Wilfried Zaha: “Subjected to vile racist abuse on Instagram”

Murder on Zidane's Floor

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Thats.. quite dystopian.
Yeah, trying to wake up and prepare for your job and being subjected to vile abuse that shows genocide, racism, abuse and discrimination purely down to the colour of your skin and it being something you just have to expect and deal with, is indeed, quite dystopian.
 

Ødegaard

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Its possible, but its also just as possible that the kid is rebelling by doing something he knows will get people to freak out. 12 year olds are like that. And arresting them is way OTT. But I guess I'm in the minority here cos I'm not a fan of police states. March on.
The issue you took up with the arrest wasn't that he was 12.
Seriously its really bad to send racist abuse on the internet.. but I'm gonna say it - is it seriously something you should be arrested for?
But if we look past that you can take him in and show him, and everyone else that it is not acceptable even if you are a kid. Let them go and it'll be seen as okay.
His punishment should be a teaching experience about racism on top of a fine for his parents in my opinion.
 

Posh Red

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Thats.. quite dystopian.
How is it dystopian? If arresting people for committing crimes is dystopian then I guess you’re right. For every racist message their is a victim of crime who’s life has been negatively affected. Those people deserve justice just like any victim of crime. Especially when the messages in question implied they would go even further.
 

charlenefan

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It could be that he heard it from relatives or friends parents. A lot of the bad stuff I learnt wasn't from my parents.
I'm sure if you were to ask your parents though they'd feel responsible for you learning those bad things or not being educated that they were bad beforehand. Maybe I'm being harsh but speaking as a parent I'd feel responsible
 

Rish Sawhney

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The issue you took up with the arrest wasn't that he was 12.

But if we look past that you can take him in and show him, and everyone else that it is not acceptable even if you are a kid. Let them go and it'll be seen as okay.
His punishment should be a teaching experience about racism on top of a fine for his parents in my opinion.
You're right I'm not a fan of arresting people for things they post on the internet in general. Even less so when its a 12 year old. Again I can see I'm in the minority so I'm gonna peace out of this thread. Just a cautionary reminder though, once you grant the government this kind of power it can turn against people quick. I'm in a country where people not uncommonly get arrested for posting "offensive things" which often turn out to just be critical of the government or the people in power.
 

horsechoker

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I'm sure if you were to ask your parents though they'd feel responsible for you learning those bad things or not being educated that they were bad beforehand. Maybe I'm being harsh but speaking as a parent I'd feel responsible
I agree these things should be taught to kids beforehand but it's impossible for parents to stop their kids picking up some bad habits unless they lock their kid away from society.

This kid has gotten a rude awakening.
 

TheNewEra

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Nah it is, while there's no guide on how to be a parent something's gone very wrong with that kids upbringing
I somewhat disagree, I'd argue that your friends that you grow up with are just as big of a factor of your behaviour versus parents.

I know plenty of people (growing up) who were completely different to their parents.

This 12 year old could also be not racist whatsoever but he's doing it as a villa fan to try somehow affect Zaha.

Believing you are completely anonymous makes people do things they usually wouldn't and I believe there are studies on the case where people do that.

Just like how people go and loot and murder throughout history when they aren't see as 'looters' and they don't go around murdering neighbours, but in certain extreme cases it happens.

I'm not defending the 12 year old, but obviously believing he was anonymous was a factor in this, he still may not be racist (even though his actions were) and it could be nothing to do with the parents.

Anonymity should be removed from social media in general to stamp this out.
 

Rish Sawhney

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How is it dystopian? If arresting people for committing crimes is dystopian then I guess you’re right. For every racist message their is a victim of crime who’s life has been negatively affected. Those people deserve justice just like any victim of crime. Especially when the messages in question implied they would go even further.
My point is that posting things on the internet shouldn't be a crime. I'm not comfortable giving the government or the police power to regulate what people can and cannot post on the internet. If that abuse bleeds into real life (like people actually turning up in front of his house or something) then yes they should be arrested. Again I see I'm in the minority here, keep going - no harm meant. I'm just not sure arresting the 12 year old is a proportional response. Maybe send the police to investigate the situation and tell his parents to have a talk with him. Maybe ask them to revoke his internet privileges or something.
 

Posh Red

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I somewhat disagree, I'd argue that your friends that you grow up with are just as big of a factor of your behaviour versus parents.

I know plenty of people (growing up) who were completely different to their parents.

This 12 year old could also be not racist whatsoever but he's doing it as a villa fan to try somehow affect Zaha.

Believing you are completely anonymous makes people do things they usually wouldn't and I believe there are studies on the case where people do that.

