Willo, I don't think this is correct. "Racist" is a word, and words have meanings, in this case relating to taunting someone on the basis of their racial characteristics (here, Son's eyes). That was the definition in 1970 and the definition in 2020; it hasn't changed.

What has changed, and probably what you are referring to, is that the tolerance (and policing) of racism has "elasticated" and society today is no longer prepared to accept behaviour that would have drawn little if any attention forty or fifty years ago. But that, surely, is a good thing as none of us should want to live in a society wherein any kind of overt racist behaviour is tolerated.

With regard to the incident on Saturday, my observation is that an overreaction (lifetime bans, etc.) is inevitable when you turn yourself into a human highlight reel on social media, intentionally or not. The reality is that the guy in question is a dinosaur and there's a reason why dinosaurs are extinct. Beyond dealing with him swiftly, this strikes me as a storm in a teacup. Bad behaviour of a sort witnessed every Saturday at every ground, the offender caught and punished. Move on.

Sydenham by birth. Selhurst by the Grace of God.

Exactly. I don't really understand all the fuss here. There is no grey area. If he doesn't get banned then the whole zero tolerance policy becomes an empty threat.

100% agree Syd

Nailed it.

This is a very similar incident to the Chelsea fan that was prosecuted earlier in the year. In his case (arguably slightly worse) he got a 3 year stadium ban.

In my view you don't make those sort of gestures, sober or drunk, unless you hold or are sympathetic to certain views.

Also the playground musings... seriously? Naive five year olds making fun of each others appearances is one thing. A balding 50 year old man deliberately making slitty eye gestures to an Asian player? Very different, whether now or 40 years ago. Trying to play this down by saying 'it wouldn't even have been noticed in my day' does not mean it is acceptable. Emotion clearly got the better of this imbecile and the mask slipped on this occasion.

More concerning is the recent conflict amongst certain parts of the fanbase. Brawls between supporters at home matches and in the away end at Southampton, and now this sort of nonsense.

Is our moron quota increasing? Appears to be the case

Did you know? 98.0000001% of people are morons.

Instead of buying into these ideas, people need to observe what these ideas are actually doing within society and decide for themselves whether they are going to go along with it.

Edited by Stirlingsays (09 May 2023 2.11pm)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Many accept the new standards placed upon them without question and are even stupid enough to fight among themselves about them.

This is the consequence of globalism and related mass immigration.

We are now all under the watchful eye of big brother with the willing help of the useful idiot.

Sure, football crowds always contain a percentage of dickheads, as does wider society, but we seem to have got our priorities seriously distorted. A bit of antisocial behaviour should not be making the headlines on SKY Sports News. That is driven by an entirely self serving agenda which is all about commerce and dollar signs.
It wants to present football as if it were free from all the negatives that our governments and their puppet masters have thrust upon us, while at the same time paying overseas players vast fortunes, and making it unaffordable for fans who support their local team.

Try a little less faux outrage and a little more thinking, I'd suggest.

Edited by Hrolf The Ganger (09 May 2023 2.40pm)