For the record, stop and have a think as to the reason why to the rare posts
No, I don't think so. That really is a personal matter for you to come to terms with.
An awful lot of precious people on here now that rise and criticise genuine posts and are more than happy to pigeon hole people because of a simple, honest opinion.
Possibly so, but it is no different to any other forum/message board. You are free to stand your ground and argue a point or, alternatively, withdraw your participation. The middle ground should suggest that you simply ignore the specific matters which you find particularly irksome. It would seem that you haven't currently stabilised your position.
Let's face it, if Reg had not of mentioned "the Islamic centre" would you still have put him in the BNP/UKIP bracket ?
I doubt it
Well, of course not. Are you seriously stupid ? I have been reading Reg's contributions for several years, even before I started posting (FAO jutty). I've already stated that I find them admirable and there has never been an instance whereby I've been given the impression that Reg is remotely racist. Yet perhaps the wording could have been given a little more attention and aforethought. Sometimes, even vehement non-racists say things which they regret. I've lost count of the number of occasions where people have said to me..." I'm not a racist but..." or "Oh that sounded a bit racist didn't it...". I'm not convinced Reg meant any harm.
Reg stated it because it is the truth, it is an Islamic centre. That is irrelevant IMO, it could have been a drop in centre or a food bank.
Indeed that is the case. I empathise with Reg's disdain at the closure of a part of Swindon's heritage. My ancestors moved to Swindon in the 19th century to work on the railways. The gradual loss of that tradition and heritage has saddened me.
The change of usage of Gorse Hill Club is irrelevant, as you say. Yet maybe that feeling of bitterness could have been enhanced (even maybe subconsciously) by the change of usage to it's current status. After all, there does seem to be a degree of resentment amongst the local populace. There was no need to refer to an Islamic Centre, as SiPie has already pointed out. If the premises had been converted to an Elderly Day Care Centre or a Centre for the Disabled, then I question whether it would have been mentioned.
The pont of the fact that Reg was alluding to is that the working mens chub and CIU clubs are part of our heritage an were provided by the working man, for the working man.
How that puts him in the UKIP/BNP bracket is quite frankly, beyond me.
Now, that reaches a level of patheticism which is quite frankly, beyond me.
As for the bandwagon comment, it seems to me that if anyone in the country even makes a statement or a genuine concern that has an ethnic connotation they are immediately labeled a racist.
You are quite right and I totally agree that there is an over-reaction. I re-iterate that, in this instance, I was not being critical, yet merely making an observation which could easily be mis-construed. I did state that
it doesn't bother me. For the record, my political leanings lie to the right of the Conservative Party, so I think my propensity to criticise for possibly making a racist comment is a tad lower, compared to other members of this forum.
Let's put it this way
People on here have known me an awful long time and will vouch that I am in now way racist
However, if I voice a concern about benefit tourism and my family not being afforded the care that I have contributed to for the last 35 years I am sure that you would put me fairly and squarely in the same bracket as Reg
Actually not. Benefit tourism isn't race specific so you could hardly be labelled racist. Furthermore, the closure of a WMC and it's change of usage bears no comparison to the level of health care which you believe should be afforded to your family. The latter issue is a concern which is currently being addressed, albeit belatedly.
I hope we can now put this matter to rest. After all, it doesn't befit the title of the thread.