Just like how people go and loot and murder throughout history when they aren't see as 'looters' and they don't go around murdering neighbours, but in certain extreme cases it happens.

I'm not defending the 12 year old, but obviously believing he was anonymous was a factor in this, he still may not be racist (even though his actions were) and it could be nothing to do with the parents.
Agreed. My old man got a degree at LSE and went on to have a great career etc, whilst two of his brothers went on to have lengthy prison sentences. My nan is one of the kindest people you could ever meet, but her kids were such a mixed bag.
 

Ødegaard

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I somewhat disagree, I'd argue that your friends that you grow up with are just as big of a factor of your behaviour versus parents.

I know plenty of people (growing up) who were completely different to their parents.

This 12 year old could also be not racist whatsoever but he's doing it as a villa fan to try somehow affect Zaha.

Believing you are completely anonymous makes people do things they usually wouldn't and I believe there are studies on the case where people do that.

Just like how people go and loot and murder throughout history when they aren't see as 'looters' and they don't go around murdering neighbours, but in certain extreme cases it happens.

I'm not defending the 12 year old, but obviously believing he was anonymous was a factor in this, he still may not be racist (even though his actions were) and it could be nothing to do with the parents.
Friends bring new things into your life, that is true, but parents are responsible for stamping out bad behavior and influences.
 

charlenefan

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I somewhat disagree, I'd argue that your friends that you grow up with are just as big of a factor of your behaviour versus parents.

I know plenty of people (growing up) who were completely different to their parents.

This 12 year old could also be not racist whatsoever but he's doing it as a villa fan to try somehow affect Zaha.

Believing you are completely anonymous makes people do things they usually wouldn't and I believe there are studies on the case where people do that.

Just like how people go and loot and murder throughout history when they aren't see as 'looters' and they don't go around murdering neighbours, but in certain extreme cases it happens.

I'm not defending the 12 year old, but obviously believing he was anonymous was a factor in this, he still may not be racist (even though his actions were) and it could be nothing to do with the parents.

Anonymity should be removed from social media in general to stamp this out.
Is that simply a case of doing something because you think you can get away with it? Which deep down is just a characteristic of that persons personality. Something either occurs to you or it doesn't and if it does and it has negative connotations then that's just in that persons DNA
 

mav_9me

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My point is that posting things on the internet shouldn't be a crime. I'm not comfortable giving the government or the police power to regulate what people can and cannot post on the internet. If that abuse bleeds into real life (like people actually turning up in front of his house or something) then yes they should be arrested. Again I see I'm in the minority here, keep going - no harm meant. I'm just not sure arresting the 12 year old is a proportional response. Maybe send the police to investigate the situation and tell his parents to have a talk with him. Maybe ask them to revoke his internet privileges or something.
Surely you can see the point is saying stuff on the internet is the same as saying in real life? You don't disagree with that do you?

If you are arrested for criticizing the government, that's wrong whether it's done online or in real life.

Internet and real life are same. Internet does not offer protection.
 

Pav1878

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Awareness awareness awareness my a$$, its time to make radical changes to social media accounts, validate everyone with their IDs and give culprits life bans not only from football grounds but social media as well.
Absolutely right. Have felt this for a while. With the world going through such upheaval, why is social media still a thing? I can't stand these idiots who think they can say anything they like with no repercussions.

Get rid of Twitter, Facebook and the rest if you ask me. It's just a soapbox for show offs and hate speak
 
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Posh Red

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Absolutely right. Have felt this for a while. With the world going through such upheaval, why is social media still a thing? I can't stand these idiots who think they can say anything they like with no repercussions.

Get rid of Twitter, Facebook and the rest if you ask me. It's just a soapbox for show offs and hate speak
I too have a disliking of social media for various reasons, and sometimes I feel like we could do away with it altogether. At the same time it does seem to have some positives e.g. raising awareness of current events etc and that’s been on show recently
 

Salt Bailly

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I feel for the kid in terms of the environment he's grown up in that's led to him thinking posting something like that is ok.

Imprisoning him is obviously not the answer, but getting arrested and it being dealt with seriously by the police will undoubtedly give him the kick up the arse he needs to learn and grow.

The best course of action would be to set up a meeting between him and zaha. Let him see and hear first-hand the impact of his actions from the victim. At his age, there's still plenty of time for him to shake his backward, hateful views.
 
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crossy1686

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Nothing to do with politics.
No, I agree, racism has everything to do with racists and nothing else, but these dickheads thinking its socially acceptable to say this shit out loud stems from politicians and media outlets dehumanising immigrants and calling them 'swarms'.
 

