Good news from Down Under as a couple of nasties contemplate a bit of jail time. In November of 2011 footage taken on a suburban Melbourne bus showing several passengers threatening some French girls for singing in their native language. The footage is deeply disturbing and the behaviour both disgraceful & criminal. I've seen it enough times that I don't care to see it again, but it is on youtube. I heard a while back that several people had been questioned, but I hadn't heard any more. Looks like the Police have been doing their job. It is important to note here that the criminal issue isn't just the racism, but the verbal assault. It is one thing to make an offensive statement about a particular race, it is entirely another to abuse someone personally for the same reason. Can't say I'm sad that they will be spending some time in jail.
When this footage surfaced the general response here was disgust. These attitudes are not common, but they certainly exist. While I would argue that racist attitudes have been in steep decline for several generations in Australia, there are a minority that hold to them. Worse, for close to 20 years a segment of the political spectrum & attached commentariat have convinced such people that they are 'victims of political correctness'. As a result 'I've got a right to my opinion' has become the only defence some people seem to need for the most appalling attitudes. Deeper exploration is not needed. Racism is by its nature a stupid prejudice, so its adherents often take signals on acceptable behaviour from such political messages. As a result the visibility of racism in Australia can mislead people as to its prevalence while buttressing those with their own prejudices about Australia. The preparedness of Police to act in this case is heartening, though I doubt it will get the publicity overseas that the footage received.
One of the positive aspects of this conviction is the message it will send. It has been widely reported in Melbourne today. Any sense of empowerment racists might have felt in seeing this video will be taken away. Conversely people will feel more empowered to intervene & report such behaviour. If people feel there will be consequences for such behaviour their cowardice will get the better of them. Apparently one of these men has already had his life ruined as a result of being identified. Good. I hope other morons are paying attention.
Read more: Man jailed for racist bus rant
When this footage surfaced the general response here was disgust. These attitudes are not common, but they certainly exist. While I would argue that racist attitudes have been in steep decline for several generations in Australia, there are a minority that hold to them. Worse, for close to 20 years a segment of the political spectrum & attached commentariat have convinced such people that they are 'victims of political correctness'. As a result 'I've got a right to my opinion' has become the only defence some people seem to need for the most appalling attitudes. Deeper exploration is not needed. Racism is by its nature a stupid prejudice, so its adherents often take signals on acceptable behaviour from such political messages. As a result the visibility of racism in Australia can mislead people as to its prevalence while buttressing those with their own prejudices about Australia. The preparedness of Police to act in this case is heartening, though I doubt it will get the publicity overseas that the footage received.
One of the positive aspects of this conviction is the message it will send. It has been widely reported in Melbourne today. Any sense of empowerment racists might have felt in seeing this video will be taken away. Conversely people will feel more empowered to intervene & report such behaviour. If people feel there will be consequences for such behaviour their cowardice will get the better of them. Apparently one of these men has already had his life ruined as a result of being identified. Good. I hope other morons are paying attention.
One man is in jail and another is awaiting sentence for racially abusing a French woman on a Melbourne bus, in violent, expletive-ridden tirades that gained international attention.
Hayden Stirling Stewart, 25, was taken into custody on Friday for his rant against Fanny Desaintjores and her friends while on a bus travelling between Mordialloc and Highett on November 11, 2012.
David Robert Mathew Graham, 36, also faces a jail term for what magistrate Jennifer Goldsborough described as the most vile, horrible and violent language she had heard in 17 years of sitting on the bench.
The tirades were captured on video with a passenger's mobile phone and gained international notoriety. The video had been viewed more than four million times since it was uploaded to YouTube, Moorabbin Magistrates Court heard.
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Stewart, his then partner, Alixx Guest, and Graham threatened and abused Ms Desaintjores when she and her friends began singing in French, the court heard.
Stewart said he would cut the woman with a box cutter, while Graham told her to "speak English or die" and said he would cut her breasts off with a filleting knife. Graham also made reference to the colour of the woman's skin and made references to slavery, the court heard.
Senior Constable Paul Collins, prosecuting, said when Stewart and Guest got off the bus with their daughter, Stewart smashed a window of the bus with his first, covering passengers in glass.
