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AIBU

to want HATE campaigns against foreigners in the popular Press to stop...

(360 Posts)
granjura Wed 02-Nov-16 12:05:37

So many Gneters think that it is not fair to target the readers of certain newspapers - and yet- the front pages of some of those newpapers are full of hate targetting foreigners, day in, day out. Today foreign drivers who phone or text at the wheel. Phoning or texting at the wheel is a menace, and should be stopped - whether it is mum or dad on the school run, white van drivers or lorry drivers, anyone- irrespective of nationality, sex, ethnicity, profession - ALL:

Totally agree with his 'rant' of the sheer hatred and racism in the popular Press at the moment- which is spilling out onto our streets too:

STOP PHONING OR TEXTING AT THE WHEEL - be you Polish, or British, or a dad or mum on the school run, or a Trader, or ... ANYONE - JUST - STOP - IT - please.

durhamjen Sun 13-Nov-16 01:13:56

I don't see it as censorship. Every business has a certain amount of money to spend on advertising. If lots of its customers decide they are not going to buy Lego because of their ads in certain newspapers, they will think again about where they advertise.
If I agreed with you, POGS, I shouldn't be able to decide where my private pension is invested. I shouldn't be able to write to pension companies to find out if they invested in arms companies. I shouldn't be allowed to write to Barclays and tell them I will not have a bank account with them because they fund fracking.

By the way, Lego is much more educational than the DM for your friend's granddaughter.

POGS Sun 13-Nov-16 01:14:23

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

POGS Sun 13-Nov-16 01:16:19

durhamjen

"By the way, Lego is much more educational than the DM for your friend's granddaughter".

Well considering she is only 4 years old that is stating the bleeding obvious.

POGS Sun 13-Nov-16 01:21:23

Nelliemoser

I've been called some names on Gransnet but 'Racist'. Really?

durhamjen Sun 13-Nov-16 01:23:49

I learnt to read when sitting on my dad's knee while he read the Express to me. They hadn't got onto the DM then.
One day I started reading it to him.
I know I was four years old, because it was before I started school and before I had my accident, which was on my fifth birthday. When I started school after I came out of hospital I wasn't allowed to go out and play with the other children at break times or do P.E. I was given a book to read instead.

durhamjen Sun 13-Nov-16 01:25:39

It was a Trump supporter who shot a demonstrator today in Portland.

durhamjen Sun 13-Nov-16 01:27:38

By returning your Lego you are implying you support a newspaper that prints racist articles on its front page.

POGS Sun 13-Nov-16 01:41:59

durhamjen

"By returning your Lego you are implying you support a newspaper that prints racist articles on its front page."

Any body else wish to call me 'Racist'

By returning the Lego I am not 'implying' bugger all, I am stating Lego has implied I am a racist.

You and Nelliemoser et al are happily stating that 'any' Gransnet poster who reads the Daily Mail is a Racist are you not!

whitewave Sun 13-Nov-16 05:47:13

When I think of Dm readers, and I know one of two personally, I don't think of them as racist or bigoted.

I do think the paper is all those things however. Oh yes one can point to the odd thing that it has done for the good but it is the overall balance that you have to look at and the occasional stop you in your tracks headlines. This drip drip of hate and fascist rhetoric permits the sort of behaviour you see carried out by a certain element. That is what is so alarming and worrying for the way our society could be heading.
Today Farage along with the Bnp and other fascist groups will march in protest against the judges who were headlined with hate by the Dm. This is the element it encourages.
It is hate and distrust of "The other" based on nothing more than just that which companies like Lego abhore. They may remember the DM history and do well to distance itself from such a rag bag.

whitewave Sun 13-Nov-16 05:57:09

Pogs To carry your logic concerning freedom of speech, then where would you stop or decide that something being said is unacceptable and highly likely to cause or encourage riot or death?

Dyffryn Sun 13-Nov-16 06:28:23

I am all for free speech but responsible free speech. I am sorry but any one that condones racism or homophobia etc is totally totally wrong.

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:06:20

To call POGS racist is not only outrageous but quite stupid: POGS is stating the case for free speech and a free press.We censor the press at our peril, some countries would do anything to have newspapers that wrote what they liked.
Free speech means saying anything we like as long as it isn't slander or libel ( we do have laws in place for that) and you cannot say ' I am all for free speech as long as it's responsible' or ( I read this on another thread) 'I am for free speech as long as it's tempered with wisdom' WHAT?? That is not FREE speech!

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:07:52

All that you CAN say is that 'I do not like what they print' and NOT try and put censorship in place.

suzied Sun 13-Nov-16 09:12:29

We can't say what we like as there are laws against inciting racial hatred, and certain terrorist groups are banned etc. So speech isn't completely "free".

