“Racism” towards the Irish on here

[Giantbanger]

Can we please talk about it and can you please get your mods some training.

There was a thread that stood from yesterday. The op was goady and people were reporting the fuck out of it from yesterday.

It went this morning because the op was previously banned for being goady. No surprises there then.

But it contained a post from a member of MNHQ that really bothered me and I would like to discuss.

Add message | Report | Message poster EstherMumsnet (MNHQ) Mon 29-Oct-18 19:43:38
Hello!
Thanks for all the reports on this one. We'd like to leave this up as it's a pretty interesting discussion - one for the colonial/post colonial literature experts perhaps (yes - we know there's an argument over whether Irish literature counts as such!) - so please keep to the spirit of the site when discussing this and make your points politely. Thanks

So if there’s a “racist” thread about the Irish, it is an interesting discussion and the Irish need to be polite when telling racists they are racists.

(And Yes. I know in the dictionary definition Irish isn’t a race. It’s a subset ethnicity of Caucasian but the term is used more broadly in general use than the dictionary definition.)

I’ve admitted I may have been unreasonable on that.

Throwing a paddy is the one that I find really offensive. A similar term deriving from any other derogatory name for an ethnic minority would not be tolerated. It is used regularly on MN though, and you always get posters saying “my Irish family use it all the time”. Bollocks they do.

Or else wide-eyed faux ignorance - “it has nothing to do with being Irish”

Throwing a paddy is the one that I find really offensive. A similar term deriving from any other derogatory name for an ethnic minority would not be tolerated.

Indeed. I've actually stopped reading those threads, because the string of faux-naïve posts (always involving some imaginary co-worker who finds Paddy jokes hilarious 'because she is able to laugh at herself, because that's what the Irish are like, they don't take themselves too seriously') do nothing for my blood pressure.

Has this thread been chosen for FB yet? I wonder why not?

Yeah sorry giantbanger, I was posting when you replied so didn't see your post where you said you overreacted.
I hope you get the resolution you are looking for.

Still nothing.

I have just reviewed this thread and have counted 57 individuals who have commented that anti-Irish sentiment is allowed unchecked on Mumsnet, and / or that @MNHQ’s response to @giantbanger ‘s original complaint is inadequate.

How many more complaints does Mumsnet require before if takes meaningful action?

It’s two pm on a Friday afternoon. They’re going to leave this in the hope we’ve let it drop by Monday morning.

Should we all report this thread again now? I think we need to share this thread across the forum.

We should start our own metoo movement.

I’ve reported again.

Hi all, apologies - we're definitely responding today. We'll post on the thread soon. Thanks for bearing with us so far.

And yes, giantbanger, you probably did overreact about the wain thing, but isn't that what happens when you feel you have to be on the defense? You're ready to fend off comments from everywhere so you're ready to do battle everywhere.
Indeed, that's how the Troubles started, with the civil rights movement being ignored and then things turned violent.

I know I probably over reacted but fuck me like we have been waiting for a substantive response all week and I’m completely pissed off.

Michaelmumsnet, please think carefully about what you write in your response. Your last comment only served to.pour petrol on the flames and showed how absolutely you did not understand the complaints being made.

Thank you Michael.

Well I for one am expecting magnificent things from this response that has taken the guts of 4 days to put together. It must be the best response ever. Can’t wait. Are you writing a thesis HQ?

We can't wait Michael. Oh, we have to...

#mise freisin

jane

#misefreisin

I love it!

Its honestly not just about the one thread that was mentioned in the op. Not at all anymore. It’s about - and was from the beginning - about the mod post and the general tone of mumsnet. The anti Irish stuff that stands for days (like the thread about the Irish border and Canada plus that stood for over a week and which I was told I hadn’t been specific enough when I reported the whole thread).

I’m not sure that hq really get it and I’m not sure that they will ever get it, but here’s hoping I’m wrong.

#mise freisin

😁😂 jane

I hope you’re not leaving the response until 5 minutes before you clock off @MNHQ

Well if they do craic, that gives us the whole weekend to consider it and respond accordingly, whatever that may entail.

Hello all,

Thank you all for posting here and sharing your thoughts.

We do take your point on ‘beyond the pale’, but there seems to be a general consensus among etymology types that it’s an idiom which has long evolved from its offensive historical context. Our approach is based on whether a term is currently used in an ordinary descriptive sense about a group of people and intended pejoratively. We don’t feel that is the case here.

We agree - and it's part of our Talk Guidelines - that we generally should delete posts which are deliberately designed to inflame - sometimes, as in this case, it takes a little time to establish that, however but we'll certainly think about (and do think about) how, as a moderation team, we can speed up our response time

The last thing we want is our Irish members (of which there are many) to feel unwelcome. Please do report any posts which you think are either deliberately inflammatory or racist or both and we promise to take a look at every report that comes in and to deal with them as speedily as possible.