“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.)

We took down the thread because we received more reports that it had gone sour - we also discovered that the OP probably wasn't posting in good faith, and that their contributions were posted in order to be inflammatory.

So, at the start it was reported for being goady and racist. It was left to stand with everyone told to "be polite". It then turned out to be goady and racist.

How come the users spotted this from the off, yet MNHQ who had access to behind the scenes info did not @MyGhoulMumsnet? Even when it was pointed out to them?

So. I’ve just checked my email and was delighted to see an email from mnhq.

Opened it and it’s a cut and paste of what’s been put here.

They just don’t get it

It's true people don't get racism towards the Irish I'm English went to English schools I know absolutely nothing about the Irish except the IRA and the good Friday agreement it's just not taught in school or discussed anywhere really,
the most I learned about Ireland itself was taught to me by a couple of Irish lorry drivers in a pub once I'm not proud of my ignorance by the way I'm actually ashamed of it which is why I didn't post on that thread because I knew my ignorance would show

The OP on that thread was out to be insulting and disingenuous from the start and you missed it. Don't try to wriggle out of it now by pretending there was some sort of high level debate going on about the merits of post colonial literature

Indeed. Plus it was very obvious that the OP had never read any Irish literature of any period. I really don't think we can recast this retrospectively as a debate about the postcolonial state, and the identification as Irish or British of writers who worked previous to Irish independence, that turned sour mid-way.

Bad call, MNHQ.

abbsisspartacus thanks for posting! This was my experience with British friends. They would make an Irish "joke", I would call them on it and they would be mortified as they hadn't known the history behind it. The history with Ireland is just not taught in schools.

I wonder if it is the same with other countries Britain colonised? To note I do think the term "colonised" could be argued when it comes to Ireland, as the history is more complex than that.

Wow!! What a non response MNHQ! How are you writing this stuff with a straight face? Perhaps you aren’t?

Not even an apology for making the worng judgement call. Just “we could have taken it down sooner. We’ve learnt from this and we’ll try to move faster in future.”

Is that it? Problem solved? Have you taken the time to read this thread and understand that this isn’t a one thread issue? This isn’t one poster and a few comments. This is woven in the fabric of mumsnet and it’s absolutely down to you endorsing it. It’s not good enough, your response to this thread is not good enough (understatement of the year) and your attitude to your Irish service users is appalling.

Step up MNHQ!

Urgh I’m so angry with that response from HQ!

And where an all-Ireland preference for a non-recurrence of the 'Troubles' is viewed as some kind of inconvenient minor obstacle to the clusterfuck of Brexit.

Istandwithposie me too. It’s adding insult to injury.

Sorry, my reply was to Mrsr8.

abbsisspartacus

Thank you for posting. I don’t think you’re ignorant. You didn’t know something, you listened to a person’s different perspective, took it on board and reconsidered your attitude to a subject (I hope!).

@MNHQ the reason people are here, labouring the point about prejudice, is because it is highly likely that it is going to get worse in the forthcoming months, particularly if the UK crashes out of the EU, without resolving the issues surrounding the UK’s border with the EU in Ireland. You need to prepare yourselves for moderating in that climate, where, clearly there are people ready to stir things up with goady threads.

Im gobsmacked that they think that response even touches the sides. What planet are you on @MNHQ?

@MNHQ have invited us to report anything that breaks talk guidelines. That’s exactly what happened over and over again yesterday but the thread was left to stand and even endorsed by a flippantly offensive comment from HQ. Please tell me why you type these empty words about reporting when you haven’t a single notion of acting on those reports?

What Mrs8 say it.

CraicMammy very good point. I'm too sleep deprived to think that far ahead!

The English are always trying to steal our successes. Take it as a compliment. Bless 'em.

E.g. Conor McGregor is English, unless he's arrested - then he's Irish.
Kay Burley asking US ambassador to UK which British favourites he prefers - asks him Bitter Ale or Guinness.
Pierce Brosnan is British apparently
Numerous examples.
Doesn't surprise me remotely that they would try to claim our great writers too.
Let them at it.

Oh and Terry Wogan and Graham Norton - British apparently.

But yes, the ignorance of British people (moreso the English than Scottish or Welsh I would say) is astounding in its vastness. At least we are better educated.

Raydan lol! Worrying about it keeps me awake at night!

Innit

Katie Taylor, the poor girl, has also been accused of being British.

They still think they own us, so it's not surprising.