The postmaster who banned customers who can't speak English from his branch today faced calls for him to be sacked from angry local English people.Oh, wait. That's not right...
The postmaster who banned customers who can't speak English from his branch today faced calls for him to be sacked from angry fellow Sri Lankan immigrants.Whoops, no, that's not right either...
Ah, here's the right quote:
The postmaster who banned customers who can't speak English from his branch today faced calls for him to be sacked from angry local Muslims.Be honest. You knew that was coming, didn't you?
Aurangzeb Kahn said: 'There has been concern that people can be denied Post Office services because they can't speak English.If the 'authorities' could have taken action, they would, chum. Believe me, they probably want this headache to go away, because it throws into sharp relief the bending over backwards attitude that they have adopted. And what has it gotten them so far?
'There is a strong feeling among some local people that this is wrong.
'A single employee should not have the right to make that decision, especially if he is an employee of what is a public facility provided by the Government.'
This kind of attitude:
One man, who refused to be named, said: 'There is a lot of anger about this.Well, lots of people want lots of other people 'gone' in this country. And you've just increased the vote for the party that will do their best to see that happen.
'We understand his point but it can take years to learn English and there are some elderly people who are too old to learn.
'A lot of people think he is wrong and want him gone.'
Spectacular own goal, Mr anon!
Still, Mr Kumarasiri can count on support from the...
Oh, wait:
Police have also been keeping a discreet eye on the premises to ensure he did not attract the wrong sort of attention from people who may resent his new found celebrity status.Yup, that's what's going to cause this to become a flashpoint, all right - resentment that he's got his name in the paper....
And the political establishment?
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats distanced the party from Mr Kumarasiri, who claims to be a Lib Dem member on his local Gedling Borough Council.Remember when people in Britain stood up for what's right, no matter what the consequences?
A spokesman for the party said: 'Mr Kumarasiri has not been a party member since October 2007 when his membership lapsed.'
Yeah, me too....
14 comments:
More recruiting tools for the BNP. The mainstream parties have got to wake up ASAP. I heard a woman in my local post office the other day tell her friend she was 'sick to death of hearing about bloody muslims', a friend who works at Scotland Yard says he regularly hears people mutter 'Christ', 'shite', 'fuck', bollox', under their breath as they enter the vestibule through the security complex. You wouldn't think you were entering the HQ of the world's largest and oldest police force but the entrance to a 1980's loony left council super library. Every image is of a black or asian person, in or out of uniform; there are adverts for black history month, best wishes for ramadan, posters for the Gay Police Association. People have had enough and that's why I am convinced the BNP will get votes. No one wants to vote for them but the votes will be given to make a very important point.
Ah feck it! Stone the Sri lankan - coming over here, taking our jobs and dictating who can come into his shop on the basis of language skills or not - outrageous, at least the moose-slims will do something about it!
"People have had enough and that's why I am convinced the BNP will get votes. No one wants to vote for them but the votes will be given to make a very important point."
Exactly! It'll be a protest vote, not so much a 'cross in the box' but a 'two finger salute' to the entrenched political heirarchy.
Gordon: We must find an excuse for this behaviour, Pete. Not a good fit for attention seeking so maybe we could have him sectioned as a serious self harm case?
Mandy: No, this requires some fine stitching Gordon. Its a choice between planting BNP membership or discrediting him once our accountants have fixed the books.
I'd sooner vote Labour than vote BNP, but yes, I'd agree that the mainstream political parties and their clients, the Mulsims, are doing their best to make BNP seem like the least insance choice
I posted this on my blog and Nottingham resident Harry Haddock commented that there was more to this story than meets the eye, but I think we ought to just take it at face value.
"Harry Haddock commented that there was more to this story than meets the eye, but I think we ought to just take it at face value."
Until more facts emerge, that's just what we should do....
"Exactly! It'll be a protest vote, not so much a 'cross in the box' but a 'two finger salute' to the entrenched political heirarchy."
There is an historical handbook on this scenario. "Mein Kampf"! The left wing socialists morph into..........well, you know the rest.
If a non English speaker went into our village post office they would do their best to serve them, but if they spoke no English at all how could anyone be expected to help. German or French might be OK, but Urdu? Not a frigging chance.
Excellent recruiting material for the BNP, especially since the postie has quit.
People may not end up putting a cross in the BNP box, but I agree that people have had enough.
This sycophantic glorification of "difference" has led to the most lopsided, counter-productive, insane organisational mentality you can imagine - all at the expense of traditional British sensibilities.
The logical conclusion of our current trajectory is ... well, disturbing.
He's becoming something of a national celebrity, isn't he?
Now the police have sacked a law-abiding police officer for being on the leaked BNP members list, it's looking like the Political class are going in for a full-scale electoral suicide pact.. and all this with the European and county elections coming up.
Labour in fourth place, anyone?
I can see his point, but what about tourists or business travelers? Not everyone who goes to a post office is a long-term resident of the country.
A couple of years ago I was visiting Kiev for three weeks and went to a post office to buy stamps. I knew enough basic Russian to ask for the right kind of stamps (Kiev is in Ukraine, but it's a Russian-speaking city for the same kind of historical reasons that made Dublin English-speaking). However, when the clerk started yelling at me in a very rude and exasperated manner, I had no idea what she was saying. I never did figure it out. At least they didn't have a policy of refusing to serve people with inadequate language skills.
Anyone who wants to be a long-term resident of a country should certainly learn the language of the country, but it would be unfortunate if someone who was simply traveling (from Sri Lanka, perhaps?) were trying to buy stamps for postcards home and ran into a problem with this policy.
"I can see his point, but what about tourists or business travelers?"
I'd be surprised if Mr Kumarasiri intended to take it that far. He seems to have been making a point directed specifically at those permanent residents who, like some British retirees in Spain, expect to be able to live indefinitely in a cultural bubble and expect others to adapt to them.
If someone who doesn't speak English walks into the post office, the clerk tell whether he's a resident or a tourist. If clerks are told not to serve people who don't speak English, the effect will be felt by both.
"A lot of people think he is wrong and want him gone."
Quite a sinister statement, given past actions when there is "a lot of anger" in the Muslim commoonity. No doubt once a specific threat is made the police will arrest HIM for causing a breach of the peace.
"If someone who doesn't speak English walks into the post office, the clerk tell whether he's a resident or a tourist. "
Mr Kumarasiri seems quirte a sensible chap - and tourists do tend to have phrasebooks, etc, and make some attempt to explain (at least, I always do!).
Besides, I suspect he's quite familiar with the locals who make a point of NOT speaking English....
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