...but then we all know they are inveterate liars, don't we?
Racial and religious hate crime on public transport is on the rise according to new data obtained by the Guardian, as community groups report how people are restricting their daily journeys because they fear abuse or assault.
Courtney was travelling by train out of Glasgow city centre in August this year when an elderly woman boarded the carriage and sat opposite.“I didn’t think anything of it, I had my earphones in and was just choosing music,” says Courtney.
A black woman playing music with her earphones on? This tale starts out unlikely, and forges ahead into the even unlikelier...
“Out of nowhere, she began making racist remarks, which got progressively louder after she put on a face mask. I stayed quiet because I was genuinely taken aback, you never expect that kind of hostility from a stranger.”
Throwing a bit of cloth over your mouth increases volume, eh? I never knew that!
Like many twentysomethings, Courtney vlogs parts of her day for TikTok. “But what prompted me to start recording was when she took out a Dettol disinfectant spray and sprayed it in my direction. At that point, I felt I needed to document what was happening for my own safety.”
Are you allergic to antiseptic then?
The woman eventually moved seats but continued to verbally harass Courtney, telling her: “Go back to your own country.”
At this point, some fellow passengers stepped in to support her.
And then the entire carriage tood up and gave her a standing ovation, I suppose?
Akeela Ahmed, the chief executive of the British Muslim Trust, said the data echoes the stories her organisation are picking up all over the country and calls on local authorities, transport operators and community safety partners “to take urgent and meaningful action”
Such as? We don't find out, probably because there aren't any that come to mind.
“For visible Muslims in particular, the top deck of a bus or a half-empty train carriage can mean threatening behaviour, verbal abuse or even violent attack simply because of their faith,” said Ahmed.
Attacks on public transport reported to the trust are “some of the most complex and distressing cases we have handled to date,” she adds. “Many Muslims now feel compelled to micro-analyse every movement, expression or gesture out of fear that it may be misinterpreted, recorded and weaponised against them.”
Really? Doesn't seem to have inhibited the ones all over my social media feeds who never lose an opportunity to whine about Israel and how oppressed they are by being rexpected to obey the UK laws everyone else has to obey...
Dave Rich, the head of policy at the Community Safety Trust, said: “Although these figures are for all racial and religious hate crime on public transport, it is telling that the recent increase over the past two years aligns with the rise in antisemitic hate crime since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October of that year. This is an ongoing problem that shows no signs of abating and it is vital that police, the CPS and transport operators are doing everything they can to catch and prosecute perpetrators of this hatred.”
Thsnk you for reminding us who has a legiimate complaint, Dave.
