Am I wrong in thinking people wouldn't be half as forgiving if a woman spat at a child?

[CherryChasingDotMuncher]

Jamie Carragher, ex-Liverpool player and Sky Sports commentator, spat at a 14yo girl when her father taunted him about a Liverpool loss over the weekend. Sky have suspended him.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/jamie-carragher-spitting-video-suspended-sky-sports-apology-manchester-united-liverpool-a8252001.html

He's apologised, and so he should. I didn't think the father was threatening, just having a playful dig at Liverpool losing (albeit it was dangerous to do it in a moving car!). IMO spitting at someone is fucking revolting and he's called it a 'moment of madness he can't explain'

Perhaps unsurprisingly there have been lots of people (including Gary Neville) showing their support for this scumbag. Lots of people sticking up for him on social media, I foresee a petition at some point.

Is it just me or if say Clare Balding gobbed on a child because she couldn't cope with a loss for her team, people wouldn't be so quick to jump to her defence? We know the incident was unreasonable - but I always notice these things barely impact on the men's lives and they have an army of people defending them. Look at Jeremy Clarkson who punched a colleague in the face. 3 million people signed a petition and he got a shiny new show. It begs the question - what does a bloke have to actually do before people will criticise or turn against him?

Cheat his team and/ or punters out of money.
What struck me about this was spitting was his first line of defence and automatic It clearly wasn't the first time he'd done it as it came so....naturally and easily. He just got caught this time. Fucking rank bastard. I've been spat on once when refusing to serve someone in a bar. It makes you shudder every time you think about it. Filthy.

Grotty Bastard.

Although I hope that the man driving his 14 year old daughter whilst videoing, taunting & not looking at the road gets the book thrown at him too.

The girl is the only one that comes out of this well, I can well imagine her sat there, embarrassed, while her dad was screeching at Carragher & then getting spat at for nothing!

Both of them could take some lessons in adult behaviour from her,

If it had been a woman it would have been a cat bin lady style uproar. I remember at a similar time to cat bin lady, some little fucker shot a cat up the arse with a pellet gun and it barely made the news. CBL was worldwide, headline news for weeks.

It's clearly what he does. Filthy git. The dad's a bit rubbish too. I think the girl could give lessons in dignity and restrained behaviour.

If you spit at the police it is deemed assault. Should be the same for caragher. Scum

6cats. Spitting at the police may be deemed an assault, but not much happens - seems to just be a case of "put on the spit hood". I have a friend whose daughter joined Met a couple of years ago - and being spat at is part of her job it seems.

Male sports stars seem to be teflon coated. They basically have to be caught in the act of something utterly unspeakable to lose the good will of the general public. It's says a lot about our society & it's shit.

The dad does need to be done for using the phone while driving. JC appears not to have been wearing his seat belt, possibly, which I hope they also investigate.

I think you are wrong, yes. Most normal people have been disgusted by Carragher's behaviour. As they would be if it was a woman (and I don't think they would be any more or less disgusted, tbh).

There's an expression "doubly deviant" when it comes to women and crime/anti-social behaviour.

Women are perceived as the nurturer, the strait laced sex who has to maintain a certain standard for her being the fairer sex, so when a female does commit a crime/behaves in a non-conforming way, they aren't just judged on their actions alone, they are further judged for having committing them as a woman.

I agree with you.

Totally agree.

I also agree that this probably isn't the first time he's spat at someone, he just got caught this time. So disgusting.

To be fair - a lot of the feedback from "the man in the street" appears to be of disgust - he'd probably have been vilified less for throwing a good "honest" punch at the dad....

YANBU. Also we would care a lot more if she had spat at a boy. On other threads people say "He didn't mean to hit her" Um she was directly in front of him... or "he probably thought she was older" I mean what the actual fuck The police should speak to him it's an offence.

But I actually think the father was a fucking shit bag and even worse as he risked his daughter's life to try and get a video to sell to the Sun, That was a pretty long time to not be watching the road, taunting a random on the other side of your car and filming it all! so actually I hope both arseholes get sat next to each other down the local police station. Whatever money he made off the video he should be required to put in a trust fund for his daughter.

Also so many men were saying "he couldn't help it he was goaded in to it". how the fuck does that work? Do these men not have any self control? He couldn't have possibly just ignroed and drove away, or even repoted the incident to the police

Dh is a Liverpool fan and a bit gutted I think

I saw JC's apology and it certainly sounded heartfelt.
But his quickness to spit suggests this is a habit.
What is wrong with people?

But his quickness to spit suggests this is a habit.

This is it. I have never, NEVER even had the thought of spitting at someone cross my mind. Even if I hated them, even if I was angry at them, it wouldn't even cross my mind that that is a thing I could do.

It's disgusting - actually, physically revolting. An apology isn't enough, there needs to be repercussions for doing something so completely unacceptable (and not just because there was a child in the car - it's unacceptable whoever he was spitting at)

And yes, the father also needs the book thrown at him for driving without due care and attention.

Spot on swivel, I agree with all you say there.

Bad behaviour goes on a lot. Men seem to get away with it often: Mike Tyson bit an ear, Suarez bit. Spitting is gross.

Spitting is gross.

Spitting at the child of someone you are arguing with is fucked up.

You have to be pretty confident that you wouldn't spit and have it end up all over your own face which does imply this isn't the first time.

But his quickness to spit suggests this is a habit. What is wrong with people?

Well it's never crossed my mind to react like that. And the huge mouthful of saliva he drew up before spitting it out suggests he may have had a little practice in spitting effectively.

Also so many men were saying 'he couldn't help it he was goaded in to it'

I don't know any men that said that.

Men seem to get away with it often: Mike Tyson bit an ear, Suarez bit

Neither of them "got away with it". They were both rightly vilified by the press and the public and both were punished severely by their respective sporting bodies.

I don't know any men that said that

That's.. nice?

Neither of them "got away with it". They were both rightly vilified by the press and the public and both were punished severely by their respective sporting bodies.

Yes Mike Tyson, known rapist, woman beater and Biter of ears.. he's been villified hasn't he?

You can tell from the boxers IMDB page.
www.imdb.com/name/nm0005512/

Yeah, he went to jail for the rape. You said these men got away with the thing's they've done, which they clearly haven't. I'm just stating the facts.

"That's nice" – constructive comment. Also works vs. your totally baselss comment that "so many men" are defending Carragher for his behaviour when 99% are not.

Maybe you will be happier with wording like

Despite being found guilty of carrying out certain actions

The public has made a lot of excuses for them
And it does not seem to have unduly affected their careers

Or something.

Even on MN there are loads of comments saying essentially that this spitting thing was not a great thing to do but not the end of the world

There is some really bizarre victim blaming going on as well

And early on there was some weird sense that the girl was an extension of the father and therefore it seemed reasonable for her to bear the brunt of the retaliaiton to what the dad had done, which I found particularly distubing, as I didn't realise this idea had any traction in the UK at all.