I live in the States (obviously!) and am also on a pilot forum. I had attempted to write the word “bigger” and had inadvertently used the letter next to the”b” instead (which was an “n” not a “v” for the smart arses!), hit “submit” and walked away!
When I came back to the computer later in the day, it had blown up....even though the n word was completely out of context and anyone with a scintilla of sense would have realized the mistake and read the word as “bigger.”
Was threatened with a ban, told (in no uncertain terms) it could not be tolerated, and on and on and on! The mere presence of a SPELLING MISTAKE that was a forbidden word (because I’m white, of course!) was almost unrecoverable!!!
In Bernardo’s case, it appears clear that he is going to have to go to some “education” class to be “reprogrammed” so he isn’t a racist!!! Maybe Mendy and Mbappe should go with him?!
Whether it is smart or not, we are reaching a faux outrage tipping point, because what is ACTUALLY happening is that people are simply using instances like this to SHAPE YOUR LANGUAGE AND YOUR THOUGHTS....and it is a slippery slope!!
I’m all for moving forward and leaving racist tropes behind, but it should be SOCIETAL NORMS that determine such things, not organized lynch mobs. It should be people simply saying “I don’t agree with that” and UNliking a person, as opposed to all the “some organization we made up should punish him!”
Can no-one make a mistake anymore? Is there no “Hey mate, you know what....” anymore? Has tribalism become SO poisoned that we simply slay people for a misstep, or a simple cultural misdeed, where no one gets physically hurt, and even the “victim” claims no injury???
Legislating taste harms society. Society has to use its collective strength to simply turn its back on such things, so that people understand it is no longer a norm, no longer accepted, no longer funny...but NOT NO LONGER ALLOWED! “Allowed” signifies a curtailing of the freedom to look like an idiot, a buffoon, a culturally inappropriate fool, and is determined by overzealous, politically correct zealots who seek to gain from their zealotry, as opposed to allowing society to simply turn its back on such behavior and allow society to move on.
Bernardo needs to learn that highlighting a person for their racial characteristics, especially cartoonishly exaggerated ones, isn’t a trope that is deemed socially acceptable anymore by wide swaths of society, especially in the hyper-PC Britain of 2019, where he works. He is young, and I’ve no idea how intelligent he is or how small his bubble is, but he is learning the lesson publicly. That sucks for him, but let’s not act like he is walking around stabbing people, or calling everyone of color a N*****!
I’d imagine someone at the club has already had a word. I also imagine the FA and their “Kick It Out” robots will have a word AND MORE, and he will have to go to “Re-education Camp” where he can be taught to be a Borg (Star Trek reference, not a Scandinavian reference, as I wouldn’t want to offend any Scandinavians!) and have some of the life sucked out of him.
Thankfully, he is SUCH a nice, decent, funny bloke, most reasonable people will be able to put this down to a lack of awareness, as opposed to malice, and we can move on. However, THE NEXT TIME.......? He is now “on the list” and his misstep has been saved to hard drives across the world for future use.
This is who we are now. You’ve been warned.
