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richard barrett
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« on: 21:07:44, 23-10-2008 » |
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An unfunny thing happened to me on the Eurostar today.
Two late-middle-aged couples got on the train at Ebbsfleet and sat at the table across the gangway from where I was. Initially I remarked to myself how objectionable one of the men seemed to be, muttering loudly "full of revolting screaming brats, as expected" on entering the carriage. I then got on with some work and ignored my surroundings for a while. About halfway through the journey I became aware that these people were having a conversation about some breed of dog, one of the women had said "... those dogs do a lot of helping disabled people" to which one of the men chortled "what? by chewing them up", to general hilarity. I then listened with growing astonishment to the blithely bigoted conversation that was going on, and it gradually dawned on me that one of the men was David Irving, holocaust-denying pseudohistorian and Nazi apologist, joking about machine-gunning immigrants and gypsies.
When I say I began to feel physically sick I am not using a figure of speech. At Brussels I got up and "accidentally" hit Irving in the face with my bag as I took it from the shelf, and by way of excusing myself said "f**k off and die, you piece of scum". Not up to my normal standards of eloquence, I know, but I had become so consumed by incoherent and violent contempt and so affronted by seeing such people going around as if it was perfectly normal to be what they are, that I was rendered inarticulate and that was really the best I could do.
What was his response? A smile which said "This happens to me every day and I enjoy it, I enjoy provoking people into this kind of reaction and you fell for it." If the carriage hadn't been full of people pushing to get out I think I might well have tried to wipe that smile off his face. As it is, I won't forget it in a hurry.
Every now and again one encounters people whose hatred for humanity is as blatant and as completely ingrained as this, one imagines what such people in the right circumstances might be capable of, and one wonders how different they actually are from those who wield real power in the world.
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« Last Edit: 21:09:15, 23-10-2008 by richard barrett »
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strinasacchi
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« Reply #1 on: 21:35:38, 23-10-2008 » |
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Blech.
Very sorry to hear of this distressing encounter. How to deal with such people, I wonder, who clearly relish the anger, frustration and outrage they provoke. One doesn't wish to sink to their level of hatred and belligerence, but they probably understand nothing else.
I usually enjoy the Eurostar - much less stressful than flying. But this sounds ghastly. Give me "screaming brats" any day.
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MT Wessel
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« Reply #2 on: 21:57:04, 23-10-2008 » |
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That is a bit of a nightmare rb. In my opinion your reaction was correct. Much better to let your feelings show.
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lignum crucis arbour scientiae
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Mary Chambers
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« Reply #3 on: 22:03:12, 23-10-2008 » |
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That is very shocking. I'm trying to imagine what I'd have done in the circumstances, and I just can't. I don't think I'd have been as brave as Richard, but who knows? I think my immediate reaction would have been to try and move.
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Milly Jones
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« Reply #4 on: 22:23:39, 23-10-2008 » |
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 I dread to think what my reaction would have been. Just as well I wasn't there. I think Richard was very restrained under the circumstances.
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We pass this way but once. This is not a rehearsal!
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martle
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« Reply #5 on: 22:29:15, 23-10-2008 » |
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Good on you, Richard, whatever the toe-rag's reaction.
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Green. Always green.
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SH
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« Reply #6 on: 22:35:53, 23-10-2008 » |
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Seems as effective a reaction as possible Richard, under the circumstances.
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« Last Edit: 09:09:26, 24-10-2008 by SH »
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HtoHe
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« Reply #7 on: 22:36:19, 23-10-2008 » |
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I then listened with growing astonishment to the blithely bigoted conversation that was going on, and it gradually dawned on me that one of the men was David Irving, I imagine the others were his regular companions, Dee Farner-Hock, Ryan Festger-Schlossen and S.A. Marschiert, Richard. I have it on the authority of an ex-NF member that Mr Irving isn't the most charming company. Coming from a guy who used to get on well with Martin Webster, that's pretty damning criticism. I understand the temptation to descend to his level though I'm pretty sure it's something to be avoided if possible. |
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richard barrett
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« Reply #8 on: 22:53:38, 23-10-2008 » |
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I understand the temptation to descend to his level though I'm pretty sure it's something to be avoided if possible.
I agree. What can you do on a crowded train though? I just don't know. I suppose you could see my reaction as descending to his level. I think I see it as just making sure that these people don't start thinking that nobody cares. The man sitting opposite Irving (and who was almost as repellent as him) had a vaguely familiar-looking face too but I couldn't place it. The two women didn't say very much, and what they did say was mostly the fairly innocuous chat you might expect from holidaymakers discussing their destination. (They were en route to Berlin by the way.) |
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Morticia
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« Reply #9 on: 23:07:49, 23-10-2008 » |
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Just seen this thread. Richard, I wish your bag had been lead lined and spiked on the outside at the very least.
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Turfan Fragment
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« Reply #10 on: 23:15:34, 23-10-2008 » |
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Just seen this thread. Richard, I wish your bag had been lead lined and spiked on the outside at the very least.
Aggressive EU regulations of every last modicum of a citizen's daily life unfortunately prohibits such a feature. |
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richard barrett
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« Reply #11 on: 00:11:26, 24-10-2008 » |
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Speaking of EU regulations, a bit of research confirms my suspicion that Irving is actually barred from entering Germany. This is presumably why he took the train, given that passports aren't generally asked for on the Dutch/German border.
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Turfan Fragment
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« Reply #12 on: 00:33:54, 24-10-2008 » |
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Well then it's too bad we don't have a photograph of him breaking the law.
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Mrs. Kerfoops
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« Reply #13 on: 06:59:22, 24-10-2008 » |
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. . . I think my immediate reaction would have been to try and move. Madame Chambers is right. We remember a terrible train journey we once had from Christchurch to Dunedin in the Antipodes - there was only one class - where our three fellow passengers were farming people, and one of the women spent three hours relating in excruciating detail her experiences while giving birth to each of her children. We too stood up and walked around for a while but the train was full and there was nowhere else to sit. As for the story which forms the burden of this particular thread, we must say it seems wholly or partially the product of imagination - a half-heard conversation between vaguely familiar strangers perhaps. And additionally, no one would be foolish enough to admit - under his real name - to assaulting some one in the face with a suitcase. Nevertheless there is no doubt that this thread will by now have been brought to Mr. Irvine's attention. Fortunately for Mr. B. it is likely to have been a case of mistaken identity in tiring circumstances - perhaps even a dream as he was whisked across the Belgian plain. Most certainly the only person "out of line" is the one who committed the assault: that (if he really did) is definitely uncivilised behaviour. May we in the nicest possible way recommend that Mr. B. discuss all this with a psychiatrist? |
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pim_derks
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« Reply #14 on: 07:55:25, 24-10-2008 » |
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May we in the nicest possible way recommend that Mr. B. discuss all this with a psychiatrist? Oh, dear: "we".   Sydney Grew Mrs. KerfoopsThe same insulting XXX XXXXX again... |
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« Last Edit: 20:19:04, 24-10-2008 by pim_derks »
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"People hate anything well made. It gives them a guilty conscience." John Betjeman
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