Clr. Darren Scully - Racist comments?

samsham

County Kildare, Ireland (CNN) --

The mayor of a town in Ireland has resigned and faces a possible police investigation after saying he would no longer represent people of black African origin. Councillor Darren Scully was Mayor of Naas in County Kildare, near the Irish capital, Dublin. Interviewed on local radio Tuesday morning, Scully said he had decided not to represent black Africans because of their "aggressive" attitude to him. "I have been met with aggressiveness, I have been met with bad manners," he claimed. "I have also been played the race card - it's been said 'Oh yeah, you will help white people, but you don't help black people'." The then mayor continued: "After a while I made a decision that I was just not going to take on representations from black Africans, that I would be very courteous to them and I would pass on their query to other public representatives who would take their concerns."

Members of other political parties called for Scully to resign and Tuesday evening he did just that. He issued the following statement: "I wish to apologise unreservedly for my remarks on 4FM and KFM. I realise they have caused deep hurt and offence in all communities and in all sectors of society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiPE7GZey6A

Cheerleader

Gingko wrote: »

Africa is made up of many nations and cultures. I too have found a lot of Nigerian people to be aggressive and rude but the same can not be said of South Africans or indeed people from Senegal, Ghana, Angola and Mozambique that I have had the pleasure of meeting. By the way I don't think Scully is a racist but he could of worded it a lot better.

Excellent point Gingko, I have Nigerians living accross the road from me,
and my next door neighbours are Angolan.
They could not be more different, the Nigerians are very loud and to be honest they don't mix with the few Irish that live around here.
The Angolans are much more friendly and are quiet and reserved .. as opposed to the Ukranians on the other side of me who play their techno music at all hours of the day and night.

Just beside them I have a muslim family, from Iraq I think..?
Not too sure about that but they are ok... just opposite are a house full of Philipeanos and they are really nice, very decent bunch...

The only headache I have with the Africans is their prayer meetings..
Where they shout and roar for a couple of hours.

My own theory is that if you live somewhere where you don't have the diversity that we have here in west Dublin, you could be much more PC and tolerent. But when they are all around you, don't bother with clean-up days, don't bother to cut the grass, paint doors etc.. because the houses are all rented by the health board.
Park their cars all over the place.. well you just get a bit tired of them.

Does this make you racist..?

If a councillor gets tired of being abused,
Does this make him racist..?

Fuinseog

there are similar problems with travellers in the area. say something negative and you are racist. they know how to work it to their advantage. a pub in newbridge let in a few travellers and when the pub became full it stopped letting them in and they cried discrimination so it cost the publican ten grand.

BTW who would honestlz go into a pub full of travellers, given their reputation for aggressiveness?

if a black man is being abusive to you, you have to put up with it, otherwise you are racist.

a liberal friend of mine used to be very tolerant of different ethnic groups. She spend three months working with asylum seekers in Dublin and had a less positive attitude towards them afterwards.

samsham

Cheerleader wrote: »

I support Darren and if you read his comments in context the man is right.
the fact that he now has to resign just proves the case.

I would imagine a lot of people would support him as a private citizen for standing for what his believes. As a public rep, who may have got some African votes in the council elections, hypocrite comes to mind. Imagine a British politician saying he wont represent the Irish in London. Idiot should give up his expenses for being a public rep and I am sure in his private life, no one will mind what he calls non-nationals.

Muckie

Having worked with many different types of colours and creeds in my

job, i believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt.

(They way i was reared). But with my dealing with Nigerians i have found

different they are rude, aggressive and a bad mannered bunch of people.

I will longer do any work for them, they just aren't work the grief and

hassle. As a Society we shouldn't be afraid to expression an opinion with

out been called a racist.

Cheerleader

samsham wrote: »

I would imagine a lot of people would support him as a private citizen for standing for what his believes. As a public rep, who may have got some African votes in the council elections, hypocrite comes to mind. Imagine a British politician saying he wont represent the Irish in London. Idiot should give up his expenses for being a public rep and I am sure in his private life, no one will mind what he calls non-nationals.

Can't agree with you, if a councillor in London was getting the same nasty intimidation by Irish, he would have the full support of his constituents. Anyone who lived in London would tell you that.
As long as you are working and paying your way you are accepted but if you want to live off welfare and then kick up if you don't get what you want, the English will side with their councillor.

headmaster

drkpower wrote: »

Does that include the rule against discriminating against people on the basis of their rrace/nationality/ethnicity?:rolleyes:

Hey buddy, a very honest Irishman has had to resign his post because silly individuals didn't even listen to what the man said. There was no racist tones whatsoever in the interview, despite the pc brigade talking utter nonsense. As for your question, I have answered it in all I have written, or can you not see that either. There are too many, by far, of the take everything brigade in this country of ours, both foreign and native, with plenty of do gooders to see they get what we don't have for our needy. The only thing they do in life, is rob the system. If you can't see that, there's no point in anything i'm telling you. Then again, the truth often hurts.

samsham

Well before the last elections this country was sending around the Globe a person with all the attributes just described here. Rude ignorant and aggressive and we simply called her the Minister for trade and enterprise Mary Coughlan. But still the world kept loving us. Dont forget that big ignorant Fecker from offaly.

drkpower

headmaster wrote: »

There was no racist tones whatsoever in the interview, despite the pc brigade talking utter nonsense..

