To be shocked and saddened by the amount of bigotry on this site

[catgirl1976]

I am fairly new on here and whilst I appreciate that it is an open forum and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, I have been exposed to levels of bigotry, ignorance and racism on this site that have shocked me.

I guess I have just been a bit sheltered in that I haven't really mixed with people who hold views like this IRL and was fooling myself into thinking they had gone out of vogue.

I appreciate all sections of society are on this site so there will be a whole range of political view points and beliefs but I didn't expect to stumble into what felt like a BNP meeting on a parenting forum Am I being unreasonable or just stupid to have thought a lot of these views had died out out?

You may find that people stop trying to argue after a while, when a thread is getting unpleasant. Ideally, we'd all stay on and try to balance up the views expressed, but it's hard work. Personally, I didn't even open that thread because I could guess what it would be like.

The reason for not starting a thread about a thread is that it is better to challenge things right where you see them, and not go off at a tangent on a new thread.

I am too cheerful to get down and to pregnant to get drunk! Over tired I can do though :)

Catgirl, the person that started that thread also started (under a different name, but gave the game away) the thread about sending back immigrants for not sharing "our culture" - his Polish neighbours in particular, because they have noisy bbqs; and the one about bringing back capital punishment, where he/she advocated executing the mentally ill. I think this poster is a bit bonkers and not really typical of most people using this site.

yes, catgirl, you do have to take a minority of posters with a heavy dose of salt

there are people who take great delight in causing bunfights and shitstorms

don't take anything too seriously is my advice

Ohhhh thats good to know (well not good to know someone is starting posts like that but good to know they are a bit of an odd fringe element.) I think I will just ignore posts like that from now and not get dragged into it. Thank you!

and aslo, you can disagree with someone one thread and be in full agreement on another (just like RL)

in fact, your name seems familiar

you and I may have had a little spat-ette under a different name I use

also

Hello Catgirl

I am pretty new as well. In my short time i have discovered that as with RL there are some fruitcakes on here. If you decide to hang around you will start t spot them.

However, the majority of people are very nice, give good advice and are totally hilarious.

The good totally outweighs the bad....enjoy.

Oh dear! Hope I wasn't offensive! But yes I suppose me and that poster could well hold very polar views on race but be totally in agreement on tuition fees.

Am thinking if we had a spat it was either on fanjo waxing or pregnant smoking as they are the ones I have had so far

Still I do like a heated debate when its with someone who makes good points and argues well!

nope, not had a spat about those subjects recently

hmm perhaps it wasnt me then. I had a bout of unreasonableness about ponies for boys but I didnt spat as that was light hearted :)

ah, catgirl, not a spat as such

have found it...it was on another thread you posted

I was giving you some well-meaning advice (the kind that can sting, tbh)

I was under the name AnyFucker

not going to link to it, but it was about division of labour within a relationship...ring any bells ?

and here we are

talking about another thread

< bangs our heads together >

oh yes! :) I didnt consider that a spat so much as I felt like the advice was coming from a nice place even when people were calling me a mug! And to be fair I think I look like one to most people (of course I am not going to admit to being one - looking like one I can fess up to - being one...not so much) :)

no, not a spat, and you did take the "advice" very well

so, rule number 1 ignore the nutcases

                  <strong>2</strong> don't take anything personally

                  <strong>3</strong> give as good as you get

looking good, so far

Oh please. While the article in The Sun was obviously racist (immigrant stealing jobs/resources/fill in the blank) it does raise the legitimate issue of how the NHS should be administered. Discussing this is not racist/bigoted in the slightest. The NHS is a finite resource and the UK is an unusual in that people do not have to have private health insurance nor any proof of entitlement. I don't think that to suggest how the system could operate so that those who are entitled are able to access health care and those who are not entitled either get the treatment they need on a clinical basis and then pay for it.

I don't get how this is racist/bigoted

cat just because I feel that this country cannot afford to provide free heath care for the world does not mean i am racist and a bigot, how insulting . Nor do I belong to the BNP, my mum is an Armenian immigrant here, so if the BNP got into power I am sure that me and my mum would have to go back to her homeland. What an insult. Well you dont start insulting people who do not agree with your idealistic views, get real.

Health tourism is a legitimate problem, and not only talking about the lady in the thread but generally people who come here from US, Canada, Africa, Armenia wherever so that they can just get the free health care. To disagree with it is NO

And the previous two posts display another reason why it's best to avoid a "thread about a thread" - because the original argument then spills over onto the new thread and then gets rehashed, which doesn't improve on the original situation, whatever anyone thought of it.

sorry is NOTHING to do with BNP or racism, stop playing the race card.

Thanks farside!

AMumInScotland: completely agree with you!

Totally agree with Amuminscotland and meditrina. Didn't know the rule - didn't understand it but now see EXACTLY why you shouldn't do it. Won't make that mistake again - apologies

OP I just ignored the recent bunch of threads of that nature. It gets tedious to acknowledge them after a while.