Mindless Racist Morons Do Chelsea Football Club No Favours

“I’ve half a mind to join the BNP – apparently that’s all I need.”

So said the graffiti I saw on a Hammersmith wall a couple of years ago, sharing a sentiment I share albeit with reservations that they overestimate the mental capacity required!

So when I hear that some morons have been singing racist chants in the name of Chelsea FC on a train back from Norwich I scratch my head and wonder.

Our club captain John Terry is due in court next month charged with racism. He denies the charge and vehemently protests that he is not a racist. Do the morons think they are somehow doing JT a favour?

Lots of our players are black, both the club and the fans have moved on a long way since the days when Paul Canoville was disgracefully abused by his own supporters on his debut*. Do the morons really think they are supporting the players of such a multi-racial club in their actions?

One of my best mates has a black wife. Both of them are Chelsea supporters but only he goes to games. She went twice but was put off by idiots making racist comments. Do the morons behind these chants thing this helps the club develop?

I just don’t get it. If you are really so racist that you have to sing about it on a train, why the fuck do you support Chelsea in the first place?  That’s the same Chelsea who are proudly a multi-cultural team from the planet’s most cosmopolitan city.

And if any of these morons are of the Hitler worship variety, perhaps they could take note that these days we are owned by a Russian Billionaire, the Russians being among the many peoples Hitler referred to as ‘untermensch’. I’ll leave you to figure out the translation (if you need it) and the contradiction in a Nazi supporting a team owned by such a man.

I just don’t get it. Half a mind? The graffiti flattered you.

Do us all a favour, fuck off and support another team. Or better still, go and play on a busy road.

KTBFFH

*If you haven’t already read it, I can thoroughly recommend Paul Canoville’s biography ‘Black and Blue’ which gives a startling insight into the hurt and damage caused by these racist morons.


(See side bar and click to purchase a copy from Amazon).

The Suarez Decision – Am I Alone In Feeling Conflicted Over This?

Racism: it is a really hot topic in football at the moment, and rightly so. There is no place for racism in society let alone football.

This afternoon we heard that John Terry is to be charged over that incident at Loftus Road but I am not going to comment on that other than to repeat what I have said all along; he is innocent until proven guilty and to treat him any other way would be to discriminate against him . I hope he proves to be not guilty but, if the verdict goes the other way it doesn’t matter how Blue I am, he will deserve to have the book thrown at him.

But did Liverpool’s Luis Suarez deserve to have the book thrown at him?

Don’t get me wrong, the fight for Champions League places will be tight this year and his eight match suspension certainly works in our favour and yet……I feel extremely conflicted and therefore uncomfortable over the treatment Suarez has received.

That he called Partice Evra ‘Negro’ is not disputed. That Evra found the term racist (and therefore offensive) is also not disputed. Case closed surely?

Had Suarez been born and raised in the UK, undoubtedly I would be happy with this outcome. But he wasn’t, he was born and raised in Uruguay a nation where the word ‘negro’ is in everyday usage and is not considered racist or otherwise offensive (the word even has its roots in the latin languages). Chelsea legend Uruguayan Gus Poyet has gone on record to confirm this, to insist Suarez is not making up a convenient story.

In his 1963 ‘I Have A Dream’ speech Martin Luther King Jnr used the term Negro to describe his own race. Was he being offensive, racist even? Okay, that was nearly fifty years ago and times move on but have those times moved on in different directions in the UK and Uruguay? Clearly they have, and not only in those two countries; in the US organisations such as the United Negro College Fund continue to conduct great work in assisting black people afford college educations and the 2010 United States Census included the term for individuals to identify racial origin.

Confused? Conflicted? To some (even to many) the term ‘Negro’ is undoubtedly racist and carries uncomfortable connotations and reminders of slavery. In the UK it is accepted as a ‘no-no’ word. But this is not so in many parts of the rest of the world.

I am conflicted because I fear that in the rush to condemn racism the FA have actively discriminated against Suarez’s own culture. They have chosen the defence of one culture over that of another.

That racism took place here cannot be disputed but surely the right outcome should be one of learning not punishment; learning for Suarez about what is acceptable and a warning that now he knows he should not repeat it (plus a public apology to Evra). Learning for the FA in that they must take the lead in ensuring that those coming into the English game from other cultures understand the new (to them) culture in which they now live and work and therefore avoid a repeat of this situation again. And learning for us all; if we are to celebrate the diversity of our culture we must guard against jumping to conclusions based on our own cultural background without taking steps to understand the culture of others – you, me, Suarez and Evra included. No matter how Blue (or Red) we are.

KTBFFH