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:19:49

If you read my posts on these threads I have said there are laws in place to protect us from hate crimes, slander and libel.
That is exactly why we don't need nanny groups strong arming and browbeating as well.

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:22:33

If the DM or any other newspaper printed anything that fell into those categories then they will be taken to court (and have been) otherwise newspapers should be left alone.

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:24:45

There is a feeling amongst some people in this country, that if they don't care for something it should be stopped.

whitewave Sun 13-Nov-16 09:33:33

Press censorship is not the same as expecting a certain civilising standard in the media. None of us who are horrified at some of the headlines and editorials of the more right wing press have suggested press censorship, but all of us are calling for recognition that it is wrong. So yes we all agree that freedom of speech is a mark of a mature society, but so is the willingness to speak out against what we see as inciting hatred. Perhaps the more right wing grans will be brave enough to speak out against it as well?

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:41:58

Who knows, as I am not a 'right wing ' gran and don't think that party politics comes into it anyway.Of course people can say what they think about newspapers printing things they hate and protest about it, a free country and free speech,but that goes for ALL including the newspapers.

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:43:52

Prosecutions can and have, been brought against many papers when they overstep the line.

whitewave Sun 13-Nov-16 09:46:30

For right then read "all grans"

rosesarered Sun 13-Nov-16 09:55:00

Perhaps all grans do not think the same as you ww ( or me, either)
I do understand your concerns about what is seen as hate headlines ( can't comment as I don't have any newspapers) but I uphold the free press above everything ( what we like or dislike doesn't matter ) knowing that there are laws in place if anything becomes criminal.Therefore anything else ( not criminal) becomes a matter of morals or ethics, and we should not ever demand that the press conforms to our own feelings.

granjura Sun 13-Nov-16 09:57:32

Merlot, my grandchildren are 7 and 10- and they go with their dad to the newsagents every Saturday morning to buy a paper, and choose one for themsselves on occasions- so yes- they are 'confronted' with those headlines- but not with social media, etc. And they can both read beautifully- and often ask why- who are they, etc? And it is not easy to reply for their parents or for us when we are with them.

It's a question of balance- most of us, probably all, agreed that Charlie Hebdo had gone too far and that their headlines and front pages were just too provocative. I totally agree by the way, and I also remember that many of us said that with free speech comes responsibility too- just as with any kind of freedom. There is a massive difference between 'political correctness' or being over-sensitive - to actually being harmful and real attacks on some groups of people- this especially with the cumulative effect of the day in, day out. Did you watch the video I put on yesterday- where the front pages of the Express were shown in quick succession? I do wonder how anyone could not see the sublimal cummulative effect it can have on some/many- especially as Tegan says- those who are, for one reason or another, much more susceptible to those influence.

I'd hazard here that Charlie Hebdo is in fact much less damaging- because it is aimed at a very small niche of the population, and because it is so vile and over the top- that it is clearly seen as such - in a way photoshopped and manipulated photos of real people are not.

As for LEGO - as said above- they have a limited budget and are totally free to choose where they do or don't advertise. LEGO will be my first choice for Christmas presents.

We (my brothers and myself) very young when my parents ensured that we knew that our freedom was one of the best things we had- but that it had to stop where it begins to hurt others. I am very thankful to them. They also taught us to fight racism and discrimination wherever we see it. I discovered 'racism' or the 'taught and indocrinated' fear of the 'other' when I was in the first year at school - children arrived fleeing the uprising in Hungary- and later we had gipsies and the year after lots of Italian children who spoke no French. It was ugly - and I'll never forget. But for the grace of a roll of a dice...

You are now just spoiling for a silly fight POGS.

whitewave Sun 13-Nov-16 10:04:01

It isn't my feelings that I am concerned about but all those victims of hate crime and prejudice. All of which has increased exponentially since Brexit and the recent press headlines.

The same is now happening in America. Take a look at Fox News and then the experiences of Muslims, blacks and to a certain extent Jewish population with Nazi slogans and symbols being daubed on buildings.

Next we have Le Penn and other right wing politicians. It is in my view a disaster waiting to happen.

During the 30s many people warned of the trouble that lay ahead, and they were told that they were alarmist etc.

Worried voices must be listened to and not ridiculed.

granjura Sun 13-Nov-16 10:05:19

Roses

'Prosecutions can and have, been brought against many papers when they overstep the line.'

yes, the problem is, as said before, is that many of those front pages are borderline - but it is the cumulative and sublimal effect which is so harmful and, yes, racist.

When out of all the lorry drivers who are on their mobiles- you only pick the foreign ones - it does imply that this is a problem with them, and them only - and we all know- whichever side of the 'argument' we are here- that this is blatantly NOT true.