Batley Grammar School

[Brahumbug]

I am outraged that a howling mob of thugs has been allowed to gather at Batley Grammar School to threaten a teacher and demand his sacking. The headmaster has issued a groveling, spineless apology. The threats have been condemned by such as the National Secular Society. The cause if this nonsense? During a lesson on blasphemy, its self the ultimate victimless crime, the teacher showed cartoons of Muhammad. Free soeech is once agsin under attack by religious groups claiming special privileges for their beliefs, absolutely disgusting.

Those poor pupils who were distressed by a satirical cartoon, imagine how distressed they must be by a mob of extremist bullies outside their school.
The headteacher should be ashamed and teaching unions should get a backbone and defend this teacher.
As to why he may have done this - it’s his job to educate, to challenge, to broaden minds and encourage questioning. Had concerns been raised as part of the lesson, they would have enhanced the debate.

One thing I do not understand is why do people always stay stuff like "you can never condone killing someone." 100 percent no one denies that. But what people are also forgetting to realize is that you can be against both. You can be against brutal murderers and propaganda like Charlie Hebdo who do publish cartoons that are racist like they did with Megan recently. What are children supposed to get from a picture when they depict the Prophet in a stereotypical racist way e.g. bomb in his head implying that Muslims are also terrorists.

It is known in Islam that pictures are forbidden. Then why does some people use "freedom of speech" to depict something that is impossible and a false representation of the Prophet as no one knows what he looks like. And most of the pics stem from racism the idea of a suicide bomber and a guy with a long beard. As if that is accurate to depict someone. Trying to tell Muslims we know more about Islam than you is very patronising.

We should stay out of peoples lanes. It is something that is a common occurrence in this country. People thinking they can tell women how to live and what is/is not offensive. People thinking they can tell black people what is offensive and what is not.

And before someone says something racist like if you do not like this country leave. I thought people were free to have views in this country. What did he want to achieve by these cartoons? Should he be sacked? Nope. But he should be told he needed better preparation as I assume quite a lot of students who to this school are Muslims?

Those criticising the headteacher.. why don’t you stand up and publically defend this teachers actions, and put yourself and your family at risk. The teacher was irresponsible in using this material, whether he was morally right to do so or not is irrelevant in the aftermath.

The death threats are indefensible, but please don’t ask ‘the muslim community’ to take a look at itself. A group of Muslims protesting outside the school don’t make ‘the Muslim community’.

Exactly and now we will see more of things like 'Muslims needs to do more to call out'

When do white people call out racism? Why is it when something happens the Muslim community always has to fix? But when you see white people doing wrong no one asks them to check their community or ask why they are behaving like that?

The teacher acted entirely responsibly. I am prepared to stand up and fight against this kind fascism. That is why I am calling on the unions to start a campaign.
Charlie Hebdo is not racist. You need to read it again more carefully if you that was the impression you got. You have misunderstood.

White people call out racism all the time!

I’m all for freedom of speech, and teaching students to question things. I can’t understand though why a teacher would show the image when they must have been aware of the furore it could cause. I also don’t blame the headteacher for the stance he has taken.

I'm half indian and grew up in halifax/bradford. I know the culture well. These types of muslim men/boys have zero respect for anyone else, hate all white people, frequently talk about (and do) raping white women as they're always 'up for it'. The hatred towards anyone not muslim is shocking and they are the most racist of all.

And anyone who does not think Charlie Hebdo is not racist needs to get their brain checked. Have you lived in France? They use satire as an excuse to bully minority groups they have done it with: Muslims, Jews, black people etc. Just cause you think Hebdo aren't racist does not mean you are right. Ask most black people what they feel? The ones who support Hebdo are mostly white French people who have no idea what it is like to live in a country where minorities are always targeted. It isn't just Hebdo but other magazines are equally as racist.

It is sad to see how on Mumsnet we have most people who say men need to check their privilege. 100 percent right. But when it does not concern them, e.g. race issues they turn a blind eye and do the same to what a lot of men do stuff like "it is not racism" "I have never been racist" etc...

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/31/racism-investigation-after-french-magazine-black-mp-slave-daniele-obono-valeurs-actuelles

@NEVERQUIT3331

One thing I do not understand is why do people always stay stuff like "you can never condone killing someone." 100 percent no one denies that. But what people are also forgetting to realize is that you can be against both. You can be against brutal murderers and propaganda like Charlie Hebdo who do publish cartoons that are racist like they did with Megan recently. What are children supposed to get from a picture when they depict the Prophet in a stereotypical racist way e.g. bomb in his head implying that Muslims are also terrorists.

It is known in Islam that pictures are forbidden. Then why does some people use "freedom of speech" to depict something that is impossible and a false representation of the Prophet as no one knows what he looks like. And most of the pics stem from racism the idea of a suicide bomber and a guy with a long beard. As if that is accurate to depict someone. Trying to tell Muslims we know more about Islam than you is very patronising.

