Outrageous bonfire antics in Sussex
October 29th, 2003 | by aobaoill |The BBC report a disgusting incident in Sussex, England, where Firle Bonfire Society recently ran their annual bonfire celebration. The ‘highlight’ consisted of effigies of Travellers, with a caravan being wheeled through the streets of the town before being burned.
Laughably the chairman of the society, Richard Gravett, claims that “There was no racist slant towards anyone from the travelling community. If anything, it’s actually completely the other way. It is to try to make people sit up and listen and realise that these people obviously – as all of us do – need somewhere to live.” That message, if it was ever actually intended, went over the head of at least poster on the Society’s message board who – bravely posting under the email ‘amused@hotmail.com’ – said “Well done on your choice of effigy! To all the bleeding heart do-gooders out there crying rascism…try living next door to pikies and see whether you still feel the same way”
Travellers and Gypsies are recognised as among the people facing most discrimination in the UK. The context of bonfires and burning ‘guys’ in the UK seems to preclude the ‘supportive’ interpretation. If you’re interested in registering your opinion you can contact the Society (info@firlebonfire.com) or its contact person [deleted as per request below].
Interestingly, the Commission for Racial Equality launched a consultative document on Gypsies and Travellers on Monday, where their Chair, Trevor Phillips, noted that “extreme levels of public hostility exist in relation to Gypsies and Travellers … fuelled in part by irresponsible media reporting of the kind that would be met with outrage if it was targeted at any other ethnic group.”
2 Responses to “Outrageous bonfire antics in Sussex”
By Roz South on Nov 4, 2003 | Reply
Can you please remove the contact details shown in this article. They are incorrect and have resulted in the person identified (who was the administrative & membership secretary of the Bonfire Society)receiving serious threats to her personal safety. You may think that anyone living in Firle is fair game at the moment but I would respectfully ask that you do not target people who had no direct involvement in the matter you describe. If you wish to contact anyone directly please contact me – Roz South at roz@parklife.me.uk or via the messageboard on my business website. I am taking all enquiries about this issue and will be able to respond to any comments or queries that your readers have.
By Andrew Ó Baoill on Nov 5, 2003 | Reply
Thank you for your mail / website comment. I am very sorry to hear of the threatening events that you describe, and I sincerely hope that no harm does occur. I have, of course, edited the item on my site as you requested.
I would like to take issue with one aspect of your comment, where you say that I “may think that anyone living in Firle is fair game at the moment.” I understood I was providing a contact to a _relevant_ party, for my readers.
Also, when one performs a public act, as your society did, criticism is legitimate – as you seem to recognise. I lodged my own criticism by email, and I would hope that there would be others who would feel likewise and choose to make similar protests. However, and most importantly, I should stress that I do not condone – in fact I would repudiate and condemn – any threats of violence that may have been made – it would indeed be strange were I not to condemn such events given that my concern with the threat I saw implied in your burning of the caravan and effigies. The implication of ‘fair game’ – that I see any response as legitimate – is not appropriate, and I want to assure you of that point.
I gather, from a Guardian article, that the society released a statement which was placed on the website. This was not available when I posted my piece, and is of course now offline. I would however appreciate if you could forward a copy to me, so I that I can make it available to my readers.
Also, I am somewhat confused whether, when you say the details are ‘incorrect’ you mean that [snip] was not the proper ‘point person’ on the committee for receiving comments, or whether she was not a member of the committee at the time of the bonfire. I would appreciate your clarification of this matter.
Finally, is the info@firle… address still active, and appropriate for those with comments to use?
(This is the edited text of an email sent to direct to Roz. I’m awaiting a response.)