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Original poster

MNHQ Racism policy

337 replies

ThePigOfHappiness · 31/12/2013 15:17

Hi,
I was just wondering if you could let us know when the racism policy has been amended? I'm sure following today's discussions on NI that it needs to be looked at.
It's clearly breaking the equality act to discriminate based on nationality as it is racist, yet MNHQ don't acknowledge this?
Ta

OP posts:
Pan · 31/12/2013 15:37

yes, from what I saw isni it got really tricky and HQ Rowan was unsure, which she said she was. Being Irish, or 1st gen (me) you prob have a better grasp. I thought Rowan struggled with it, but many people would but she was also honest about that and said they'd look into it. We can't rely as easily as we normally do re definitions when NI and ROI are discussed, and it takes a lot of care and movement-on-feet to not offend when talking about this,imo

isnirelandanation · 31/12/2013 15:37

I'm upset to the point of tears over it.

I've had my nationality just thrown away and told it doesn't matter. That's what it feels like.

I think HQ got it wrong and I think Rowan got the tone wrong at times and I found what she said really really really offensive when she said "ah well" and put grins. Which I know she didn't mean to be offensive but her tone was just so wrong.

Original poster
ThePigOfHappiness · 31/12/2013 15:34

I'm actually really glad I'm not alone in feeling like this, I was beginning to think IWBU (a first for me!)

OP posts:
isnirelandanation · 31/12/2013 15:34

Exactly.

Original poster
ThePigOfHappiness · 31/12/2013 15:33

My point on the racism policy is the just the sheer inequality of it, which is so paradoxical! How can a policy on racism be unequal?!
IMO when MNHQ was made aware if the discrepancy, it should have been corrected. Not just as a courtesy or because it's in the equality act, but because that's what's right and MN had always been so fair towards everyone ime.
I know the site is UK based and there aren't a lot of Irish posters proportionately, but we still matter! Or I thought we did until we were dismissed so casually (accompanied by an inane P.A. smiley)

OP posts:
isnirelandanation · 31/12/2013 15:29

To be clear. It's not just the attitude of the OP that I'm offended and upset by. It's the attitude of HQ and some of the dismissive comments made by HQ on the thread.

Wevet · 31/12/2013 15:27

Yes, will be interested in follow-up on this one. I appreciate that it's New Year's Eve, and presumably many MNHQ staff are off, but I was honestly appalled by the way in which the NI thread was dealt with. It suggested to me that Mn is a less enlightened environment than I had, perhaps naively, believed. I will be looking about for some form of reconsideration of MN policies as a result.

Pan · 31/12/2013 15:26

Here we are as well!
So..
Yes they can be. And often are as we know. That isn't contentious at all.
What I was going to post prior to the zapping was this:

I was looking at it from the EA2010 POV. No, having your race/nation slurred isn't acceptable and it's up to HQ to decide what to do about that on their site. The term racist was being flung around as if the OP's words automatically qualified for that and so this thread should be zapped for that reason. And I was saying it doesn't qualify, ime (of tribunals). Of course as Honey says perhaps it should be zapped for just being thoroughly offensive to lots of MNers.

You'll have a variety of legal opinion on this.

Having said that HQ can develop their own 'policy' outside and more exact than legislation.

isnirelandanation · 31/12/2013 15:25
Smile
Original poster
ThePigOfHappiness · 31/12/2013 15:24

Oh I didn't see any other threads, sorry :)

OP posts:
wannabedomesticgoddess · 31/12/2013 15:22

:)

isnirelandanation · 31/12/2013 15:18

Oh I have a thread too - I'll ask for mine to be deleted.