User talk:Linusthecat

Hello. As I can imagine that this part of the article might cause trouble, so I thought that I would ask you on your talk page before changing anything. What makes you say that "race relations in Dewsbury have been remarkably good"? I have lived almost all of my life in Ossett, and I've always had the impression that they were fairly bad. The town is quite segregated. It was one of the first small towns to have a race riot (1989), and the B.N.P. got their largest vote at the 2005 election in Dewsbury. You hear racist comments frequently. In the Chickenley area that borders Ossett, practically everyone from there who I met seemed to support the B.N.P.

I would be interested to hear your response. I would be quite pleased if I were to hear that things aren't quite as bad as I had imagined :) Epa101 19:54, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Firstly, race relations in Dewsbury are harmonious in comparison to similar towns such as Burnley. A "race riot" in 1989 is hardly evidence; particularly as it was a small event nearly twenty years ago. The fact that a number of people have racist opinions is a different matter. These opinions are generally kept to themselves in a town that seees many white people making regular use of asian businesses. Racist opinions are by no means confined to Dewsbury. Try Wakefield, Barnsley, Rotherham etc.

Secondly, the BNP has used the frustrations of the white working class in the region to help advance their own racist agenda. In fact voters in Chickenly are still mainly labour supporters; even though the labour party has been patchy in its support of the area.

Things could be a great deal worse and are certainly not like the stereotypical assumptions about Dewsbury.

Hi, I didn't realise that you had replied. I'm afraid that I have never been to Burnley in my life, so can't comment. I shall take your word for it that things are worse there. I have been to Barking in Essex, and I would say that things are probably worse there too.

Dewsbury is still worse than most places though. I know that racist opinions exist everywhere, but, contrary to your experiences, I have found them more common in Dewsbury. As an Ossetter, I am also familiar with Wakefield, and I can honestly say that I've heard racist comments far, far more often in Dewsbury, including when I've been working and in sports matches. The schools in Wakefield are not as segregated. Barnsley is almost entirely White, so I don't think that it really counts as good for comparison.

With regards to most Chickenley people being Labour, "Dewsbury East" is a B.N.P. seat. Also, Dewsbury had 5000 B.N.P. votes in 2005. That's the largest vote in the country by amount; by percentage, it was 2nd most behind one of the Barking seats.

The 1989 riot wasn't too big, but the Burnley riots weren't that big neither. There was another riot more recently, and relations between Kurds and Pakistanis in Ravensthorpe have not been good for a while; I once had to interview a councillor for Dewsbury West, who told me about the problems in the area. There was also the great furore over the "Pig's Head" pub.

I know that I'm sounding a bit negative here. I see that your rewording is a bit more moderate than last time. I just felt that I ought to inquire as to what you thought, for I'd honestly never met anyone before who thought that relations in Dewsbury had been "remarkably good".

Best wishes Epa101 16:46, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

P.S. Also, note the role of race issues in the recent taxi driver strike. I know that it was the horrific murder of a Huddersfield taxi driver that prompted it, but it was also partly due to increased racist attacks on taxi drivers and racial abuse given to drivers whilst they were taking people home. They did an undercover camera on Look North. I was shocked to see these people actually racially abusing the very men who were driving them home and saving them from wandering about drunk. It disguested me. Epa101 16:55, 16 March 2007 (UTC)