How can this not be ‘racial intolerance’?

[Songbird]

here

wtf?

So using school laptop to post private views online during lessons is ?misconduct? but not what he was saying!?

Trouble is, we're getting it 3rd hand: his words, edited and communicated to the court, edited again and communicated to the journalists, edited again and communicated to us. His membership of theBNP influences our interpretation. I would hesitate to brand him with racial discrimination without seeing more if what he wrote.

"racial intolerance", not "racial discrimination"

Yes you're right. I think it grated so much because he's a teacher. And it was the fact that because he's not targetting any particular racial group it's not racism .

I?m very tolerant and liberal usually, but this case has got me all ?no grey area? . This bloke is supposed to be a role model for impressionable youngsters, and OK, he wasn?t spouting off to the class, but he was writing this stuff in class, and one of them could have seen. And now of course they?ll know?

Someone come and put my tolerant hat back on please!

Hahahah...his union rep was Pat Harrington...a massive nazi. Shame the idiots at the BBC were too ill-informed to mention it.

WHAT? Calling immigrants savage animals and filth is not racist?

How? Just... how??

Even without his membership of the BNP, his comments alone should have been enough to prevent him being allowed to teach.

Calling immigrants savage animals and filth is racist. How anyone could possibly argue otherwise is beyond me.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.

He has got round it on a technicality.
As he was talking about all immigrants, be they caucasian or black or asian or whatever, he can't be racist as he was talking about people belonging to different races.

He was just being an intolerant cunt. Unfortunately they didn't charge him with that
At least he has to state the terms of the case when he looks for a new job, so with any lluck he won't get work anywhere. Nobber.

It's 'freedom of speech'. e.g.JackBauer uses the 'c' word to make a point and, although it probably offends a lot of people, it will stay there unedited. Same principle applies to the teacher. We may not like what they say but that doesn't mean they can't say it.

Chil
Would you want him teaching your children?

It stops being a "freedom of speech" issue when the person is a teacher.

He surely has some immigrants in his school, in his classes. Are we to just hope that he merely thinks these things, and does not let his political opinions influence his teaching and the way he treats students?

Check out the BBC news website and see this arrogant individual toasting his victory with a grinning Nick Griffin by his side. I despair.

I doubt he'll find it easy to get anyone to hire him as a teacher again though, that's something.

There is a vast range of legally held distasteful opinions out there and people in all kinds of jobs hold those distasteful opinions. Misogynists, homophobes, racists, fundamentalist religious... all very common. And the answer is 'yes' actually... in order for society to function we have to assume that people can repress their baser instincts and prejudices, operate within the law and carry out their jobs properly regardless. If they don't, if they break the law, if their work is affected then they must pay the price.. of course they must. Once we start trying to police thought rather than judge people by their actions we have a problem.

He reckons his career is in tatters and was flanked by griffin and pals - he's looking for role within the BNP.

I'd be deeply unhappy if he were to teach in my kid's school.

But he got off on a technicality as although it was obvious what he was getting and full of hate,he did not single out race(s) for this hate.

I assume he was sacked for using school property and time for this stuff?

he will become nick griffins protegy - bet they are loving all this "positive" exposure!

"I'd be deeply unhappy if he were to teach in my kid's school."

You have to consider that out of the misguided people who voted BNP in the last election (and there were quite a few) there are bound to be several teachers, policemen, doctors, and other influential people amongst their number. Most of them won't blab their affiliations publicly but they do exist quietly among us. This man has come to the fore for expressing xenophobia but, be under no illusion, he won't be in a minority of one.

Surely he is in breach of his employers equal opportunities policy?

The BNP is very string-em-up in its views on law and order in general. Without any specific context I'd probably assume that a BNP member talking about "protecting the rights of citizens against the savage animals New Labour and Bliar (sic) are filling our communities with" was on a rant about how criminals don't get automatic life sentences for dropping gum in the street rather than referring to a particular racial group.

It sounds from the reporting as though the word "immigrants" was also used, although it's far from clear whether it was in relation to the "savage animals" point rather than in a separate rant.

The committee is probably technically correct that if someone is ranting about "immigrants" as a group they are ranting about people from almost every imaginable racial group and hence not specifically targeting one or more racial groups. I bet they were relieved that they had an open-and-shut case on the misconduct charge.