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Yorkshire Post: 'If anyone ever deserved a good slap, this woman..did'

JimDog* | 18.04.2009 13:20 | G20 London Summit | Analysis | Gender | Other Press | Sheffield

A columnist writing in the Yorkshire Post yesterday had this, somewhat controversial view published on the attack by a policeman on a woman demonstrating against police brutality.

Writing in the Yorkshire Post yesterday, columnist Bill Carmichael wrote an article under the heading "Bill Carmichael: Brutal truths about protest" which details an extraordinary attitude towards the policing of the G20 demonstrations, and it would seem to women in general.

In this article, he makes the following assertion in reference to the attack on Nicola Fisher, who was attending a demonstration on April 2nd, in solidarity with those affected by violent policing of the G20 Protests the day before, which culminated in the tragic death of newsagent Ian Tomlinson;

'Take a few moments to look at the video and a strikingly different picture emerges from the propaganda being put out by the protesters and their friends at the BBC and left-wing newspapers. Instead of the sanitised version of injured innocence, what you'll see is an aggressive-looking young woman – as yet unidentified – hat pulled down over her eyes, mouthing obscenities into the face of a police officer, who is trying to ignore her. After several minutes of this he snaps and slaps her with the back of his hand with the words: "Go away." She doesn't and she continues to hurl abuse. At which point he draws his baton and belts her on the legs.If anyone ever deserved a good slap, this woman certainly did.Instead of being suspended and investigated, I believe the officer involved should be commended for his forbearance'.

Although Miss Fisher has courted controversy amongst activists since the footage came to light, chiefly due to her decision to hire publicist Max Clifford to sell her story to the mainstream press, there are few who would say that she deserved such an attack. In fact hers is just one of many such attacks that have occurred during recent protests as the police have made a shift to more confrontational tactics to deal with perfectly legal demonstrations, despite the weight of public opinion turning against them as a result.

The tone of this article is set early on with the following paragraph;

Poor love! She sounds a delicate flower, doesn't she? Strolling alone minding her own business in the City of London when suddenly she was struck down by the jackboot of the fascist police state.

Subsequently, a remarkable lack of respect for women and sensitivity towards the death from cancer of another young woman is summed up;

She'll get her 15 minutes of fame and a few quid. Celebrity Big Brother here she comes. Being belted by a policeman is probably the best career move she's ever made. Clifford has a gap in his portfolio where Jade Goody used to sit, so no doubt he'll be marketing his new recruit as "The People's Crusty".

Comments to the site have shown a complete lack of support for Bill Carmicheal's bizzarre views of the event. One comment by Johnt Davidson of Leeds follows;

"Bill, you say she 'deserved a good slap,' under what other circumstance do women who weigh 6 and a half stone and are 5 ft tall deserve a good slap? It would be interesting to know. How do you define a 'good slap'?"

Steve G Jones also elegantly makes this point;

"Good heavens - what is this article. Some attempt to grab the all-Yorkshire violent misogyny prize from Geoff Boycott? Let's, for the moment, leave aside the interpretation of the video. I'd hoped never to have read lines like these in a reputable newspaper...Now I'm no fan of the sort of grim-face, pre-packaged feminist view that men are the always the aggressors, and women are the victims. A mindset which Jacqui Smith appears to believe, but heavens above. Neanderthal journalism (with apologies to Neanderthals) of this sort makes that a precious difficult argument to fight. This piece of pavement excrement masquerading as an article should have been consigned straight into the bin."

Though the article does attract some support, mainly from a person leaving comments from the kent area, it would seem to be encouraging that the majority of people in the Yorkshire area find this sort of tone and dialect abhorrent. The Yorkshire Post has a long history of misrepresenting the views of activists in this region, and a column such as this would indicate that this is an endemic culture amongst the editorial staff for such a piece of "journalism" to have been published.

Anyone who has an opinion on what Mr Carmichael has to say are encoraged to add their own comments to the bottom of his article, and if enough opposition is displayed, hopefully issues like this will be covered with more tact and sensitivity in the future.

JimDog*
- e-mail: imc-leeds-contact@lists.indymedia.org
- Homepage: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/leedsbradford/

Comments

Hide the following 10 comments

erm,

18.04.2009 14:10

It seems to me this abhorrent journalist is simply courting controversy in order to make a name for himself. Its called polemic and is something these retards have been doing for a while.

You only need to look at the online comment structure of modern newspapers during the Gaza protests to see this in action. These people get wheeled out to present the British people as retarded vallains that have a liking for authoritarianism. It just aint so. One of the big problems here is that these people have an audience at all. No?