:DHe is refusing to represent ALL black africans on the basis of his experience of some black africans; it is practically the definition of racism!!

headmaster wrote: »

As for your question, I have answered it in all I have written, or can you not see that either.

No you havent, at all. Want to try again?:
Do the Irish rules you want to live by include the rule against discriminating against people on the basis of their rrace/nationality/ethnicity

samsham

Cheerleader wrote: »

Can't agree with you, if a councillor in London was getting the same nasty intimidation by Irish, he would have the full support of his constituents. Anyone who lived in London would tell you that.
As long as you are working and paying your way you are accepted but if you want to live off welfare and then kick up if you don't get what you want, the English will side with their councillor.

Very short memory, some Irish had a bombing campaign there for the last part of the last century which killed hundreds, even then no politicians blamed all the Irish

Fuinseog

Muckie wrote: »

Having worked with many different types of colours and creeds in my

job, i believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt.

(They way i was reared). But with my dealing with Nigerians i have found

different they are rude, aggressive and a bad mannered bunch of people.

I will longer do any work for them, they just aren't work the grief and

hassle. As a Society we shouldn't be afraid to expression an opinion with

out been called a racist.

what you just said would get you banned on certain forums here. once you criticise a minority you are labelled racist by the ever hysterical PC brigade. what he said could be explored by the media or they can just write a report on the rise of racism in Naas.
what do we owe the nigerians? let them live here and work here by all means but end the culture of handouts and sense that we owe them something.

treat them like anyone else but demand that they behave themselves like everyone else, unless of course aggression is part of their culture like the travellers.

I know in places like Galway they park their taxis wherever they please and if the police do anything about it, they simply play the race card. Yet you cannot discuss this on the galway forum without being labelled racist.

Cheerleader

I lived in England during the 80's and I can tell you there were times you didn't want to admit you were Irish. There were also times where Irish people were openly discriminated against.

Naas Person

Dear All,
Darren Scully has resigned as Mayor but I would assume he will attempt to do what every other Irish politician would do and that's to hold onto his Naas Town Council seat as well as his County Council seat. His attitude shows the arrogance of our political class. Even local councillors now want to pick and choose who they represent. It has been my experience that local councillors are largely powerless and deliver very little when you examine their record. Darren Scully should not be a town or county councillor after this disgusting incident.
We are over represented per head than almost all other countries within Europe and it's about time we asked what do we get for our money.

samsham

Naas Person wrote: »

Dear All,
Darren Scully has resigned as Mayor but I would assume he will attempt to do what every other Irish politician would do and that's to hold onto his Naas Town Council seat as well as his County Council seat. His attitude shows the arrogance of our political class. Even local councillors now want to pick and choose who they represent. It has been my experience that local councillors are largely powerless and deliver very little when you examine their record. Darren Scully should not be a town or county councillor after this disgusting incident.
We are over represented per head than almost all other countries within Europe and it's about time we asked what do we get for our money.

In total agreement with you there, just wondered what Africans might want from this guy? As you said they have no power, they can't influence the housing list, they were banned from the HSE boards. They were useful during the boom to sign of on planning, that has us where we are. So what would they want from him? get rid of councilors and the senate for god sake.

Naas Person

Very true, local councilors were very helpful in planning issues during the boom time. Not always playing by the rules it would appear from facts uncovered in our recent history. If we were to take a general approach as per Mr Scully then we would question Head Masters defence of an honest man. Isn't it just as well we don't all stereo type as I'm sure Mr. Scully is honest and indeed if his record was examined I'm sure he would turn out be whiter than white.

wolf moon

DWCommuter wrote: »

I think he is quite entitled to this view.

He's not racist, but........

samsham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkJ2Q7eoPx4

The discussion here reminds me of a Time I thought we long passed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8E4I4hLN4k

Cerocco

To quote Martin Luther King Jr

'I have a dream that one day my children will be judged by the content of their character not the colour of their skin'

Our friend in kildare im sure meets all kinds of seed and creed who are rude and obnoxious, that happens if you put yourself in a position of dealing with the general public. He should know better unless it was just an act of attention seeking, God knows he was all over the airwaves today!

fressatty

i think this whole Racist Naas Mayor is a complete waste of everybody's time and i think the people FOR and AGAINST the issue should just walk away, because RACISM is an inherent trait in humanity and will never go away as long as there remains a tribal instinct in all walks of life.


plus all of this scandal is just a media frenzy distraction from the budget leaks that appeared in yesterday's news. It infuriates me to see people up in arms defending a few dodgy nigerians (don't be stupid, of course theres dodgy ones to blame here) but at the same people would never stand up and fight for their own rights as an Irish born citizen. It's bizarre.

binxeo

DWCommuter wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1122/scullyd.html

I think he is quite entitled to this view. It can be applied to any member of society. If he is intimidated by dealing with a particular person or group of people, I don't see the problem. A lot of black people are far too prone to playing the race card, just like the travelling community. Where do we draw the line on racism?

