Thanks for the support, Scott. As a virgin here was a bit reluctant to post such a long counter one….
Point taken John: staff make up does not necessarily reflect management policy and that there are issues (rubbish etc) that piss off the community. Could not all of these issues be raised directly with Lawrence? I don’t know him personally, but from looking at other threads, he seems open to comments from the public, and willing to ‘address’ problems.
On the door policy, why does excluding men-only as opposed to women-men = racism? Only if the rule only applies to minorities only. Are there white men that may have been turned away for this reason? As a girl myself, it can be really intimidating to be in bar (cattle market style) that is predominantly male, other than most gay bars i know.
On the rubbish thing – this a a problem all over a London and reflects the crap so-called services that we get from the council. Have you been to the West End at any time of day? I try to avoid it but when I do go its hard not to fall over the shite that litters the pavements and although not as extreme you can see it all over the place, from Camden to Clerkenwell.
On the empire expanding ICA-style, surely now is the time to raise all concerns in a constructive & direct way, so that problems are resolved quickly. You can be sure that if the Living crew do not develop Brixton Cycles, some other business will, possibly one that is far more damaging for the community. Although business can buy policies, there seems to be a human face here. If he has any sense, I would have thought that (especially where it concerned his business) he should be more than happy to resolve such issues.
I simply wanted to put out some facts from the other side of the fence. It is quite easy to jump on the bandwagon of racism and clearly there are a lot of people in Brixton that would like to see Merritt fail. But it is also easy to get all hysterical especially when it comes to race issues. Personally, I feel really strongly that sparking more conflict in Brixton, especially if unsubstantiated, could have really detrimental effects for the community. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Brixton does not need any more tension. Take the latest ‘riots’, the old riots and riots from Toxteth to Handsworth: there are a lot of people out there happy and willing to loot and fight whether they know what the cause is about or not. This is not a reason to overlook any form of discrimination. Far from it. It is more a ‘warning’ that it should be handled super-sensitively.
I abhore racism! To provide a bit of background info so you can see where I am coming from: I am pretty mixed myself and my friends are all shapes, sizes, colours and have a pretty wide range of sexual leanings as well. I know of the hardship, poverty and misery that racism causes, and have never understood how we (the human race) can judge someone on colour, sexuality or any other factor. On politics, I vote green, and believe that as individuals we can turn the tide. Should a candidate from the BNP come to stand a chance of getting in, à la Le Penn, I would would have no reluctance to ‘use’ my vote to try to ensure that he/she did not get in.
Apolgies, this was not meant to be another long one. Promise I wont do it again!
BTW the name dangerous is a bit of a misnomer (had to look it up!) and the result of a bit of a wobbly night. Can I change it please?
I wasn't trying to single you out at all. I didn't even remember who posted what.
this has just happend here sorry newbie and hatboy i usually try to read posts properly!
