My Tram Experience: Racism Gone Viral

[Nickdfresh]

UK woman draws death threats over racist train rant
Mother locked up 'for her own protection' after profanity-laced video goes viral
msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45526795/ns/world_news-europe/t/uk-woman-draws-death-threats-over-racist-train-rant/#)
updated 12/2/2011 3:38:29 PM ET

LONDON — A 34-year-old mother has drawn death threats after a video of her profanity-laced racist rant against passengers aboard a crowded train was posted on the Internet.

Emma West, a former dental receptionist, was charged with racially aggravated harassment after a video shot by a train passenger was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday and quickly went viral.

West, of New Addington, London, was remanded into custody this week "for her own protection" after the court was told "there is a serious risk of her being injured in revenge attack by the public," Metro.co.uk reported.

West, who was also referred for psychiatric evaluation, is due to appear in court again on Tuesday.

West is accused of hurling a litany of abuse and racist insults at passengers while balancing her 4-year-old child on her lap on a tram from Croydon to Wimbledon. At one point the woman tells some passengers they should go back to their own country, saying they're not British because they are black.

The video, titled "My Tram Experience," was shot by Kelly Hollingsworth, a passenger who was sitting directly opposite of West. It had been viewed more than 9 million times as of Friday.

“Cannot believe some of these people that agree with the women on the tram, kinda scary,” Hollingsworth later tweeted.

Some far-right groups have come to West's defense.

Britain First, which bills itself as a "patriotic political movement," has launched a campaign to free what some have dubbed the "Racist Tram Lady."

"Locking this feisty English mother up in jail only reinforces the suspicion that if you are British then you are a second class citizen in your own country," Britain First says on its website.

The group on Friday held a small protest outside HMP Bronzefield, the women’s prison on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey, where West is being held. Protesters held signs that read "Free Emma West" as well as Union flags and a Britain First banner, according to an article on citizen-journalism site Demotix.com.

"What she said on that tram was harsh, coarse and very unladylike, no doubt about that, but what abuse had she been subjected to before the camera phone was switched on?" Andy McBride, national coordinator for Britain First, was quoted as saying.

[Sensible Shoes]

She's not very bright, is she?

[FORD]

Racism all aside, the fact that she's saying various forms of "fuck" so much around a 4 year old is proof that she's got "issues" :headlights:

[Nitro Express]

I don't know. They should cast her as the new Marry Poppins. She would tell those polish chimney sweeps where to stick their brushes.

[ashstralia]

i'm on another forum with a lot of brits. many of them are really upset about what 30 odd years of liberal immigration have done to their country. of course, oz has been very multi culti since the first wave of euro immigration (from about, oh, 1788 or so...:))

i'm not a racialist. i believe people are basically the same regardless of colour creed or socio economic status. you'll always have the odd uneducated prejudiced bigmouthed welfare case like this one.

[FORD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bDY0DfEjmo

[Nitro Express]

i'm on another forum with a lot of brits. many of them are really upset about what 30 odd years of liberal immigration have done to their country. of course, oz has been very multi culti since the first wave of euro immigration (from about, oh, 1788 or so...:))

i'm not a racialist. i believe people are basically the same regardless of colour creed or socio economic status. you'll always have the odd uneducated prejudiced bigmouthed welfare case like this one.

I'm sure the aborigines wish you all would go back to Europe. Ah it's always the group who's on the rock first that wishes everyone else would take a hike and leave. Same story everywhere.

[ashstralia]

I'm sure the aborigines wish you all would go back to Europe.

funny you should mention that nitro.
all the kooris i've known really appreciate what the 'invasion' accomplished in terms of infrastructure, modernising the place, healthcare, welfare etc.
they just wanted acknowledgement as the original owners/custodians. it finally happened in 1992.

if you travel out to the northern territory or western oz, palm island in the north, you'll still find tribal people living as they did 10,000 years ago. wicked cool.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

i've always found it odd, that morons with different melanin content find each other intolerable.

[SunisinuS]

Lol Brown Cows and White Cows all seem to be able to be milked by the same farmer.

[Sensible Shoes]

Who you callin' a cow? :;):

[SunisinuS]

Who you callin' a cow? :;):

:bump: .....Moo! :bump:







:bolt:

[ashstralia]

wouldn't it be crap if we were all the same???

[FORD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSybR_k_Ouo

[SunisinuS]

When you experience such civil works divides....just reach for your pull string and explain:



Your Technical Difficulties.

[ashstralia]

great stuff FORD; you'd know garrett's now the minister for arts n shit in the oz gov?

thanks sunni, jeez that bloke can play.

[DLR Bridge]

From one of my favorite David Cross bits- "There's a kind of racism in the south that is really so steadfast and true that I almost kind of begrudgingly, you know, admire it in a way, and that is that there are segregated graveyards. That just to me defies all logic...but it's also, like, "Well, hats off...you're going to stick to your guns on that one, and take that shit to the grave? All right!" There's enough people to go, "Naw, man..ugh, I don't even wanna think about it. My dead, lifeless, rotting, maggot-infested corpse...next to some black man's? Ewww!!! That's gross!" But that does pose an interesting scenario, because, what's going to happen when the zombies rise out of their graves? ... "We must take over the human race-- wait, what were you?" "I'm black." "Fuck you, n****, you can't come." "What? No! But I'm a skeleton, you can't tell!" "Fuck youuu..."

