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GPs Beard

Acceptable Banter?

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I''m interested in the views of posters . A few years ago, I made my one and only call to a radio phone in - in this case the Nicky Campbell show on Radio 5. There had been some racist comments made at a football game , and it was shortly after we had played West Ham at CR - where we were entertained by the customary songs about what we rural folk like to do with our sisters.

And a few of the shouts from the Millwall fans got me thinking again , that the whole incest thing is the last elephant in the room in terms of "banter" . Call me black, disabled , or question my sexuality and you would (quite rightly ) be taken to task and attract the attention of the media . Shout abuse about sexual activity based around incest and not a word is said?

But it''s a stereotypical view based around prejudice and deep seated bigotry isn''t it? Or is it just a larf?

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I don''t like the incest stuff mainly because it is totally unoriginal.

However the difference for me is two fold.

1) These people don''t actually believe we''re all banging our close relatives- a lot of those who chant stuff about gay people or black people believe them to be inferior or even evil.

2) People from Norfolk aren''t discriminated against in a wider societal context. I''ve never been turned down for a job or been attacked in the street for being from Norfolk.

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Personally I think there is a difference between racist and homophobic behaviour that needs to be rooted out of not only football, but society in general and the totally unoriginal stereotyping of us folk that live in the country.

For me the elephant in the room is still, homophobia, I still believe professional, mens football to be intrinsically homophobic, with clubs making the right noises but essentially turning a blind eye to it, hence no male, professional footballer has felt able to let it be known they are gay, unlike other professional sports.

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I''m sorry, the incest taunting is partly my fault : my late Mother-in -Law''s maiden name just happens to be the same as mine, so when the bank ask my wife what her mother''s maiden name is she gives the same surname as her own. Cue sighing and a repeat of the question. At this point I usually shout across the room "Just tell them this is Norfolk."

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Words are a weapon and wound sometimes......But, to those ignoramuses, I just turn the other cheek, and fart in their general direction......."PAAAARP!"......

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I would class a racist as someone who believes they are superior to someone else merely because of their colour or race.

I believe homophobics are people who believe that you are less of a human being because you are gay etc.

I don''t necessarily adhere to the belief that any joke or comment should not be tolerated because it is wrong.My step father in law is coloured and have gay and lesbian friends.

But I don''t watched my p''s and q''s around them as they know I mean no offence.

I remember Allan Carr joking when asked what his parents thought of him being gay, that why would they, his brother had ginger hair!

Humour is so important to us and has to be accepted for what it stands for.

Watching documentaries about bullies on trains singing racist songs to intimidate someone is sickening. And I really would like to see the boot on the other foot now and again. Not to inflame but just make people realise what it must be like.

The incest, two thumbs jibes are just because they are too thick to come up with anything new so just imitate. Just like chimpanzees imitate.

If Iever go to watch Truro City, National League South, I chuckle at the band of youngsters who churn out everything they have heard elsewhere. They mean no harm but just want to belong.

It certainly isn''t anything that would wind me up or make me want to respond.

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No banter that label''s others as somehow inferior should be acceptable. Having a laugh with someone should never involve characterising some aspect of that person as wrong or somehow less that others.

So often humour is used as an excuse to carry on creating an atmosphere where minorities are left marginalised or feeling that they are supposed to somehow see that it''s just a joke. prejudice of any kind is not a joke.

Football still has a long way to go in terms of promoting equality. Let''s not fool ourselves racists, sexists and homophobic behaviour is still part of every day life in our culture.

I commend the you GP''s Beard for bring this out into the open.

Football is about shared experience and community. What better place is their for us to challenge discrimination.

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Loosely on the subject of banter:

Jake Livermore confronted a West Ham fan at yesterday''s match after the fan made comments about the death of Livermore''s baby son;

Falkirk fans threw fake eyeballs onto the pitch during yesterday''s match against Dunfermline. This was a follow up to 2 Falkirk players having been banned for comments made to one-eyed Dunfermline player Dean Shiels during a previous match.

I think that the fans involved in both incidents have certainly crossed the line.

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It''s difficult. I''ve not heard a single race based chant in years yet apparently the Lukaku one sang by United fans was disgusting and racist. To me it was a pretty naff chant but can''t say I was vaguely offended by it.
There''s lines and anything racist or homophobic should automatically be seen as wrong (and for 99% of people, they are).
I suppose the lines blur slightly when we see the incest stuff sung about us - and compare that to the same stuff sung to Brighton - I see a lot of that as being humour based rather than any underlining homophobic attitude or hatred towards the gay community.

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[quote user="Crabbycanary3"]Hogesar - Are you ''coloured'' and was Lukaku offended with the chant?[/quote]
No, and No, not according to his interview anyway.

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I don’t hear racist stuff at CR, Waveney apparently had us all down as racists but hey ho, not in my experience!

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The sister chant s boring and slightly disturbing, however i quite laughed at the Millwall chant "you''ve got six, we only have 5, we only have 5 fingers and you have 6" or words to that effect. It is banter admittedly not nice but don''t let it get you down.

