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  • For what it's worth, I still think he was trying to make a point about a lack of community spirit on the road. I agree that the way in which he phrased it appeared to be pretty racist, and tangentially I'd point out that racism on the continent is much more prevalent than we in the UK think - and is probably a lot more socially acceptable outside a melting pot like London.

    None of which is to try to excuse what he said, because what he said was rotten. But I agree with Tynan - is the right response to try to get the law on him, to turn it into a bigger political issue? For one, doing that gives his views more credence and more airtime than they merit, and for another it feeds into a nasty authoritarian policing of people's speech acts. Isn't our disapproval bad enough?

    I have to say I'm a bit torn over this whole debate - having been the recipient of some nasty racist crap in my youth (being half-spic in the UK in the aftermath of the Falklands) I sympathise a lot with people's sense of aggrievement; on the other hand I think this is a bit of a molehill-mountain thingummy. It's a crap shop anyway!

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