For what its worth the woman at the centre of this was not goading, remonstrating or doing anything other than complaining about the treatment of another man behind the police line. Whether she had a right to do that is neither here nor there. The facts of it are that a serving police officer, who had already tried to hide his identity, decided, for himself, to strike here hard across the face. An offence under common law. His actions, if excused, will allow other officers to do the same and before we know it, we have an uncontrollable police force acting arbitrarily and actively undermining British justice.

Entertaining these so-called journalists does nothing more than get them an audience and that is something, i'm sure, his editor will appreciate.

Yorkshire is a long way from London.

Yorkshire lass.


Polemic

18.04.2009 22:16

Yorkshire lass is 99% right. But I do query her saying "it is called polemic". No it's not, it's called ignorant, thuggish abuse based on untruths. Polemic would require a logical and coherent argument to be advanced, of which there's not a shred in this depraved bilge.

Stroppyoldgit


Cllr Brian Coleman, London Assembly member says Fisher at fault

18.04.2009 22:54

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/16/police-g20-brian-coleman

Brian Coleman, the Tory assembly member for Barnet and Camden, made his comments after video footage emerged of the woman, who has been named as Nicky Fisher, being struck by a police officer outside the Bank of England...

In a statement issued through the Conservative party assembly office at City Hall today, Coleman defended the conduct of the police.

His statement said: "Nicky Fisher turned up to this protest, which everyone said could be violent. She put herself in this situation – and lo, she was hit.

"It's like going gambling and then complaining that you've lost money.

"All right-thinking people will have little sympathy for her. The police were dealing with a very serious situation caused by some very silly people."

Coleman issued the statement after being incensed by reports that the woman was negotiating a lucrative newspaper deal.

"This is utterly disgraceful profiteering from someone who was on an anti-capitalist demonstration," he said.

Onlyme


Community response?

18.04.2009 23:04


Excellent piece JimDog*, thanks for bringing this to people's attention.

I have wrote a short article on my website here

 http://tiberiusleodis.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/bad-bill/

Maybe there should be some kind of community response to this kind of trash?

Tiberius

Tiberius Leodis
mail e-mail: tiberius.leodis@rocketmail.com
- Homepage: http://tiberiusleodis.wordpress.com


Pathetic paper

19.04.2009 08:16

These Leeds based papers are a disgrace, they totally Lack any news other than syndicated twaddle from the Likes of the PA, if you hold it to the light you can see through them, due to the lack of actual news and local reporting the paper resembles something stuck through your letter box by the BNP and now they are trying to write like it as well, it's bad enough it looks like it, .

Don't worry they won't be in business very long producing crap like this filled with free pictures sent in from free from camera phones and articles written by twats like this.
Would you buy it ?

observor


Yorkshire Evening Pest

19.04.2009 10:34

Ah, such tripe yet again from our proud Leodis paper.

The Yorkshire Evening Pest hit the streets recently, download a copy here:

 http://yorkshireeveningpest.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pest_0409.pdf

Leodis Maximus


Me: If anyone deserves a good kicking in a dark alley, Bill Carmichael does

19.04.2009 14:41

Take a few moments to read the bigoted article written by Bill Carmichael in the Yorkshire Post and a strikingly different picture emerges from the "political correctness gone mad" propaganda put out by police brown-nosers like himself.

Instead of the sanitised version of upstanding journalists doing their job putting forward provocative and unpopular views, what you'll see is a nasty piece of work from an unpleasant man justifying extreme violence against a peaceful unarmed woman by an tooled-up member of the government's goon squad.

If anyone deserves to be ambushed by balaclavad anarchists in a dark alley and given a good kicking, Bill Carmichael does. And instead of being arrested and charged, those responsible should be commended for their forbearance.

anon


SCUM

19.04.2009 17:44

It used to be called incitement. It is now called "Encouraging or assisting" (Section 44 SCA). Mister Carmichael is clearly encouraging the beating of women who comment - in any way - upon police officers.

The crime being encouraged is one of the varieties of assault - and, on balance of probabilities, the article does seem to think the offence of assaulting stroppy women should be commited.

As polemic, Mister Carmichael and his Editor should consider if they are prepared to stand by their incitement or to apologise, retract and condemn thugs - even if they happen to be in uniform

Valerie Solanos


Who buys this crap anyway?

19.04.2009 18:04

I wouldn't wipe my arse on the Yorkshire Evening Post, far less read it.

Concerned of Halton Moor


A nod, a wink and a shake of the hand.

20.04.2009 09:34

You can be sure that this mindless bastard will be a Freemason like most of his bent cop pals. Freemasons are notoriously anti women, after all they are an exclusively male club of corrpution. A mirror image of the Police force in this country many of whose members can be called upon to "assist" fellow brothers "in distress".

Rote Zora