To think this racist should have been kicked off this RyanAir flight?

[WickedGoodDoge]

I’m not going to repeat the language this passenger used here, but basically he refused to sit next to a black passenger resulting in her being moved and staff asking the man if he was OK once she was moved.

RyanAir have released a terse statement saying it’s been referred to Essex Police

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/daughter-of-ryanair-racist-abuse-victim-speaks-out-following-on-flight-attack_uk_5bcb4379e4b055bc94811e92/

Oh, done be so bloody ridiculous, Verbeena.

How come other people see it too then?

There were some people who thought she might have provoked him, others who didn't believe he called her those things, and one who claimed her brother was on the flight and said the woman sarted it

Exactly, I'm not being ridiculous at all. They're THERE. If you've read every single post on it, you'd see them too. Maybe you don't see any of that as being racist and it's all completely fine to do that. Fair enough.

Even if she had provoked him, (I wasn't there, obvs, so no idea "who started it" -) what has insults about the colour of her skin got to do with ANYTHING?
That's flat out racial abuse even if she was being obnoxious (again, wasn't there so don't know who started it)

It is annoying that the woman was the one to move, when the man should have been moved or evacuated from the plain. And to crown it all, the abuser was been asked by Ryanair staff whether he's ok. Can you imagine. I see Ryanair staff's action as support to the racial situation.

The man was a filthy racist. End of. Anything the woman may or may not have done does not justify his response. The woman should have chosen who moved, on that basis.

Racist abuse in ILLEGAL, regardless.

Police have apparently identified the man

Reports remain that the incident started when the woman was slow leaving her seat - because she is old & disabled - to let in the man.
She didn't start it, other than "flying while black"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/23/man-in-ryanair-racism-incident-identified-police-say

He can only be prosecuted by the Spanish and only extradited there if the offences have at least a possible 12 month sentence
So Ryanair avarice / cowardice / incompetence have probably let him escape trial anywhere

I hope at least that he is permanently banned from flying and by all airlines.

They should have called the police in Spain to remove him before takeoff,

but that would have cost them money and their passengers time

• and judging by posts here and elsewhere online, most people wouldn't give up several hours of their time for justice when it's a stranger who is the victim.

When you ignore or minimise a victim, wait until it's your turn to need help or justice

Good that they've identified him and handed details over. Depressingly though, thinking about it, what can the Spanish police do about it realistically seeing as he flew straight back to the UK and away from them where it happened? Would they be able to do much about it?
They should have booted him off the plane there and then and dealt with it straight away instead of letting him flee.

He can only be prosecuted by the Spanish and only extradited there if the offences have at least a possible 12 month sentence

I was listening to an interview on a national radio station here in Ireland yesterday and under some aviation rule the racist should be prosecuted where the plane is registered which in this case is Dublin but it will probably be difficult to prosecute him since he's in the UK.

There’s a petition which has gathered over 250,000 signatures in less than two days asking RyanAir to apologise to the passenger and compensate her. I signed it, not because I think it’ll make the slightest bi of difference as to how RyanAir respond but hopefully to help show the woman that most of us are appalled at how she was treated.

www.change.org/p/ryanair-apologise-to-compensate-delsie-gayle-for-racist-abuse-on-your-flight?recruiter=302706221&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial.lightning_share_by_medium_message.control.lightning_2primary_share_options_more.control&utm_term=443678&utm_content=mit-13722308-1%3Av2&fbclid=IwAR3NrJqQIAZ9c3iXXrXWrUVmtxBJxBA7iaCmvPz6lRMW95yYjfi3KyCuvjg

By most of us, I don’t mean MN (and therefore implying that some here don’t)- I mean generic, in the world most of us!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-45966287

bbc.co.uk
Ryanair racism: Mayor says victim has Barcelona's full support
3-4 minutes

Barcelona's mayor has said the city will not take the racist abuse of a woman on a Ryanair flight "lying down".

Delsie Gayle, 77, was on a flight from Barcelona to Stansted when a man, named as David Mesher, began insulting her.

