[BengalTiger]

Other than the "go pick some cotton" part which is a racial stereotype, the tweets on http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/27/liam-stacey-racist-tweets-twitter-muamba-dead_n_1381876.html don't have any direct or indirect mention of any race (assuming the blurred out parts have profanity), nor do the tweets have anything on the superiority of one race over another.

I'll bet 1 USD that this dude simply hates the team Muamba plays for and wanted to pi$$ off its fans. Either that or he has a bad taste in trolling.

The fact the guy went to jail and lots of people think the punishment is excessive may have a side effect- neo-nazis now have a new propaganda canon, and their "target audience" will definitely like hearing about how situations like this should not happen.
Once they like what they hear, they'll be willing to agree with the neo-nazis on who's at fault (and it ain't going to be the biology student).

Holy ****! If I'm reading this right, you guys had a whites-only political party all the way until 2009.

If my knowledge is correct, there are black/white/other only clubs and scholarships in the US to this day.

[Dragon]

Cubs are one thing, political parties are another. The former don't have much to say regarding national politics.

[headdie]

Other than the "go pick some cotton" part which is a racial stereotype, the tweets on http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/27/liam-stacey-racist-tweets-twitter-muamba-dead_n_1381876.html don't have any direct or indirect mention of any race (assuming the blurred out parts have profanity), nor do the tweets have anything on the superiority of one race over another.

I'll bet 1 USD that this dude simply hates the team Muamba plays for and wanted to pi$$ off its fans. Either that or he has a bad taste in trolling.

The fact the guy went to jail and lots of people think the punishment is excessive may have a side effect- neo-nazis now have a new propaganda canon, and their "target audience" will definitely like hearing about how situations like this should not happen.
Once they like what they hear, they'll be willing to agree with the neo-nazis on who's at fault (and it ain't going to be the biology student).

Holy ****! If I'm reading this right, you guys had a whites-only political party all the way until 2009.

If my knowledge is correct, there are black/white/other only clubs and scholarships in the US to this day.

Then why plead guilty to one of the more serious anti racism laws in the country?

[BengalTiger]

Alright, the full text has some racism and lots of profanity. This guy seems to hate everyone equally, calling people....

Oh well...
The following link has an uncensored version of (some of) the tweets, the amount of not politically correct stuff they contain is boggling the mind. Why anyone had any conversations with this guy is beyond me...

The texts are not safe for work, people under 25, and those who can't sleep after seeing things that cannot be unseen.

My eyes, the goggles do nothing!

He later claims his twitter account was hacked (also contains profanity, not safe for work, minors or people without nerves of steel):

http://www.firmaportal.dk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Liam-Stacey-Twitter-racism-against-Fabrice-Muamba-dont-lose-the-evidence.jpg

[Klaustrophobia]

If my knowledge is correct, there are black/white/other only clubs and scholarships in the US to this day.

There are many organizations for various minorities only, but i can't come up with any for whites only.  I'm talking offical type of things here, not stuff like the KKK.

[FireSpawn]

Okay, so he's more than deserving for a public caning, but not much else.

[MP-Ryan]

Those tweets are more telling.  Still, while he absolutely deserves a full public shaming for that, jail time seems a wee bit excessive.  But that is by North American standards, and as I love to point out in justice-related threads - while the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, etc all share common threads of justice and a common law foundation, the actual systems and codified rights differ immensely by country.

[Mars]

I don't think anybody would talk about racial hatred if that guy attacked a white person, even if it was on racist grounds.

Have you MET America?

[Nuke]

If my knowledge is correct, there are black/white/other only clubs and scholarships in the US to this day.

