Gary Lineker - he really had to go and a warning t against virtue signalling

And we come full circle to how common is the knowledge that the “rat” being anti semite and did he intend that message or just the message that being silent in the face of evil is complicit.

Speak up and stand for people's rights, absolutely. Posting antisemitic tropes is not doing that.

What I should or shouldn’t be aware of is fairly subjective. I don’t believe I am racist. I personally would not compare people to rats not least because it isn’t a very good image to describe the ferocious slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents. Anyone who supports the bombing of Gaza is supporting the slaughter of Palestinians. They disgust me and the vast majority of people both in the uk and beyond.

People should be free (as they are in the uk) to speak up when they see wrong.

He’s on the right side of history.

Yes I do really. I think we should be free to speak but obviously there are consequences. (Eg your employer could sack you?).

A million times this! History will not look kindly upon those of you have supported Israel's actions. If there is any justice in this world Netanyahu and co will end up on trial for crimes against humanity. Hamas leaders too.

I submitted a formal complaint to the BBC, not that I was ever expecting them to do anything meaningful in response. Their inaction over SA and now Lineker are disgraceful. I am still ruminating over whether Lineker should be reported to the police re. (now removed) racist/provocative 'rat' social media posts. I'm undecided.

He's a football pundit. Should have stuck to that and kept his trap shut. Sick of these people getting involved in stupidity and thinking they're political activists.

Yes of course it’s subjective. But it’s clear that anyone who genuinely cared about racism to any significant degree would have thought about how anti-Jewish racism manifests.

Freedom of speech is not absolute in the UK is it? We are not allowed to incite violence (that’s a criminal offence) and it’s very common for employers to place restrictions on what people can say in certain circumstances. Do you think there should be absolute free speech in all circumstances?

What I should or shouldn’t be aware of is fairly subjective. I don’t believe I am racist. I personally would not compare people to rats not least because it isn’t a very good image to describe the ferocious slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents. Anyone who supports the bombing of Gaza is supporting the slaughter of Palestinians. They disgust me and the vast majority of people both in the uk and beyond.

People should be free (as they are in the uk) to speak up when they see wrong.

What I should or shouldn’t be aware of is fairly subjective. I don’t believe I am racist. I personally would not compare people to rats not least because it isn’t a very good image to describe the ferocious slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents. Anyone who supports the bombing of Gaza is supporting the slaughter of Palestinians. They disgust me and the vast majority of people both in the uk and beyond.

People should be free (as they are in the uk) to speak up when they see wrong.

The rest of my post dealt with the fact that you should be aware of it as a trope, if you have any interest in avoiding being racist. And that even if you’re not, it should be clear that comparing people to rats is extremely problematic. You’re ‘disgusted’ by people who support ‘slaughter’ [this is a straw man; suggesting that everyone who supports the war does so because they want Palestinians dead]? Do you think these people should be exterminated like rats? Do you think the rat imagery is fine?

If everyone says exactly what they think (particularly when what they think = Israelis are rats) how do we trust the BBC to be impartial?

I detest the self-righteous smugness of people who say this. They have designated this as the most important issue in the world but in a pluralistic democracy you don’t get to dictate what is important to other people. I’m allowed to think the war in Yemen is more important, or climate change, or something else. It’s not possible to care and advocate for everything.

It’s classic left wing totalitarianism and the reason why the left in particular are so vulnerable to groupthink.

Gary Lineker does not care if the BBC sacks him. He doesn’t need any more money-so he is in a perfect position to say whatever he likes. Like drawing attention to a genocide.

Part of Gary's difficulty, and I say this as someone who's agreed with a number of his stances in the past, is that he's combined an anti-Semitic trope with statements about silence as compliance. If you're going to tell people that not speaking about something is a problem, you're setting a very high standard of behaviour for yourself there, whatever that thing is.

Gary Lineker does not care if the BBC sacks him. He doesn’t need any more money-so he is in a perfect position to say whatever he likes. Like drawing attention to a genocide.

Absolutely. I had always been a supporter of Israel, but now the things that Netanyahu is doing make me want to throw up. He is evil, and some of the people around him are too.