Pav1878

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I too have a disliking of social media for various reasons, and sometimes I feel like we could do away with it altogether. At the same time it does seem to have some positives e.g. raising awareness of current events etc and that’s been on show recently
That's true, if it was solely used for raising awareness of injustices around the world and news it would be great, but unfortunately it just seems to be an platform for so called influencers and extreme views
 

Zlatans Knee

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I have a 12 year old daughter, I can't imagine how much hatred a child like that has to be have been subjected to in order to become that twisted in his mind. It may not be 100% the parents fault, but certainly a large proportion of the blame lies there. Football is supposed to be about entertainment ffs, it is a sad indictment of the world we live in.
 
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Judge Red

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This 12 year old could also be not racist whatsoever but he's doing it as a villa fan to try somehow affect Zaha.
That’s still racist. It’s the same with Suarez and Evra. Maybe Suarez wasn’t aware that he was a racist until the moment he decided to use Evra’s skin colour to get him wound up and sent off.
 

Falcow

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Makes a case why everybody on social media should be kyc verified
Exactly, I said earlier on the Abraham thread that opening a social media account should be like opening a bank account. But amount of user accounts would probably reduce by a quarter so they will never do it.
 

patty123

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12 years old?? Racist bastard at 12? Can only imagine his parents and the way they are bringing him up.
Do you know his parents, no you dont, so why place blame on them ? And given you're from new york, you of all people should know that there are millions out there that were brought up to respect and yet turn out to be pure scum. A recent case in new york saw an 82 yr old white woman punch to the ground by a black man, do you think his parents taught him that ?
 

Penna

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Exactly, I said earlier on the Abraham thread that opening a social media account should be like opening a bank account. But amount of user accounts would probably reduce by a quarter so they will never do it.
I agree with you on this. In western democracies (where you don't get arrested for having an opinion about the government or the monarchy), you shouldn't be able to hide behind anonymous accounts. I've never posted anything on social media that would be considered hate speech, it's really easy to be a normal decent human being when you interact with people online.

If it's not horrible racists attacking people (and I don't care if the kid is only 12, he knew exactly what he was doing), it's bullies driving people to suicide. We managed without social media well enough before, those who are trying to hide probably have something to hide in many cases.
 

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Agreed. I'd argue that social media needs to be 18+, but it's impossible to implement
There are already rules preventing 12 year olds from using social media but sadly as you said can't be enforced.
 

Drawfull

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The person also said (in response to Wright) that they were drunk at the time and didn't mean it etc. Seems a bit grown up for a 12-year-old to me. Or maybe they think that drunk is the perfect excuse.

Even if I was 12 and drunk, I don't think that would be my go to excuse for being a cnut - I don't think I'd shit myself at that age into an apology.
 

BenitoSTARR

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The issue you took up with the arrest wasn't that he was 12.

But if we look past that you can take him in and show him, and everyone else that it is not acceptable even if you are a kid. Let them go and it'll be seen as okay.
His punishment should be a teaching experience about racism on top of a fine for his parents in my opinion.
Absolutely he needs to be educated and punished. There has to be a deterrent but also something to prevent those casual attitudes to racism becoming entrenched.

The school he goes to I suspect will get a lot of bad press too.
@FootyGirl88

Agreed. I'd argue that social media needs to be 18+, but it's impossible to implement
I completely agree or at least 16+ it would solve so many issues if people actually had to be of a reasonably mature age and prove it before they go onto these sites.

If I had my way it should be an ID process. You have to verify your ID in some way beyond an email account, the issue is companies won’t do this as they lose user base (fake/throwaway accounts still count towards their user base which in turn sells advertising)
 

horsechoker

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The person also said (in response to Wright) that they were drunk at the time and didn't mean it etc. Seems a bit grown up for a 12-year-old to me. Or maybe they think that drunk is the perfect excuse.

Even if I was 12 and drunk, I don't think that would be my go to excuse for being a cnut - I don't think I'd shit myself at that age into an apology.
Well if the 12 year old is drunk then I'll call the parents' into question.
 

RDCR07

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Do you know his parents, no you dont, so why place blame on them ? And given you're from new york, you of all people should know that there are millions out there that were brought up to respect and yet turn out to be pure scum. A recent case in new york saw an 82 yr old white woman punch to the ground by a black man, do you think his parents taught him that ?
I never said parents are the only ones to blame but certainly a huge chunk. If he did on social media it means it’s not his first outburst. A parent can’t always say I didn’t know my kid did this, well it’s your god damn job to know.
 
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Bobski

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Most kids are awful little shits the majority of the time.
 

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There’s pond life everywhere. And social media has given them a platform unfortunately. Twitter is the worst though. . It’s a fecking cesspit.