Knowing you and you knowing the player involved I'd say you'd see it for what it is, a harmless piece of banter between two mates, ill advised in todays climate maybe but made without a sniff of racism. Surely if the character was disrespectful or racist it would never see the light of day.Aside from the media POV, would I be allowed to feel 'uncomfortable' with it, Bill...?
I believe that he absolutely thought it was NOT an issue, or he wouldn’t have done it. He is a young guy who has grown up in a bubble....first in Portugal, where this is clearly not an issue, then in Monaco, where it clearly wouldn’t have been an issue, and now hypersensitive Britain, where it isn’t an issue to the two guys involved, who have grown up together during their adult lives, first in Monaco, then here!
I’m always amazed when the person who is supposedly victimized says they have not been victimized, then some NGO, quasi-authoritarian organization decides they know better than the victim and demand punishment for no offense meant or taken!!!
Mendy: I wasn’t offended!
KIO: Listen, we will tell you whether you were offended or not, not you! WE are the arbiters of what is and is not offensive, and will be offended FOR you! After all, maybe you are under duress....blink once for OK, twice for HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!, but smile if you’d just like us to fuck off and leave you alone!!!
Mendy: Blinks once and smiles, while taking a selfie for this Instagram moment, as KIO runs away into the distance in the background!
*sigh*
It doesn't work like that outside of your Ivory Tower on racism.
And I like you, but you're well short sighted on this.
Yes, join 9 years before you did.Wow, I now know how someone can get to 17,416 posts!
'People aren’t looking to learn from Barnes, but instead hear something which soothes their qualms and makes them feel their own behaviour is more acceptable. His work allows those who never seek to understand the cause, function and power of racism to go about their day.'
This is from a piece a couple of days ago by Carl Anka in The Athletic.
Barnes, who effectively told Jadon Sancho to shut up because he's not experienced real racial discrimination and defended Peter Beardsley as having a bit of banter, speaks for himself and not many others.
He's a man who, for whatever reason, has been selected as Sky Sports' mouthpiece whenever they need to wheel out a black man to get a certain take on a certain topic. The fact that he's in a privileged enough position where he can lie in his nice bed in his nice house and give these statements live on the news about Sancho not experiencing real racism because he's a privileged footballer reminds me of the equally tone deaf quotes from Samuel L. Jackson on Daniel Kaluuya a couple of years back.
John Barnes isn't a spokesperson for black people and he's not particularly sharp either. Some agree with him and many don't but, either way, I really wouldn't be using him as a yardstick for reason on the issue.
But I appreciate certain people want to see him as a full stop on the discussion.
Would this classify as racist abuse?Football Association increases minimum ban for racist abuse to six games
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49178952
Knowing you and you knowing the player involved I'd say you'd see it for what it is, a harmless piece of banter between two mates, ill advised in todays climate maybe but made without a sniff of racism. Surely if the character was disrespectful or racist it would never see the light of day.
Wow, I now know how someone can get to 17,416 posts!
Oh well, in 200 years I may reach that number!Yes, join 9 years before you did.