There are many organizations for various minorities only, but i can't come up with any for whites only.  I'm talking offical type of things here, not stuff like the KKK.

the reason is that these groups would be shot down for being racist, even if in fact they were not. the second a white person shows any pride in their national identity or ethnic heritage they will be called racist. where as blacks, native americans, latinos, etc, parade their culture around everywhere. i find that the reason behind white youth being so open to other cultures is a complete lack of understanding of their own. a few hundred years of americanization does not a cultural identity make. its just whats left over after having almost no clue about what it means to be of european descent. white people (especially in america) are a rather culturally sterile bunch. and i kinda wish the minorities would realize this before flaunting their own rich cultural identities around.

i would also argue what makes a minority. in some places the minorities arent so minor. get on a bus in phoenix, you will be luckey if you see 2 other white people on it. last time i had a job down there, there were more hispanics and blacks on the payroll than whites. of course thats not the case everywhere you go. i mean here in petersburg ak there are very few minorities at all, and in that case the word is correct. i dont get where simply being part of a group of lesser numbers entitles you to any special treatment over the majority. so long as people feel the need to wall themselves off into little groups they deserve the oncoming nukage they will one day receive.

[Flipside]

Well, that's partly down to a lot of Governments believing that by placing all the minorities in the same area, they will support each other. The problem is they didn't quite think that thought through to the end. London, for example, decided it would be a great idea to place Greeks, Turkish and Cypriots all within about 2 miles of each other. Guess how well that turned out.

The problem is there is no real answer, I sort of see the sense behind the idea in the first place, but lack of development or meaningful engagement with the communities after they were formed means they have turned into 'bubbles' of ethnicity rather than areas where people could find their feet and adapt to a new society.

[redsniper]

'bubbles' of ethnicity

There's a word for that and it's "ghetto."

[swashmebuckle]

the reason is that these groups would be shot down for being racist, even if in fact they were not. the second a white person shows any pride in their national identity or ethnic heritage they will be called racist. where as blacks, native americans, latinos, etc, parade their culture around everywhere. i find that the reason behind white youth being so open to other cultures is a complete lack of understanding of their own. a few hundred years of americanization does not a cultural identity make. its just whats left over after having almost no clue about what it means to be of european descent. white people (especially in america) are a rather culturally sterile bunch. and i kinda wish the minorities would realize this before flaunting their own rich cultural identities around.

There are tons of pride events and organizations for people of European descent.  I'm pretty sure there's some sort of heritage association for just about every European national extraction, though their popularity understandably varies based on demographics and cultural penetration.  Some nationalities even get widely celebrated holidays, like St Patrick's day, where everyone pretends to be Irish by getting drunk and punching someone.  Pretty racist, but definitely a pride event.  If you're looking for general white pride stuff though, then yeah, that's pretty heavily associated with white supremacists.  Doesn't help that Europe wasn't politically unified at all when most European Americans came to the States.

[Mongoose]

I honestly have next to no interest in celebrating my European "heritage."  I don't even know anything about my family line past my great-grandparents, and my grandparents were all born here, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm American and that's it.

[Nuke]

im in pretty much the same boat. my mom was a welfare whore. she only stayed with guys long enough to get pregnant and dump em. so i know nothing of my fathers side. she says he was mostly irish though. my grandpa was from texas so mostly irish, prolly  some german and a hint of cherokee (this is a typical mix in those parts). and my grandma is french canadian. my brother rides on the french side while i lean toward the irish, but the truth is neither of us have a ****ing clue. i guess i can call myself american in nationality, but ethnicity is a big question mark.

[Mongoose]

I do know that I'm Polish and Russian on one side, and Slovak on the other, so I just call myself a big ol' mess of Slav.

[BengalTiger]

Going back to the original topic:

I'd say the guy already got enough flame to understand tweeting such idiocy is a good way to make the whole world think he's an idiot, and I agree jail time for those tweets is excessive.

If the soccer player or his friends/family were indeed offended, they should be the ones to sue him. An apology published in the national news/media (payed for by the offender) would be the proper punishment for those tweets.

[headdie]

by making it a matter of criminal law it means the state and there for society saying this is not acceptable rather than the family/friends taking revenge

[Mongoose]

There's a big difference between labeling something "not acceptable" and labeling it "criminal," though.

[Mr. Vega]

Reason No. 53 why the US rocks despite all its problems: The Direct Incitement Test of protected speech.

[Aardwolf]

The article said he admitted to inciting anti-racial violence... Could that not just mean someone asked him "did you tweet those tweets" and he said "yes"?

Did he actually plead guilty in court?