We should stay out of peoples lanes. It is something that is a common occurrence in this country. People thinking they can tell women how to live and what is/is not offensive. People thinking they can tell black people what is offensive and what is not.

And before someone says something racist like if you do not like this country leave. I thought people were free to have views in this country. What did he want to achieve by these cartoons? Should he be sacked? Nope. But he should be told he needed better preparation as I assume quite a lot of students who to this school are Muslims?

You’ve hot the nail on the head. I live locally and my daughters go to a school that is part of the same academy as bgs. As Muslims, we are fed up of having to always defend out beliefs.

I absolutely disagree with any kind of protests, they don’t achieve anything but it’s been a very distressing time for all Muslims. I cannot think this teacher, an educated man, would not have understood that his actions would have repercussions. I personally know children who were in this class and it was shocking to them as we are explicitly not allowed to any depiction of the Prophet.

@Newrumpus

White people call out racism all the time!

Not really a lot of times you get the equivalent of privileged men

"not all men"

"I am not racist" "I don't see colour"

Like men do not understand the life of a woman a lot of white men/women are not aware the struggles a black person may face.

@Imsosorryalan75

I'm half indian and grew up in halifax/bradford. I know the culture well. These types of muslim men/boys have zero respect for anyone else, hate all white people, frequently talk about (and do) raping white women as they're always 'up for it'. The hatred towards anyone not muslim is shocking and they are the most racist of all.

You talk as if it is only Muslim men raping women.

Rape is a worldwide problem and the men that do these crimes are all races, religions etc..

And when you mean "these type of Muslim men" that is quite a generalisation. So you know every single one of these men?

I do not get why people need to do this. When the offender is non White people love to focus on their race/religion and act like activists and how savage and barbaric these kind of people are (something we see from the EDL frequently.)

We should be able to stand up for British values and standards though. We do not sack people for discussing something.
I would have enjoyed a discussion on this at school. Both sides discuss not one side shut down the other. A discussion is only that. All of the students may have ended up agreeing the photo isn't good but this is not allowed for some daft reason.

Also, Muslims and non Muslims should be treated exactly the same by the police when they mob an area. Not one rule for one and one rule for another.

Just because you disagree doesn’t mean I am wrong!

CH ridicule everyone. Not just minorities.

@BarbaraofSeville

I suspect a good many of the people signing the petition now are not directly connected with the school.

The speed the signatures are racking up looks more like its gone viral amongst different sectors of the political and social community. Very concerning.

and this matters why? I'm not directly connected to the school, I do not think this teacher should be subjected to abuse and threats, unable to return to his job and livelihood because a group of people with extreme views have parked up outside a school and are instilling fear in kids and staff. How many of those people outside the school were directly connected to it?

@H1978 I do feel sorry for you guys. I have seen first hand of the racism and attacks that Muslims go through. They range from: women getting their hijabs ripped off, spat at, being asked why the attacker/bomber behaved like this etc....

The teacher should not be sacked rather he needs more awareness of the religion. If this teacher was RE teacher surely he should have thought of what religions think of pictures of figures? We see some people here saying 'well Christian figures were also drawn.' Well that is not a fair comparison. In Christian households, a lot of them have pictures, paintings of Jesus or the Virgin Mary and other figures. Similarly, if they used pictures to mock Christianity that is not also okay. We need to learn to be respectful of one another of all religions.

People actually think the infamous CH image, which was essentially French people laughing in the faces of the people they oppressed and murdered over many decades, was a perfectly acceptable thing to publish?

World’s gon’ mad.

I wonder what the poor offended pupils .( .parents most likely plus agitators) think when they watch ( and I'm sure they do ) videos of Islamic punishments..beheading, amputations , stonings ...plus the stories of Saudi women imprisoned for driving ..this is a cultural as well as religious issue that all the wrong people want to exploit and all the right people want to ignore.

Oh and Charlie Hebdo regularly mock Christianity and Catholicism , and so far no member of Opus Dei has rocked up with a kalashnikov.

@SwitchUp

People actually think the infamous CH image, which was essentially French people laughing in the faces of the people they oppressed and murdered over many decades, was a perfectly acceptable thing to publish?

World’s gon’ mad.

Yeah course having a track history does not make them racist?

What they did to Alan Kurdi was the worst? Apparently, if he was alive he would be a groper in Germany. Yep nothing wrong with that is there?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35306906

The police are reluctant to intervene with the mob because they are afraid of being accused of racism, just as, for the same reason, they allowed gangs, mainly Asian, to groom scores of young girls.

I can't imagine a child actually feeling distressed at such a thing.

To actually get to that mental state as a child that they would be deeply upset?

Entirely agree with you everything you say @BuggerBognor. I think we need to be less respectful of all religions. Some of us came to this country in the hope that our children would learn to do exactly that.