn't there, wait a few seconds and click this link: Refresh.

Start a new discussion

Contents

Thread titleRepliesLast modified
overreaction 623:04, 1 April 2012
Racism Illegal?118:16, 1 April 2012

overreaction

every day, people call others stuff... the guy just made some stupid remarks online, then, tried to delete it. so, he's obviously not really into them. now, he'll go to jail and, perhaps, miss university or be expelled.

muamba himself was not really harm by the guy, and even if he would have been, the guy deleted his account, so, it wouldn't be for way too long. even so, if this was in real life, the guy could apologize.

people call each other stuff, may lose their jobs if it's their bosses, may spend a day in jail, may lose friends over it, or may apologize and leave it behind.

but, 60-day jail time and being expelled from uni is like way too much. yes, racism exists, it's a problem. but, it's in the form of abuse in africa that it really matters. calling someone a name may mean something, but, when you like don't even know him, it probably means nothing.

ruin a black guy's mood for a day, ruin your career and life forever? britain has been overreacting over nuisance forever now.

while huge corporations may really abuse black people, asians or any other MAJORITY groups in their home countries, some wanker's life will be ruined, cause he made fun of some BLACK sports guy who may be dying...

people call dead people names, or make offensive remarks all the time. punk music ridiculed the queen... but, at least, at that time, the queen had some common sense... noone wants to really see muamba dead, he's just some celebrity and shit happened to him on live coverage. the real racist is someone who calls for the black lad living next door to be killed or something.

get a grip and start distinguishing between the racist with the knife and the wanker who mocks people, like you distinguish between the jihad terrorist and the muslim living next door.

15 days in jail would have taught him to behave, no reason for any more punishment.

even if he was a huge fascist, on what authority is providing someone like that with an education the thing not to do? expelling someone from university over his beliefs or remarks is just absurd.

79.166.48.151 (talk)23:54, 27 March 2012

i disagree that this form of racism doesn't matter in the face of more physical abuses. it does matter; it goes to people's mindset, from which racism grows. and as for "ruining one black man's mood" -- i am guessing you're white. racist comments do far worse than ruin somebody's mood. systemic abuse and discrimination batters people, every day; it is exhausting to live in a society where so many people treat you as inferior. and honestly, drunkenness is no excuse, and every racist these days claims he isn't racist and some of his best friends are coloureds. i call BS on that -- if you make racist slurs while drunk, you ARE a racist, and i feel sorry for the people of colour who are your friends -- if you do in fact have any, you clearly don't respect them.

however, i do prefer my judges to be above twitter outrage; i want them to be calm and measured instead. i also don't see how the remarks were inciting racial hatred -- i am missing the "inciting" part. he didn't suggest to others that blacks should in some way "pay" for being black. the prison sentence goes too far. i also don't think people should be this easily dismissed from schooling. if anything is gonna get into his thick head about racism, some community service might enlighten him, and further schooling can't possibly make things worse. punishment should fit the crime AND should provide education and opportunity for betterment, or it's really just cheap revenge, which does nobody any good.

PierreAnha (talk)04:43, 28 March 2012

My God, what it must be like to not have freedom of speech. To think that you could be jailed for making a few insults! And the saddest part of it is that your govenment has you conviced that you are free... Being jailed for voicing your opinion, no matter how crude or ignorant, is the kind of response I would expect out of Iran or North Korea. Terribly sad and dissapointing... I would expect better of the English(or UK, or British, or whatever is the politically correct term these days, I can't keep up).

12.173.222.5 (talk)13:01, 28 March 2012

well the english talked about democracy and rule of law all while colonizing, murdering and raping native inhabitants of lands all over the world - that they don't allow free speech shouldn't surprise anyone.

38.111.36.79 (talk)19:40, 29 March 2012
 

Distinguishing between England and Britain is "political correctness"?

78.148.175.44 (talk)23:04, 1 April 2012
 

So you can call me white, cracker, white boy, whitey, or whatever you like, but I can't call you anything I choose? And you can blame me for what someone who wasn't me did to someone that wasn't you before either of us was born? Quite frankly I don't like you creatures because of this. Call it what you want, but at least my reason for not liking them is for a legitimate reason.

76.25.213.70 (talk)23:05, 29 March 2012
 
 

Racism Illegal?

I know that being racist is wrong and not ethical. But saying something about someone is illegal? I thought we had freedom of speech. I thought it was legal to be racist.

76.116.208.216 (talk)21:24, 29 March 2012

SERIOUSLY WOW !!!! CAN NO ONE TAKE A JOKE ANYMORE.

160.230.251.184 (talk)18:16, 1 April 2012