A BB Gun and a Minor Facial Injury

aliasojo

Person_one wrote: »

Maybe, possibly, but have you ever heard the expression 'playing the race card' used in a perfectly innocent and not even slightly racist context? I don't think I have!

Its a bit like the way 'I'm not racist but...' is always inevitably followed by something racist!

No sorry, that's just unfair. You seem to have almost pre-judged simply on the basis of the use of a phrase.

I would have used that phrase, I can assure you I'm not racist in the slightest.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

keystone

Person_one wrote: »

Its actually not at all clear, I hope I'm wrong of course, but as the OP's daughter was the one targeted and shot at, I assumed she'd made the offending comment as well as taken his stuff off him.

I didn't say it was and I didn't say it wasn't either. The truth is I do not know and I for one am not prepared to assume either way.

I still find myself wondering how this has become a racist remark though. The complication in the boy concerned having a not particularly English name is that it clearly needs to be handled with great sensitivity to avoid reactions like we did from Stuart who, thankfully, seems to have taken his own peculiar brand of extremism elsewhere. As I have already said whether the boy concerned is black, white, green or sky-blue pink is of supreme indifference to me. How would this thread have developed if I'd said he is white, his name was Jones and his family moved here from Newcastle a few months ago? Its not really a consideration actually. Not unless someone with an axe to grind wants to play games and suggest that that last sentence is racist too at which point I think I give up.

I do not for one minute believe that he genuinely meant to harm her with this weapon. I do not believe for one minute that there was any malice or bullying on behalf of my daughter in the period leading up to the event. It sounds more like skylarking whcih if we are all honest with ourselves was no different when we were that age.

The end play was that she got shot by the blasted thing and for both their current and future sakes a moderate and proportional line is required.

Cheers

Person_one

Why don't you just tell us the actual truth? Was the 'terrorist' comment aimed at someone from a Muslim/middle eastern/Asian background?

You've hinted at a race aspect, you can't just expect us to ignore that!

keystone

Person_one wrote: »

Sorry, but you talk about a 'you're a terrorist' type comment aimed at someone with a 'foreign sounding name', whatever your skin colour or that of the girls in the group, that can definitely be seen as racist

Sorry but I think you'd better go back and read what I actually wrote. The terrorist remark (by someone and I don't know who yet) seems to have been related to the fact that he was brandishing a weapon of some description not his skin tone. Once again please tell me how the word terrorist is automaticallty translated by Stuart, with others promtly jumping on his coat tails, as racist. I truly can't see it.

Feel free to correct me if I'm completely wrong and tell me what you were actually driving it when you mentioned this aspect.

Yes I do think you are wrong and I also think your posting has been coloured by the inopportune and out of place assumptions made by Stuart. In themselves these seem to me to be driven by a perverse form of extremism which only serves to fan the flames of racism in the first place. Thank you for your post anyway buecause it illustrates quite clearly what I said earlier that the matter needs handling with sensitivity. There are two 13 year old futures potentially at stake here.

Cheers

Person_one

keystone wrote: »

Once again please tell me how the word terrorist is automaticallty translated by Stuart, with others promtly jumping on his coat tails, as racist. I truly can't see it.

Cheers

Its because you mentioned it in conjunction with his 'non english' name and your stated desire that nobody take offence.

Good luck though, I hope it works out for all involved.

rpc

There is no question about contacting the police. There has been an assault and a breach of the Firearms Act.

If for no other purpose, this boy needs put in his place so it doesn't happen again. The next time he waves his gun around, he could get shot by armed officers who will not be able to tell if the weapon fires BBs or bullets.

You also need to explain what your daughter did to the cops. They will find out anyway so better to be upfront. It does not at all justify shooting someone with a BB gun, but your daughter may not get off scot-free.

jackieblack

keystone wrote: »

I do not for one minute believe that he genuinely meant to harm her with this weapon. I do not believe for one minute that there was any malice or bullying on behalf of my daughter in the period leading up to the event. It sounds more like skylarking whcih if we are all honest with ourselves was no different when we were that age.

He was committing an offence by having the BB gun with him in a public place and you should report this. No question.

What he meant or didn't mean to do with it is a separate matter.

RAS

Some bright lad decided to demonstrate how cool he was to a girl on the train who refused his advances, by showing her his BB gun.

Cue halted signals and trains, full complement of fire arms officers and one lad in court of illegal possession of a firearm and something along the lines of threatening behaviour.

pmlindyloo

I do despair sometimes how people seem to 'speed read' posts and then put their own interpretation on things. Talk about Chinese whispers!

It seems to me that the OP has not made any pre judgements about the situation and is sensibly going to find out more. He also seems fully aware, in this age of 'political correctness' that some 'enthusiastic' public servant may jump in and make assumptions about the situation rather than treating this as a group of young people where things have gone wrong.

I also think that the OP is fully aware that if there was any racism/bullying involved then it will be addressed.

What I abhor is the automatic response that if there are young people gathered together of different races and something goes wrong then there has to be racism involved.

In my opinion the OP is taking a measured approach to this. If the police need to be involved then I am quite sure that they will be.

keystone

Person_one wrote: »

Why don't you just tell us the actual truth? Was the 'terrorist' comment aimed at someone from a Muslim/middle eastern/Asian background?

No I'm not going to because a) I don't actually know - all I have said is that his name doesn't sound English and b) you and others are making such a meal of it. I'll ask the question again then. Is the use of the terrorist in the context it was used to anybody branding a gun about irrespective of their skin tone or nationality to be automatically interpreted as racism and is it justification to use that weapon and shoot at somebody with it? By the way please think about whether Anders Brevik, Ted Kazinski (however its spelled) or Timothy McVeigh are of muslim/middleeastern or asian extraction? It seems to me that you are making an automatic connection which is rather tenuos and using it to justify an accusation of racism which you treat as a far more serious crime than shooting someone. Please tell me I'm wrong with that analysis. This is not what this thread is about. If it gets to that stage it is for the police to decide whether what happened was racially aggravated not this forum.

You've hinted at a race aspect, you can't just expect us to ignore that!

No I only suggested it needed to be senitively handled because I know that somewhere down the line somebody would want to raise it in pursuit of their own particular agenda. Regretably I wasn't disappointed - thanks Stuart. I'll ask again. How would you be looking at this if I had declared it to be Jones from Swansea?

Yes you should ignore it. The point is what to do about the fact that he was carrying a BB gun unsupervised in a public in the first place and secondly that he used it.

Cheers