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This might sound a bit random, but I learned today that saying Chicks with Dicks is transphobic and you should just say woman or at most trans woman.

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You’d hate to be short,fat,bald and a sweaty wouldn’t you ?

There was a schoolboy like that called Billy Banter.

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I always used to cringe when I heard ''us'' singing songs about ''in your ........slums''. As has been mentioned, these regional stereotypes are very shallow and crass. The short fashion of waving money at supposedly poorer fans was particularly pathetic. Personally I was always uncomfortable with anything that reminded us that we followed a club which did not come from the working class industrial heartlands. It intrigues me just how much real prejudice does exist in these regional stereotypes. I actually don''t think this is good natured banter, but often a form of deep seated distrust and distain for people who are from a different locality. In the 70''s I went to see Everton at home at Goodison Park. I swear I did not know who they were playing until the opposition ran out. I was in Liverpool for the weekend, and enjoying Eric''s etc. The opposition was Ipswich. We were standing by the touchline when Ipswich won a throw. A gang of men straining to get close to the Ipswich player who came to collect the ball. The abuse rained down. One man pushed passed me red faced with anger and screamed '' country dogs''!. I think the player was Fran''s Thysson (sorry about spelling). When Mariner tucked in the only goal of the game I smiled quietly.

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[quote user="corbs"] When Mariner tucked in the only goal of the game I smiled quietly.[/quote]corbs mate i really think you need to have a word with yourself. [:(]

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[quote user="corbs"]I always used to cringe when I heard ''us'' singing songs about ''in your ........slums''. As has been mentioned, these regional stereotypes are very shallow and crass. The short fashion of waving money at supposedly poorer fans was particularly pathetic. Personally I was always uncomfortable with anything that reminded us that we followed a club which did not come from the working class industrial heartlands. It intrigues me just how much real prejudice does exist in these regional stereotypes. I actually don''t think this is good natured banter, but often a form of deep seated distrust and distain for people who are from a different locality. In the 70''s I went to see Everton at home at Goodison Park. I swear I did not know who they were playing until the opposition ran out. I was in Liverpool for the weekend, and enjoying Eric''s etc. The opposition was Ipswich. We were standing by the touchline when Ipswich won a throw. A gang of men straining to get close to the Ipswich player who came to collect the ball. The abuse rained down. One man pushed passed me red faced with anger and screamed '' country dogs''!. I think the player was Fran''s Thysson (sorry about spelling). When Mariner tucked in the only goal of the game I smiled quietly.[/quote]

There is something that appeals to me in goading the opposition and making it as uncomfortable for them as possible.  The problem is to decide what is acceptable and what isn''t and where the line is drawn.  I was at Sheff Utd, years ago, near the front, where a Sheff Utd player

was taking an age to take a free kick down near the corner flag. Our fans were quiet and he took

so long I got really angry and shouted at him at the top of my voice "Get on with it" virtually in his

ear just as he ran up to the ball - and he totally miskicked it. So it can work, but you don''t have to

be abusive.  Some people have no conception of where the line is, they think they have a right to say whatever they like.  We''ve probably all seen our own fans sometimes hurl real abuse at our own players, Surman used to get it playing on the left, taking throw ins and corners - he must have hated taking corners at the River End where it joins the South Stand - there was - and probably still is - some loud mouthdown there who delights in throwing abuse at our players.  Why they don''t channel their sh*t at the opposition I don''t know - at least it might put them off a bit - it can work.  One thing I know is that abuse of any kind is not acceptable, whether in jest or not, but frankly, the six fingered thing is just attempts at humour - and the sister thing too - there are far more serious and genuine abuses going with racism and homophobia. Does anyone seriously think that incest is a real issue in Norfolk??  No, so it is just banter. 

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[quote user="KiwiScot"]This might sound a bit random, but I learned today that saying Chicks with Dicks is transphobic and you should just say woman or at most trans woman.[/quote]

I would just call them mentally ill.

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[quote user="lake district canary"]I got really angry and shouted at him at the top of my voice "Get on with it"  - and he totally miskicked it.[/quote]He probably recognised your voice and panicked to avoid the full lecture. [;)][:D]

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[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="lake district canary"]I got really angry and shouted at him at the top of my voice "Get on with it"  - and he totally miskicked it.[/quote]He probably recognised your voice and panicked to avoid the full lecture. [;)][:D][/quote]

Ha! Maybe you''re right! Mind you, there wasn''t a lot else to say that time.....

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Christ Lakey, you’re such a rebel!

I bet that Sheffield United player didn’t know what had hit him.

You must be a lot of fun at parties.

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[quote user="Rock The Boat"][quote user="KiwiScot"]This might sound a bit random, but I learned today that saying Chicks with Dicks is transphobic and you should just say woman or at most trans woman.[/quote]

I would just call them mentally ill.[/quote]

I do hope that''s a joke pal 😡😡😡

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