A metal detectorist wrote to a forum recently worried by some shooting in fields adjacent to those for which he had permission to search for collectables. He is targeting known sites: ('steeped in history with a roman monument 40 yards from one of my fields to the left and a known roman villa on another field close to the right') but is worried about safety. He is told to wear a high-visibility vest and not to worry, Essex member "Allectus" assuring him (Sat Aug 09, 2014 10:25 pm) Alf, don't worry too much about the shotguns mate. Although they might sound intimidating, they could'nt knock a black man off your daughter past 25-30 yards.These are the people PC Andy Long assures his readers on Twitter are 'respectable'. Respectable folk on a respectable forum where that kind of talk would be condemned immediately? Look how many comments were posted after, including one approving the sentiment. "Alloverover" (Sat Aug 09, 2014 10:58 pm) adds:
Bloody could Tony, I could chuck one that far if faced with those circumstances mateThis kind of racist hate talk is absolutely disgusting and the fact that not a single forum member has objected tells you a lot about the sort of people that go metal detecting in the UK. It is a shame PC Long does not pay attention to the actual content of some of these forums, we'd not have him coming out with glib head-patting claptrap then.
Vignette: The Face of Britain today?
UPDATE 10th August 2014
Ooo look, metal detectorists have a social conscience after all. Those two posts and any referring to them "seem" to have disappeared. So is that because for the last three days metal detectorists were flooding the thread with comments opposing the use of the forum for spreading racist hate-talk, or is it because the group moderators keep an eye on this blog and react when they see that something is pointed out which really does not reflect too well on the community (or was it my message to the UK police that did it)? I'd say what does not reflect at all well is that it was clearly not the first mechanism that operated here. Those two posts should have come down as soon after they were posted as is humanly possible.
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4 comments:
Well actually, PC Long is a metal detectorist himself isn't he, with previous form for glib head-patting?
I seem to recall him leaning over backwards to offer succour to the large number of thick as ten short planks detectorists who stole the gold coins at a rally at Twinstead.
I would think that "respectable" is in fact among the last of the words that would be used anyone normal who'd spent more than a few minutes looking at several metal detecting forums. Yet PC ("I'm your friend") Long is insistent on using it in his tweeting.
I fear PC Long is constrained in the same way as the rest of the police: they can't use the term "responsible" as that has been officially defined and most detectorists don't measure up to it.
So "respectable" is a substitute term that sounds good but allows for the inclusion of people that are most assuredly not "responsible". It's all part of the Establishment's cowardly gyrations to render oikishness mainstream rather than dealing with it head-on like they do abroad. PC Long would be banged up in Ireland for what he does so it's unlikely you'll get any sensible statements from him. ;)
Then using a different term to avoid stating the truth is spreading misinformation and not what I'd expect of a police officer who is employed to see that these people uphold the law no matter who they are. Why would a public servant try to pretend the community is something other than what it is? Why can he not simply be objective and resist the urge to colourise the situation by expressing opinions like this?
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