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Q. When do you sacrifice your principles and do a U turn on a stance you\'ve taken?
A. When it is later shown that you were wrong in your belief.
Believe it, or not, the reason I decided to quit NESA WASN\'T because of the racist comments. I could easily have dealt with them (as I have done so, several times in the past).
What REALY made my mind up to go was the support and (even worse), the apparent apathy the comments received.
By the time I\'d looked at the topic, which, by the way, WAS a valid topic for discussion, there had been several posts made. Unfortunately, these posts had NOTHING to do with the original subject and were becoming increasingly racist in their content. I was saddened to see that despite the topic having had many viewings, NOT ONE post had been made condemning any of the previous comments.
Over the past few days I\'ve had several venomous e-mails over the picture of the Klu Klux Klan I posted, with the caption \"The next NESA weigh in?\" At the time, it appeared that the views expressed and supported were views that many shared. As nobody had posted anything to the contrary, it was an easy assumption to make.
I know Gary has been made out to be a bit of a scapegoat in all of this (I\'ve had some of his comments from the Board e-mailed to me), but believe me, he wasn\'t alone in his views and I\'ve had NO \"threatening\" e-mails from him.
The picture was also meant to be provocative in another way, and I make no apology over my reasons for posting it:
As many seemed to think that all Sikhs were the same, all Muslims were the same, all asylum seekers were the same, in fact anybody with a different ethnic origin who lived in this country, could all be grouped together as \"them\", I thought, why not suggest that those making these comments were the same as \"them\"? in their case the KKK. Why not? They share similar beliefs. The posting of the picture got the expected reaction from some quarters.
They did not take too kindly being likened to such extremists. Funnily enough, most Sikhs, Muslims, etc, have a similar view, THEY aren\'t extremists, either. Similarly, asylum seekers aren\'t ALL here on \"the scrounge\". I\'m sure there\'s many more \"true Brits\"s, as someone called them, who abuse the welfare system than there are from overseas.
True to my word, (as I always try to be), I\'ve not been on NESA at all (save to post about Eltons\' £100 donation to the RNLI fund as I thought THAT was important to mention), since I said I was leaving. I\'ve had a number of e-mails in support of my actions. Some of which included quotes from posts on the Board. It would seem that my assumption that the lack of condemning posts = apathy was incorrect. Believe me, I was REALLY pleased to hear this.
However, if such a situation arises again, as I\'m sure it will, I hope that those who share my concerns over this issue WILL post their condemnation and not just sit back, saying nothing but waiting for others to condemn first. This is an issue on which we ALL must act to condemn at every opportunity.
Aside from the moral aspect and the way the site is perceived by both members and non-members alike, there\'s also the LEGAL aspect.
Now, I\'ve been over this time & time again, but for the benefit of those newer members (and those who\'ve been members for a long time and should know better), I\'ll go over them again......
As a member of the site, YOU can post whatever you like, however, Elton (as site owner) and me (as site administrator) are legally liable for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING posted on NESA. Should anybody looking in decide to take legal issue with anything posted, then it\'s Elton and me who face prosecution, a hefty fine and a prison sentence, not the person who posted the offending item. So, if you\'ve got YOUR OWN website to spout your poisonous doctrine on, do it THERE, where YOU will face the consequences, not on NESA where I will.
I\'ve always loved Christmas, it\'s a special time of the year and I\'ve NEVER had a bad one. Usually I don\'t let ANYTHING spoil this time of year. Sadly, this Christmas has been a right downer for me because of the ill feeling on NESA. I trust that the coming new year will see a bit more racial tolerance from some members and happier times ahead.
[Edited on 28/12/2004 by TC]
A. When it is later shown that you were wrong in your belief.
Believe it, or not, the reason I decided to quit NESA WASN\'T because of the racist comments. I could easily have dealt with them (as I have done so, several times in the past).
What REALY made my mind up to go was the support and (even worse), the apparent apathy the comments received.
By the time I\'d looked at the topic, which, by the way, WAS a valid topic for discussion, there had been several posts made. Unfortunately, these posts had NOTHING to do with the original subject and were becoming increasingly racist in their content. I was saddened to see that despite the topic having had many viewings, NOT ONE post had been made condemning any of the previous comments.
Over the past few days I\'ve had several venomous e-mails over the picture of the Klu Klux Klan I posted, with the caption \"The next NESA weigh in?\" At the time, it appeared that the views expressed and supported were views that many shared. As nobody had posted anything to the contrary, it was an easy assumption to make.
I know Gary has been made out to be a bit of a scapegoat in all of this (I\'ve had some of his comments from the Board e-mailed to me), but believe me, he wasn\'t alone in his views and I\'ve had NO \"threatening\" e-mails from him.
The picture was also meant to be provocative in another way, and I make no apology over my reasons for posting it:
As many seemed to think that all Sikhs were the same, all Muslims were the same, all asylum seekers were the same, in fact anybody with a different ethnic origin who lived in this country, could all be grouped together as \"them\", I thought, why not suggest that those making these comments were the same as \"them\"? in their case the KKK. Why not? They share similar beliefs. The posting of the picture got the expected reaction from some quarters.
They did not take too kindly being likened to such extremists. Funnily enough, most Sikhs, Muslims, etc, have a similar view, THEY aren\'t extremists, either. Similarly, asylum seekers aren\'t ALL here on \"the scrounge\". I\'m sure there\'s many more \"true Brits\"s, as someone called them, who abuse the welfare system than there are from overseas.
True to my word, (as I always try to be), I\'ve not been on NESA at all (save to post about Eltons\' £100 donation to the RNLI fund as I thought THAT was important to mention), since I said I was leaving. I\'ve had a number of e-mails in support of my actions. Some of which included quotes from posts on the Board. It would seem that my assumption that the lack of condemning posts = apathy was incorrect. Believe me, I was REALLY pleased to hear this.
However, if such a situation arises again, as I\'m sure it will, I hope that those who share my concerns over this issue WILL post their condemnation and not just sit back, saying nothing but waiting for others to condemn first. This is an issue on which we ALL must act to condemn at every opportunity.
Aside from the moral aspect and the way the site is perceived by both members and non-members alike, there\'s also the LEGAL aspect.
Now, I\'ve been over this time & time again, but for the benefit of those newer members (and those who\'ve been members for a long time and should know better), I\'ll go over them again......
As a member of the site, YOU can post whatever you like, however, Elton (as site owner) and me (as site administrator) are legally liable for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING posted on NESA. Should anybody looking in decide to take legal issue with anything posted, then it\'s Elton and me who face prosecution, a hefty fine and a prison sentence, not the person who posted the offending item. So, if you\'ve got YOUR OWN website to spout your poisonous doctrine on, do it THERE, where YOU will face the consequences, not on NESA where I will.
I\'ve always loved Christmas, it\'s a special time of the year and I\'ve NEVER had a bad one. Usually I don\'t let ANYTHING spoil this time of year. Sadly, this Christmas has been a right downer for me because of the ill feeling on NESA. I trust that the coming new year will see a bit more racial tolerance from some members and happier times ahead.
[Edited on 28/12/2004 by TC]
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