Racist!!!!!!!!

[Gob]

A Jamaican-born lollipop man who was sacked for calling a black colleague 'King Kong' during a row over a parking meter has questioned how he can be a racist at an employment tribunal.



Jon Seymour, 46, claims he was unfairly dismissed following a row with a council official in which he allegedly used 'threatening, racist and abusive' behaviour at Camden Town Hall in London. But now Mr Seymour, who has worked as a lollipop man in Kentish Town for 20 years, is seeking thousands of pounds in compensation saying he was not being overly aggressive. The Central London Employment Tribunal heard the incident in July 2013 erupted after Mr Seymour was speaking loudly on his phone in the town hall's reception area ahead of a meeting. He claimed he had been trying to arrange a refund because a parking meter had swallowed £4 of his change when council worker Johnson Akinmoyede 'interrupted his conversation'.

The court heard that when Mr Akinmoyede asked him to keep his voice down, Mr Seymour replied: 'Who are you, King Kong? I will break you, move away from me,' reports the Evening Standard. Mr Seymour, from Kentish Town in north London, was escorted from the building by two security officers for the alleged 'racially abusive and threatening behaviour'. However, he claims the term 'King Kong' was not racist and in a statement by Christopher Nicola, manager of the council's Smarter Travel Team, it was a 'Caribbean thing'. 'He [Mr Seymour] asked how could it be racially abusive if you say something to someone of the same complexion, and that the way they were speaking was a Caribbean thing and they talk like that to each other all the time and that he did not mean any offence,' said Mr Nicola.

Speaking at the time, Mr Seymour said: 'It was not racial. He was getting all angry so it was like he was acting like he was a big strong gorilla, so that's why I called him King Kong. 'My mum is black, I'm black. It is not being racist. It was nothing to do with his colour. No one looks like King Kong.' Amjad Khan, a security guard who witnessed the incident, told the court Mr Akinmoyede had also been 'intimidating' and 'inappropriate', but admitted Mr Seymour's behaviour was also unacceptable. He said both men apologised to each other after the row and shook hands on the steps of the town hall.

The council's head of transport strategy, Louise McBride, who chaired last year's disciplinary meeting which dismissed him, said CCTV footage showed his behaviour was 'aggressive physically'. However, Judge David Pearl, who was shown the CCTV disagreed his body language was aggressive saying 'the claimant does nothing [physically] aggressive here.' Speaking outside the court today, Mr Seymour, who was born in London but of Trinidadian heritage, told the Standard: 'It's made my life hell and until now I have never been unemployed in my life. 'It was about being part of the community and helping all the mums and children, that's what I used to love, and that has been taken away.

'The best result would be getting back the job that I love and to feel part of the community again. I just want to serve the people and community I love.' The paper reports that Mr Seymour was also said to be in breach of the council's code of conduct for giving an interview to a local newspaper after his immediate suspension. The hearing continues

[MajGenl.Meade]

It's interesting, isn't it? I think there is something questionable about the mind of a (white, no doubt) person who assumes that the words "King Kong" when used by a black person of a black person is a form of racism.

That (white, no doubt) person, operating all unconsciously, apparently makes the mental connection - "big ape" = "black person". Interesting indeed.

Presumably if the man had said "You Godzilla!" that same (no doubt, white) person would not see any racism at all.... unless he'd said it to a Japanese person perhaps?

[rubato]

Racism appears to be a red herring, certainly as a matter of emphasis. He was fired for abusive behavior but wants to ignore that part of it.

Jon Seymour, 46, claims he was unfairly dismissed following a row with a council official in which he allegedly used 'threatening, racist and abusive' behaviour at Camden Town Hall in London. But now Mr Seymour, who has worked as a lollipop man in Kentish Town for 20 years, is seeking thousands of pounds in compensation saying he was not being overly aggressive. The Central London Employment Tribunal heard the incident in July 2013 erupted after Mr Seymour was speaking loudly on his phone in the town hall's reception area ahead of a meeting. He claimed he had been trying to arrange a refund because a parking meter had swallowed £4 of his change when council worker Johnson Akinmoyede 'interrupted his conversation'.

The court heard that when Mr Akinmoyede asked him to keep his voice down, Mr Seymour replied: 'Who are you, King Kong? I will break you, move away from me,' reports the Evening Standard. Mr Seymour, from Kentish Town in north London, was escorted from the building by two security officers for the alleged 'racially abusive and threatening behaviour'.

"Lollipop Man"?


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

If I call a Welsh woman a dragon, is that racist?

[rubato]

If I call a Welsh woman a dragon, is that racist?

If you call a Welsh woman a "dragon bitch" and say you're going to break her and get thrown out of a pub you cannot claim that the "dragon" part excuses or confuses the other bad behavior, as you are doing here. As to whether calling someone a 'dragon' is per se offensive to Welsh people would depend on local usage.


The use of racist &c language as invective is offensive and consists of 'fighting words' even if the user belongs to the racial, ethnic, cultural, religious group in question.



yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

Lollipop man = school crossing guard... whatever the local USian term is where you live.

The STOP sign in the UK looks like a lollipop - the round ones on a stick.

And Gob, assuming you asked the dragon question of rubato, he's already indicated that he thinks the "racism" element is just a red herring that the lollipop man has camped on in order to divert attention from his behavior.

If you were asking me, then I'd say it's not racism - probably just observation.

[Gob]

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If you were asking me, then I'd say it's not racism - probably just observation.

I await R-B reading that post with glee.

[Sue U]

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If you were asking me, then I'd say it's not racism - probably just observation.

I await R-B reading that post with glee.

Why would R-B be reading it with glee? I would think she'd be spitting fire.
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So to speak.

[MajGenl.Meade]

pendant!

[Lord Jim]

If the grounds for his dismissal was that he used 'threatening, racist and abusive' language, then it was the council who first employed the "red herring" and opened the door for Mr. Seymour to respond as he has...

Seems to me that they could have completely avoided this whole brouhaha if they had simply dismissed him for using "threatening and abusive" language and left "racist" out of it...

That should have been good enough, especially if, (as the report says) he was also engaging in 'threatening behaviour'...

Apparently his language and behavior was threatening and abusive enough to require that he be escorted out of the building by security guards...

[Big RR]

I'd agree; the racist allegation seems to be unnecessary and opened the door to the challenge.

[MajGenl.Meade]

As I said:

That (white, no doubt) person, operating all unconsciously, apparently makes the mental connection - "big ape" = "black person". Interesting indeed.

Is no one interested in such blatant racism in the mind of the accuser?

[Crackpot]

pendant!

That's pedant.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[wesw]

so....

if i see a black guy, wearing a Lone Ranger mask, catching crayfish in a stream, i shouldn t say that he reminds me of a 'coon?

[Lord Jim]

If you see a black guy wearing a Lone Ranger mask catching crayfish in a stream, you might want to have your medication adjusted...

[wesw]

well your honor, i was out picking mushrooms and i saw this black feller.......

[Daisy]

If I call a Welsh woman a dragon, is that racist?

If you did she'd probably break your jaw, to be fair.

[oldr_n_wsr]

so....

if i see a black guy, wearing a Lone Ranger mask, catching crayfish in a stream, i shouldn t say that he reminds me of a 'coon?

Reminds me of some southern cooking. Crayfish are mmmmmm mmmmmmm good regardless of whos catching them and what they are wearing.

[Lord Jim]

Crayfish are mmmmmm mmmmmmm good

I agree...

I love crawfish Étouffée...yummy...