We're all just shit wrapped in skin. Sadly, the son of that bitch on the tram is yet another ignorant racist in training. Hopefully, he grows up quick and runs away.

[FORD]

great stuff FORD; you'd know garrett's now the minister for arts n shit in the oz gov?


I haven't really kept with Midnight Oil in recent years. I knew Garrett was getting involved in party politics, but I wasn't aware he actually got a gig in the government.

Maybe he'll be Prime Minister one day? I'd probably vote for him, if I could.

[Nitro Express]

funny you should mention that nitro.
all the kooris i've known really appreciate what the 'invasion' accomplished in terms of infrastructure, modernising the place, healthcare, welfare etc.
they just wanted acknowledgement as the original owners/custodians. it finally happened in 1992.

if you travel out to the northern territory or western oz, palm island in the north, you'll still find tribal people living as they did 10,000 years ago. wicked cool.

Every show and movie I have seen on Australia basically shows the aborigines being horribly mistreated. One show I was watching on a recreation of Captain Cooks expedition showed aborigines coming out in a boat flying their flag angry that Captain Cook was the begining of the end of their way of life and it was nothing to celebrate. The crew of the ship flew the aborigine flag and that seemed to make the situation better.

I've had dealings with native Americans as far as leasing some agricultural land on a reservation or hunting on a reservation. All you have to do is show them some respect and obey their rules and you usually get along fine with them. I'm amazed at how many people will live right next to a reservation and never deal with the indians and are actually afraid of them. Some are bitter and wish the white man never came. Some view in the future the good things of both cultures will merge when the time is right. Others have educated themselves and live more of a modern lifestyle but are proud of their culture. It really depends on what indian in particular you are dealing with. Some view the modern white man as silly chasing his own tail and on the way of destroying themselves. Some view what happened to the indians in the 19th century will happen to the white Americans in the 21st century and just view the increasing police state, injustice, and economic problems in the US as a form of karma.

[Hardrock69]

I pretty much subscribe to the theory that we are all basically the same as far as "humans" go. We do look different from one another. But in general you are going to have the same percentage of stupid people, the same percentage of racists, the same percentage of hot babes who love to suck dick, etc.

That fucking bitch on the tram can go leap in front of the motherfucker.

I have friends (and have always had at various points in my life) who are Native American. So fucking what? Does not make them any different than me, just that they are descended from other people with a different culture and heritage.

The white folks over the past 1,000 years have had a history of fucking over people with brown skin. George Carlin once did a rant about it.

Worthless motherfucking con artists.

I have always been in favor of equality for everyone, regardless of race, religion, sexual preference, whatever. But I am by that same token in favor of insuring that one particular group of people does not dominate others maliciously. This goes for White Christian Devil Slavemasters in particular. Fucking assholes. :mad:

[Nitro Express]

Racism is engrained by the community and especially at home. Sometimes the previous generation has to kick the bucket to get rid of it. I think kids now are less prejudice than their grand parents were. I think the main thing is to have some friends who are of different ethnic backgrounds and once you have that, the prejudice seems to go away naturally.

[Nitro Express]

The white folks over the past 1,000 years have had a history of fucking over people with brown skin. George Carlin once did a rant about it.


The white people out of Europe had the better technology and used that to exploit people with less technology to get the land and use them as slave labor.

[Nickdfresh]

I still think one of the greatest things I learned in college (from a professor) was the statement that "90% of what passes for racism is actually classism."

[VAiN]

Ehhh, she has a point. It's not like that country hasn't been run-over by non-British people and it hasn't made things better. Typically the people who want to come looking for opportunity are looking for a hand out.. otherwise they'd stay the fuck at home.

Fire away at me now.. I'm the biggest racist jerk ever. But you all know it's true.

[Seshmeister]

When you experience such civil works divides....just reach for your pull string and explain:



Your Technical Difficulties.

Paul has picked up that new chord I showed him well enough.

[Seshmeister]

Ehhh, she has a point. It's not like that country hasn't been run-over by non-British people and it hasn't made things better. Typically the people who want to come looking for opportunity are looking for a hand out.. otherwise they'd stay the fuck at home.

Fire away at me now.. I'm the biggest racist jerk ever. But you all know it's true.

That's a pretty fucking insane statement for an American to make. A country that is essentially made up of immigrants and became the richest in the world largely because the people that emigrate are usually those that do have the fucking balls and motivation to work hard and create wealth.

Britain remains more than 90% white and if it is defined by any cultural or historical cohesiveness at all it is by standing alone against fascism 70 years ago so pretty much the opposite of racism.

As for the video it's astonishing that cunt of a woman thinks she is superior in any way to any human of any creed or colour. She's the fucking problem.

[Nickdfresh]

Her statements are completely indefensible, not least of which the manner that she talks like a salty, chav-whore in front of her son...

[Little Texan]

While I don't agree with anything she was saying and find it revolting, was that really something to be sent to jail for? I guess there isn't freedom of speech in Britain.

[Seshmeister]

Freedom of speech always comes with limitations.

If I stood at the Alamo shouting that the people that died there were a bunch of fucking land thieves I'm sure I would soon be arrested for a public order offence.

[Seshmeister]

There you go...



TEXAS PENAL CODE

TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY

CHAPTER 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
(1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(2) makes an offensive gesture or display in a public place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(3) creates, by chemical means, a noxious and unreasonable odor in a public place;
(4) abuses or threatens a person in a public place in an obviously offensive manner;