“Racism” towards the Irish on here

Weighing in to add support to the complaint. And also to say things are going to get worse when the Irish border becomes a convenient scapegoat for the failure of Brexit negotiations. Get ready @MNHQ and get your house in order.

pleasegotowork I agree with you 100%

I can’t help noticing the glaring contrast between how this issue is dealt with by MNHQ and how a certain other issue is dealt with. They can’t act fast enough to delete when someone states a truth that isn’t fashionable to state.

Please excuse typos. I'm on my phone which sticks random stuff in. Hope my post makes sense.

@MNHQ this latest response from you underlines how ignorant MNHQ are about Ireland and our colonised past and its legacy to date. I have read so many threads where there are nasty and yes, racist, antI-Irish comments that are allowed to stand undeleted.

I am among those who worry with the approaching months and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit that the racism that has been under the surface for many years is now surfacing loudly again. In recent years, it was no longer OK to say 'No black, no Irish, no dogs' but the anti-Irish feelings were still there. But now you've got politicians openly making anti-Irish statements (JRM et al) so now it's OUT THERE again.

It's quite depressing to know the level of ignorance there is generally in the UK about Ireland and the UK's role in our history. 25 years ago, I had a conversation with an English student who was very cross when I said that Irish people always cheered for the team playing against England in Italia90. ( This was all pretty GFA and post GFA sentiments have been much more warmoney and fuzzy. ) HAvington I've never this student a tiny history of the impact of colonialism on our country as the reasons why there was resentment toward England, he responded that we 'should feel grateful to England for all our beautiful Georgian buildings. We civilised your country - you'd be running around in bearskins if it wasn't for us.' I had hoped that ato iTunes and general knowledge had changed in the interventing years but it seems not to have.
Many politicians don't understand it. ( This one in particular shocked me.
www.google.ie/amp/www.thejournal.ie/karen-bradley-northern-ireland-4223738-Sep2018/%3famp=1)
We do understand it. We have lived it. It's in our family historis, our community histories and in the interactions and the experiences and interactions we've had with people.

So don't, please, tell us when it's OK to be offended and when it's an interesting discussion. We've generally got thick skins and can debate with the best of them. But when we say it's offensive, and it was from the very OP, then please act responsibly.

'MNHQ's comment was a response to the discussion as it stood at the halfway point of the thread ' It had been pointed out from the very first response to the OP that it was racist and offensive but you chose to read it differently.

'We understand that many of you were offended by the tone of the discussion and we could have taken it down sooner.'
No. You SHOULD have taken it down immediately because it was offensive and racist. Not because you realised the OP was a goady fucker.

This is only going to become a more common problem in the coming months on MN and MNHQ needs to get its house in order.

What a shocker @MNHQ giving a non explanation again.

They still think they own us, so it's not surprising.

Katie Taylor, the poor girl, has also been accused of being British.

Innit

Raydan lol! Worrying about it keeps me awake at night!

But yes, the ignorance of British people (moreso the English than Scottish or Welsh I would say) is astounding in its vastness. At least we are better educated.

Oh and Terry Wogan and Graham Norton - British apparently.

E.g. Conor McGregor is English, unless he's arrested - then he's Irish.
Kay Burley asking US ambassador to UK which British favourites he prefers - asks him Bitter Ale or Guinness.
Pierce Brosnan is British apparently
Numerous examples.
Doesn't surprise me remotely that they would try to claim our great writers too.
Let them at it.

The English are always trying to steal our successes. Take it as a compliment. Bless 'em.

CraicMammy very good point. I'm too sleep deprived to think that far ahead!

What Mrs8 say it.

@MNHQ have invited us to report anything that breaks talk guidelines. That’s exactly what happened over and over again yesterday but the thread was left to stand and even endorsed by a flippantly offensive comment from HQ. Please tell me why you type these empty words about reporting when you haven’t a single notion of acting on those reports?

Im gobsmacked that they think that response even touches the sides. What planet are you on @MNHQ?

abbsisspartacus

Thank you for posting. I don’t think you’re ignorant. You didn’t know something, you listened to a person’s different perspective, took it on board and reconsidered your attitude to a subject (I hope!).

@MNHQ the reason people are here, labouring the point about prejudice, is because it is highly likely that it is going to get worse in the forthcoming months, particularly if the UK crashes out of the EU, without resolving the issues surrounding the UK’s border with the EU in Ireland. You need to prepare yourselves for moderating in that climate, where, clearly there are people ready to stir things up with goady threads.

Sorry, my reply was to Mrsr8.

And where an all-Ireland preference for a non-recurrence of the 'Troubles' is viewed as some kind of inconvenient minor obstacle to the clusterfuck of Brexit.

Urgh I’m so angry with that response from HQ!

Wow!! What a non response MNHQ! How are you writing this stuff with a straight face? Perhaps you aren’t?

Not even an apology for making the worng judgement call. Just “we could have taken it down sooner. We’ve learnt from this and we’ll try to move faster in future.”

Is that it? Problem solved? Have you taken the time to read this thread and understand that this isn’t a one thread issue? This isn’t one poster and a few comments. This is woven in the fabric of mumsnet and it’s absolutely down to you endorsing it. It’s not good enough, your response to this thread is not good enough (understatement of the year) and your attitude to your Irish service users is appalling.

Step up MNHQ!