Stewart, 25, of Hampton East, previously pleaded guilty to threatening to inflict serious injury, behaving in an insulting manner in public and causing intentional damage.
He was taken into custody and will be assessed for mental-health issues before he is formally sentenced on March 20.
Graham was annoyed at having to catch a bus between Mordialloc and Caulfield railway stations when he abused the woman, mainly while he spoke to a friend on his mobile phone, the court heard.
Defence counsel Manny Nicolosi agreed the language Graham used was disgusting, and said his client had been sacked from his job as a builder's labourer and evicted from his rental property in the aftermath.
He said Graham had suffered immense embarrassment from his actions that day.
"Andy Warhol said everyone once had their 15 minutes of fame, but this man has had his 15 months of infamy," Mr Nicolosi said.
Graham pleaded guilty to making a threat to inflict serious injury and behaving in an offensive manner in public. Two other charges were struck out.
Mr Nicolosi said his client had had a problem with alcohol and had made substantial efforts to stop drinking since the incident.
Ms Goldsborough indicated she would likely send Graham to jail given the violent, sexist and offensive nature of his remarks. She said racist comments were the least of his concerns given the threats he made were aggravated because there were about 20 people on the bus, including children.
Graham said he had spent periods living on the streets since being evicted.
"Anything you can do is nothing compared to what I've been through the past 12 months," he told the magistrate.
Graham was bailed to return to court for sentence on March 20.
Ms Goldsborough said Graham also needed to undergo mental-health assessment before he was sentenced.
Hayden Stirling Stewart, 25, was taken into custody on Friday for his rant against Fanny Desaintjores and her friends while on a bus travelling between Mordialloc and Highett on November 11, 2012.
David Robert Mathew Graham, 36, also faces a jail term for what magistrate Jennifer Goldsborough described as the most vile, horrible and violent language she had heard in 17 years of sitting on the bench.
The tirades were captured on video with a passenger's mobile phone and gained international notoriety. The video had been viewed more than four million times since it was uploaded to YouTube, Moorabbin Magistrates Court heard.
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Stewart, his then partner, Alixx Guest, and Graham threatened and abused Ms Desaintjores when she and her friends began singing in French, the court heard.
Stewart said he would cut the woman with a box cutter, while Graham told her to "speak English or die" and said he would cut her breasts off with a filleting knife. Graham also made reference to the colour of the woman's skin and made references to slavery, the court heard.
Senior Constable Paul Collins, prosecuting, said when Stewart and Guest got off the bus with their daughter, Stewart smashed a window of the bus with his first, covering passengers in glass.
Stewart, 25, of Hampton East, previously pleaded guilty to threatening to inflict serious injury, behaving in an insulting manner in public and causing intentional damage.
He was taken into custody and will be assessed for mental-health issues before he is formally sentenced on March 20.
Graham was annoyed at having to catch a bus between Mordialloc and Caulfield railway stations when he abused the woman, mainly while he spoke to a friend on his mobile phone, the court heard.
Defence counsel Manny Nicolosi agreed the language Graham used was disgusting, and said his client had been sacked from his job as a builder's labourer and evicted from his rental property in the aftermath.
He said Graham had suffered immense embarrassment from his actions that day.
"Andy Warhol said everyone once had their 15 minutes of fame, but this man has had his 15 months of infamy," Mr Nicolosi said.
Graham pleaded guilty to making a threat to inflict serious injury and behaving in an offensive manner in public. Two other charges were struck out.
Mr Nicolosi said his client had had a problem with alcohol and had made substantial efforts to stop drinking since the incident.
Ms Goldsborough indicated she would likely send Graham to jail given the violent, sexist and offensive nature of his remarks. She said racist comments were the least of his concerns given the threats he made were aggravated because there were about 20 people on the bus, including children.
Graham said he had spent periods living on the streets since being evicted.
"Anything you can do is nothing compared to what I've been through the past 12 months," he told the magistrate.
Graham was bailed to return to court for sentence on March 20.
Ms Goldsborough said Graham also needed to undergo mental-health assessment before he was sentenced.
Read more: Man jailed for racist bus rant
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