MNHQ Racism policy

[ThePigOfHappiness]

Hi,
I was just wondering if you could let us know when the racism policy has been amended? I'm sure following today's discussions on NI that it needs to be looked at.
It's clearly breaking the equality act to discriminate based on nationality as it is racist, yet MNHQ don't acknowledge this?
Ta

The Pig, I think I may well be following in your footsteps.

I namechange all the time, but I've been on Mn for years, and have found it incredibly informative and supportive, particularly when I was an anxious older pregnant woman struggling with various decisions. I've always strenuously combatted the general media perception of Mn as a socially-irrelevant bunch of sweary harpies cackling about penis beakers and Cath Kidston.

I've been educated by things on the SN and Adoption fora in particular. I've done my best to be educational and helpful in return to genuinely baffled but interested posters on other threads to do with NI, Ireland, Irishness in general, academia, anything else I know about. But this has appalled and depressed me all day, and I am considering leaving the site permanently as a result.

Thank you Rowan for apologising but to be blunt. I honestly don't think you understand how far wrong you guys got it.

It wasn't just one poster, it was loads of Northern Irish and Irish posters telling you you got it wrong.

And there seems to be a lot of very offended and very very hurt posters here on this thread.

LifeofPo the thread did not say that. The thread really really did not say that.

I am not a bigot and I deeply refute your implication that I am.

Life of po your comments are inflammatory and ignorant. They were on the last thread they are here.

I think it would be a shame if this ended up driving people from the site. :(

The attitudes that I have seen on here lead me to think that perhaps some posters don't want to be educated, they have made up their minds. Somehow its easier to write of an entire country than to listen to what they have to say.

I could see how people wouldn't want to listen to individuals who plant bombs, or start riots. But what about the rest of us? There is a big gap between the violence and the everyday NIrish person.

Bit like the OP didn't call the whole of Northern Ireland anything and got away with it because she said "some", huh Po? sort of the same really, isn't it ?

No one is offended by being sick of violence.

It's the dismissive language, such as 'the flag business' and 'find something important to worry about' that's pissing most of us off.

Even saying "flegs" is mocking and rude.

It's akin to mocking someone speaking in an Indian accent with a sing song tone. And that would be racist and offensive.

But somehow because it's about Northern Ireland it's not.

::applauds Pig::

I have said it to you before Po, and I will say it again. The bomb alerts aren't connected to the flags. This xmas it was the bomb alerts that caused the most disruption.

You are correct that people in NI are appalled at the violence and the bomb alerts. But they are entitled to protest. Unionists were entitled to protest at city hall, and nationalists are entitled to protest at parades. Its annoying that these things descend into chaos. But what do we do, take away peoples right to speak up?

I saw the start of that thread and very glad i didnt read any more. Thanks to those (Tee amongst others) who posted to point out the utter bollocks being spotted and not standing for it.

That thread didnt surprise me however. There is a general sense of NI and Scotland being 'lesser' and a source of ridicule on MN. You just need to look at an Irish/Scottish baby names thread to see it "it looks like your toddler hit the keyboard and made those letters" "it sounds like a made up name". You would never get that on a muslim name thread. And rightly so because it is wrong.

Yes, wanna. That's what we should do.

Tell both sides they can't speak up when they feel injustice.

Because NI is actually just a small part of the UK and doesn't count and hundreds of years of violence and oppression doesn't count either.

[/sarcasm font]

::rolls eyes::

If you are sick of violence Po, you try to address the root causes if it.

Who supports violence? what a ridiculous way to make a passive aggressive point.

Would you be willing to hit a burglar with a baseball bat because they want to harm your children Po. violence is an extreme response to an extreme situation. Everyone is sick of violence but people need to be brought along not patronised.

If the original thread had been about bombers and burners needing to grow up, I doubt it would have lasted very long as 99.9% would have entirely agreed with that. So funnily enough that was clearly not what it was about.

We know feelings are running high and we're hoping this thread will allow everyone to express what they think, but that needs to be within Guidelines. If that can't happen then we're going to have to delete this. So please stick to the rules.

Pity you got deleted ThePig - you were absolutely spot on.

Do you actually understand why feelings are running high, Rowan?