There should be rights if he feels intimidated or abused by a certain section of society. He should have the right to refuse to deal with people if he feels he is at risk, but typically this get blown out of proportion and becomes some mad racist thing, like he is a member of the KKK. The man was simply fed up of being abused when he was trying to help. I totally get where he is coming from.

binxeo

fressatty wrote: »

It infuriates me to see people up in arms defending a few dodgy nigerians (don't be stupid, of course theres dodgy ones to blame here) but at the same people would never stand up and fight for their own rights as an Irish born citizen. It's bizarre.

I think that is a very well said. Maybe the Irish should worry about the Irish and stand up for our rights and fight for what the government has taken from us all.

BuffyBot

Right folks, seem as my last post was roundly ignored, I'll make this clear. Any further derogatory speech, personal attacks will lead to bans and/or thread closure.

That would be a shame for an important local topic.

Joe Public

If you fight back against someone you are defending yourself, if you fight back against a group of people you become a racist.

DWCommuter

BuffyBot wrote: »

Right folks, seem as my last post was roundly ignored, I'll make this clear. Any further derogatory speech, personal attacks will lead to bans and/or thread closure.

That would be a shame for an important local topic.

Hopefully you don't close it as it is a very local issue and hugely important. When I started the thread I was kind of hoping that it appealed to Naas/Kildare people that knew more than the random After Hours head.

I've met Darren Scully on a few occasions. Some have been totally unrelated to politics. I don't agree with a lot of his politics. In fact I don't really tolerate politicians at all. However I would not class him as a racist, but do understand why he had to resign today. I agree with his position and can honestly comprehend how he reached it. As a nation and indeed a society, we really need to dig deep and face a lot of realities. Its not just about "Black Africans". It can be about those we regularly refer to as "Knackers" or "Skangers". No group of people that behave in a manner outside of expected social norms will be free from criticism. The only thing Clr Scully did wrong today was to generalise and then completely fail to defend his position. But I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that he has experienced the complete refusal of some black africans to accept protocol and their reliance on the racism excuse.

sandra06

i dont believe this guy is a racist ,he made a stupid comment that i say he regrets now,i do believe that a lot of people use the race card to there advantage to get what they want ,ie housing ,if you looked at primetime tonight mostly all the homeless on our streets are irish ,and they dont seem to be able to be homed in there own country ,but if you are from a different country you get somewhere to live ,how is that right ? i believe everyone is the same. where i work 99%of foreigners are lovely but like any race there some bad ones , .i lived in birmigham for yrs and on my road there was every nationaty and they were all thieves ,i believe most irish people feel the same way about foreigner taking advance of the irish system it annoy them that the system that was set up for us is been taken advantage of it seems to be a lot harder for irish people to get what they need but foreigner are handed it incase the play the racist card please feel free to correct me if i wrong .:rolleyes:

finfinfin

great post Sandra.
the race card does get played an awful lot.too much.this country does bend over and take it in the ass by a fair amount of foreigners and it does seem easier for them to get various allowances and freebies.that's not their fault though,the system is crap.the government,past and present are afraid being racist.if you say no to someone who isn't of the same community as you,your not a racist.well a lot of people will have you believe you are.it sickens me.another thing that gets me is the its "our culture"card.we wouldn't go to tel Aviv screaming we don't like Jews,nor if your a woman would you dress like you were going to coppers if you were in Abu dhabi.you act and go by the culture of the place your in.people are getting away with murder.

IrishBrigade

Scully said what very many think but are afraid to state due to the dictatorship of PCism.

I worked for a security company. One of their biggest contracts was the dept of social welfare..... community welfare officers refuse to deal with Nigerians unless a security officer is present.... of course they wont phrase it this way.... but its fact! I could name the locations.....

BuffyBot

Might be as good a time as any to point out that internet "facts" (i.e. with nothing to substantiate them) are about as useful to the debate as an anvil to a drowning man..

Will_H

BuffyBot wrote: »

Might be as good a time as any to point out that internet "facts" (i.e. with nothing to substantiate them) are about as useful to the debate as an anvil to a drowning man..

Not true Buffy. Everyone knows that putting an exclamation mark after the word 'fact' means it is true. Fact! (and don't get me started on using CAPS..)


On a serious note, is Scully a racist? Probably not.

Did he make racist remarks? Indeed he did. He's a politician, and as someone who is in the public eye, he should have chosen his words more carefully.

IMO, I think the people commenting on this topic using the term 'black' to describe people of African origin are probably more racist than Scully.

samsham

Speaking of aggression there is an African Taxi driver fighting for his life in Dublin because one of us Irish passivists decided he did not want to breath the same air as him. He beat him almost to death.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to an attack on a taxi driver in Dublin city centre in the early hours of yesterday morning. Moses Ayanwole (41), who lives in Clonsilla in Dublin was assaulted by another man at about 12.20am on Pearse Street near the junction of Erne Street. He remains in a serious condition in hospital having sustained injuries to his face and head. Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí at Pearse Street on 01 6669000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.