Ryanair has been criticised for its handling of the incident, with a petition calling for the airline to apologise and compensate Mrs Gayle gaining more than 230,000 signatures.

Mayor Ada Colau said Mrs Gayle had the Catalan capital's "full support".

Mr Mesher, believed to be in his 70s and from the Yardley Wood area of Birmingham, was filmed by fellow passenger David Lawrence.

Ms Colau thanked Mr Lawrence for bringing the incident to the public's attention.

In a statement on Facebook, she said: "Above all, we want to express our solidarity with the victim and our repudiation, not just of the racist, shameless, rude man that perpetrated this act of violence and hate, but also of the company for making the woman move seats, rather than the person guilty of the verbal attack, who deserved to be removed from the plane and taken straight to a police station. "

Officers from Essex Police are currently investigating the incident.

Ryanair said it has contacted Mrs Gayle's family but could not make further statements while an investigation was under way.

Ms Gayle said she felt "very low" about the incident and it had discouraged her from flying with the low-cost airline in future.

She told ITV News: "I feel really depressed about it. I go to bed and say, 'What have I done?'.

"I haven't done anything to attack him, it's because of the colour of my skin I was abused like that."

The row erupted on Ryanair flight FR015 at Barcelona Airport on Friday before it left for London Stansted.

Essex Police said it was investigating and would pass on information to the Spanish authorities in due course, in line with national protocols.

Mr Mesher lives in sheltered retirement accommodation and has refused to speak to reporters outside his home.

His housing provider Optivo said: "We do not condone abusive behaviour in any form.

"As this matter is now being handled by the police we are unable to make any further comment at this stage."

Wow, Wicked, when I looked at that petition the other day when another poster linked it there were only three signatures - now there are 260,000 signatures!!

Well now he's been named and the area where he lives has been published, it probably won't be long before he's wishing he was in prison.

Well now he's been named and the area where he lives has been published, it probably won't be long before he's wishing he was in prison.

I think that is appalling. Witch hunts are never the right action.

(And no, I don't think what he did was at all acceptable)

I agree with soupdragon and I NEVER agree with her!
I was listening to an interview on LBC the other day which involved the family member of someone whose mother had been online shamed for something similar. She had alcoholism and dementia and it had been circulated world wide.
Fine, video it, don’t post to be the hero on FB, take it to the police and the airline to be dealt with.

I think that is appalling. Witch hunts are never the right action.

Completely agree with that.

Or even a white man abusing an elderly white woman. but that would not have been racist abuse, it would have been abuse which whilst despicable would not be illegal.

Whilst I think that what he said was absolutely disgusting, a thought crossed my mind when I read this.
A relative of mine developed dementia when she was in her early 60's. Very quickly she went from the most mild mannered gentle woman who had friends of lots of races/religions to a violent, racist bigot who would shout out racist comments in the street.
I'm not saying that this is what's happening here, but it may be

@Shitlandpony if Ryanair had done the right thing and removed him from the flight the incident plus video wouldn't be news. He would also be anonymous.

if Ryanair had done the right thing and removed him from the flight the incident plus video wouldn't be news. He would also be anonymous

Ryanair really haven't covered themselves in glory here. If I were that lady, or her family, and it turned out I was unable to seek redress because Ryanair had queered the pitch, I'd be even more upset.

@Sugarplumfairy65 if the racist had dementia then how was he safe travelling on a plane on his own?

Stop making excuses for racism.

I wasn't for one moment suggesting that a witch hunt was an appropriate reaction but, sad to say, this is probably what will happen.
So he may not have been moved off the flight but he will probably end up being moved from his home for his own, and his neighbour's safety.
One of the many down sides of social media.

neighbours'

BlueBug45
Some people in the early stages of dementia would be able to travel alone. You clearly have no knowledge or experience of the disease.
I am NOT making excuses for racism, there is no excuse, but there MAY be a reason.

Btw...you have no idea what my ethnicity is do you? So piss off with your "making excuses for racism" shit!

It’s awful, as ex cabin crew they should have got the police and had the man arrested and removed. As for the guy who was filming, he had said he can’t believe no one intervened yet he sat filming and never said a word either.