O/T Racism- yes kow

[Trickytreesreds]

we've covered this before.

However, this was such a howler it had to be said.
Azeem Rafiq has been causing a **** storm over racism in the cricket circles.
The press have been over it, fingers have been pointed, then this happens.
It seems that sometimes you have to be careful of your own past before slinging mud,

https://www.euronews.com/2021/11/18/...et-england-yor

A skeleton in the closet, doesn't stay there for very long.


ps fat fingers on a phone for the title

[Geoff Parkstone]

fat fingers on the link too I think, I dont see anything in the Tino Best article that reflects on Rafiq's character, or maybe Im missing something?

[Trickytreesreds]

fat fingers on the link too I think, I dont see anything in the Tino Best article that reflects on Rafiq's character, or maybe Im missing something?

Yearh quite right, God knows what happened there?
https://news.sky.com/story/azeem-raf...-2011-12471813

[Andy_Faber]

Yearh quite right, God knows what happened there?
https://news.sky.com/story/azeem-raf...-2011-12471813

As I've said before there are no clean hands (or in this case, minds)

[MadAmster]

I'm not sure 67 year old me would fancy being hammered for things 17 year old me did and said back then. Times are different. I'm different...... except for the millimetred haircut.

[Trickytreesreds]

As I've said before there are no clean hands (or in this case, minds)

I agree.
I think the point here, is that racism is never acceptable. Though those screaming it, have a habit of looking foolish when their misdemeanors surface.
You don't have to look much futher than Labours antisemitic disease, whilst championing causes like the Lebonan
My old mate Miss Abbott is a classic as well.

My pet hate is how the press joins in these witch hunts, whilst ignoring reverse racism.

[Geoff Parkstone]

Before this goes much further, can I just say two words.

Ollie Robinson

Villified for this precise reason, social media racist / ***ist comments of a questionable nature made during his early years as "an unknown" 9 years ago, as I recall. Banned from a test match etc and otherwise given a hard time for it (quite rightly)

Without being able to study either lots social media posts, which rapidly disappeared, to be sure, they sound as though the pair of them have done virtually exactly the same thing. If one is unacceptable, why is the other being played down?

Is an Asian person uttering antisemitic remarks somehow less unacceptable?

I understand what you are saying, MA, and I probably did or said things as an 18 year old that I now regret, but a precedent has been set by the actions of the TCCB etc less than 6 months ago. Granted there is little point barring Rafiq from cricket, as I believe he has no county, but this cannot go "unpunished" otherwise we make a mockery of everything we are trying to achieve in kicking racism out of sport. It would send a terrible message and give licence to those so inclined to think they can say what they want.

[ramAnag]

The saddest thing about all this is, imo, the excitable urgency that certain posters have shown to condemn Azeem Rafiq rather than consider the issues that were raised last Tuesday.
Such was Tricky’s delight that his fingers got all jumbled up leaving me at a loss as to what the actual title of the thread is meant to be.
Azeem Rafiq is probably hugely embarrassed by having been exposed as having used racist terminology himself...and rightly so.
As MA says...many of us, in some former ‘incarnation’, will have said or done things that we now struggle to justify or ‘own’.
Lenny Henry learned a large part of his ‘trade’ with the ‘Black and White Minstrels’ for goodness sake.
What isn’t acceptable however is for Azeem Rafiq’s apparent hypocrisy/embarrassment to cloud the very real issue of institutionalised racism in cricket or any other sport.
We don’t need a ‘witch hunt’ but the issues he raised still need addressing and the fact that an example of his own flawed behaviour has since emerged makes no difference whatsoever to the issues that need investigating.

[Ramshank72]

The bloke has spoken out about wrong doings, and his doing so may actually improve life for other victims who may not be able to speak out. The fact that he's done wrong himself shouldn't deter from protecting others. It's not about the punishment of the club and it's people, nor the punishment of the individual, its about making things better that should be the focus.

[Andy_Faber]

The saddest thing about all this is, imo, the excitable urgency that certain posters have shown to condemn Azeem Rafiq rather than consider the issues that were raised last Tuesday.
Such was Tricky’s delight that his fingers got all jumbled up leaving me at a loss as to what the actual title of the thread is meant to be.
Azeem Rafiq is probably hugely embarrassed by having been exposed as having used racist terminology himself...and rightly so.
As MA says...many of us, in some former ‘incarnation’, will have said or done things that we now struggle to justify or ‘own’.
Lenny Henry learned a large part of his ‘trade’ with the ‘Black and White Minstrels’ for goodness sake.
What isn’t acceptable however is for Azeem Rafiq’s apparent hypocrisy/embarrassment to cloud the very real issue of institutionalised racism in cricket or any other sport.
We don’t need a ‘witch hunt’ but the issues he raised still need addressing and the fact that an example of his own flawed behaviour has since emerged makes no difference whatsoever to the issues that need investigating.

You are are missing OUR collective point, that (to put it in simple terms) depite the 'crime' being the same whoever the perp and whoever the victim, the punishment currently is not the same. Geoff's post sums it up calmly and fairly IMO