Exactly, but i feel you are flogging a dead horse, (is that an Idiom or a bout of flagellation

)

So because they don't say the ref's name it's not personal? Are you for real? What's not personal about saying Ganson/Silverwood et al are so useless they obviously tug one off? These fellas just take it on the chin and get on with it, though it probably does really bother them sometimes.

What's not personal about calling Ganson a fat knacker?

People who have suffered abuse because of weight/hair colour/other physical attributes that can be easily picked upon have led miserable lives/self harmed/topped themselves as a result of the personal attacks they have suffered.

Are we talking about what goes on within RL here or outside the sport in wider world?

If you want to make quantum leaps from terrace banter/abuse, right or wrong as it is, match officials in other sports have been murdered for what they do.

Unbelievable that a grown man who can quite easily defend himself has had a bit of stick and the reaction has been as overblown as it is.

Talk about making a rod for your own backs and being shown to be totally hypocritical in oder to appear holier than thou!!

Gareth Thomas is welcome in the game, it matters not one jot to me where he parks his pecker, but come on people get real.

It is personal, but as he doesn't take offence (in fact quite the opposite as it means people are looking at him) it don't count.

dont be ridiculous, of course there is a hierarchy of abuse. Something are much much worse than others. Some abuse is a remnant of abhorrent and appalling attitudes in our past. Some things are just fairly meaningless statements made to express frustration.

Surely you cant be equating me calling you a poo-poo head to me reffering to a black man as a slave

Homophobia is a real issue, it isnt just name calling, its real discrimination and a real problem, Being called a w@nker really isnt

the fact you are trying to equate all insults and abuse shows quite a high level of ignorance

The initial point your raised was saying how can saying someone is gay or so and so takes it up the bum be homophobic abuse. I tired to show you why at now you have deviated somewhat massively in order to put a holier than thou comment in.

Anyhow, there is no call for any abuse. I've said that pretty much all the way through.

If you want to pretend that this chanting isn't an issue then go ahead. It's on skin off my nose.

It was a simple question, you are just avoiding answering it.

Not just about the him though is it..If I attend a match with a child it would certainly bother me if a child had to listen to homophobic chants or comments. I accept a child would hear foul language at a match as swearing is part of a language, however homophobia is a behaviour, an illegal and unwanted behaviour.

I don't agree, if I support my team and my ticket money goes towards paying the players wages I feel more than qualified to have my say if they are not pulling their weight or are not good enough at their job (plenty of people get abuse every day from customers at work in the same conditions).

With it being sport and all peoples opinions on an employees performance are just that, opinions.

Racist, homophobic abuse is completely different, completely unacceptable and has nothing to do with sport or performance.

Right or wrong it was always going to happen.

I would be more surprised if it DIDN'T happen to be honest.


And sadly now its getting around that it has happened (and some people seem to think it was amusing/big/clever/funny/original) it will happen again.

At the risk of sounding like a double entendre Gareth Thomas needs to 'man up' if terrace chants bother him

I'm glad to see you take it so well Smokey.

Players have suffered chants for years,

Rent Boy Rent Boy and the likes have occured at many a ground, it's not something invented and specially targeted for Gareth Thomas

I don't agree some are worse than others. I'd suggest it's simply that some are more of a cause celebre than others.

If a heterosexual player had been called gay and suggestions made that he took it up the bum, there wouldn't have been an utterance about it.

I think you are overplaying the issue in order to try and take the high ground. Homophobia as you call it isn't any bigger a problem, in terms of numbers of instances or in society overall than kids being picked on because of an aspect their appearance.

As I've said if Thomas had a real problem with what was said, why hasn't he done something about it? There are plenty of channels for him to proceed with a complaint.

People need to see this for what it was, a bit of ribbing. What are you going to do if players rip the out of him, which they will inevitably do?

Storm in a teacup. it's done it's been noted, move on and stop being so bloody high and mighty.

Meaningless to express frustration? That's a really poor cop out. If that's the case aren't the fans who chant these things as ignorant as those you are chastising for ribbing Thomas? Resorting to foul language and abuse is exactly the same ignorance as you say was directed at Thomas, but you somehow seem to think one is worse than the other.

Rank hypocrisy.

I haven't deviated in any way. My argument has been consistent that what was aimed at Thomas is no worse than what is aimed at anyone else from a rugby crowd, or in society in general.

I didn't say it wasn't an issue, I argued it was no more of an issue than anything else that often passes completely without comment.

Had it not been a high profile union player on the end of it, it wouldn't have raised a single comment.

Carry on self flagellating.

You're right in one way, obviously there is a hierarchy of sorts, but explain how being called a bald/fat/thick *insert expletive here* is any different to being called a gay *insert expletive here* - why should the latter be considered any worse than the former?

Sureley they are all insulting and directed at a particular aspect of a person that stands out from the "average" persons aspects?

What player has been getting called a 'rent boy'???

You don't watch much Rugby League do you?

Not since ive been in England no.

Its all that Superleague stuff.


You cant see NRL here unless you watch it online so I tend not to bother.



So whose the rent boy?

You?

.

You can control fatness, baldness and even intelligence to an extent. They are all intrinsically negative characteristics, and they operate on a different scale - you can have somebody who is very fat, or someone who is just a bit tubby. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is not something someone can control, is not a negative characteristic, and is a fixed characteristic - you can't reduce your homosexuality, or have someone who is 'quite homosexual', and the same goes for race. If you can't see the difference, then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are just naive.

what thomas did isnt the RL way

he shouldve taken it on the chin

and played on

just saying in the media it hurt him means he will suffer more of it

hes soft. needs to toughen up if he wants to make in in league

RL players have played games with broken arms and jaws, a little bit of name calling is hardly anything to carry on with the soft git

Any player who happens to upset the fans of the home team in front of the main stand i'd guess

Im not questioning whether you can control the other things, the fact of the matter is that someone has a certain characteristic and a group of people shout abuse at them based on said characteristic. It's still offensive and abusive and whether or not they can control it or not is irrelevant:-

"oh lets call this guy a bald ****** because he can always go and put a wig on so it's ok!"

nonsense!

Barry McKenzie thinks half a dozen or so thick drunken Yorkshiremen calling him a poofter is the least of his problems.

He is 35, got no teeth, no hair hes playing for the Crusaders of all people and if reports are to be believed isn't having the best start to his Rugby League career.


Having said that I wish him all the best. He was a great Union player and I'm sure he will do ok at League

I guess the bnp have got one vote already! If u think it's accetable to abuse someone about a set characteristic whilst they are going about earning a living. how about you walk into a shop and racially abuse an asian guy and see how far u get in court when saying it's not the British way he should take it on the chin. You bigoted retarded pillock!