Well, this thread turned into a bit of a click-farm, didn't it?
My own, disjointed thoughts, in no particular order:-
i) An appalling example of something which many of us merely suspect happens all the time. Once a group of ill-disciplined males, with no sense of responsibilty to their wife and kids and no reluctance to become an embarassment to their parents and wider family, gets above a certain size, they fall-in behind the pack leader. If that individual happens to be a yob, they will all act like yobs; if he happens to be a racist yob they will all act like racist yobs. Those who are weak-willed and do not wish to be ousted from the group (likely involving an immediate beating) will join in the chant, even if they personally find it repugnant. On the day, at least. They can always drift away from the group some other time.
ii) Another case of strangely prescient camerawork. We had that thread the other day about the woman on the tube carriage.
iii) Strangely, no "related threads" showing below this one. I can't check mid-draft but I thought ToraToraTora got to this topic first.
iv) It is psychologically interesting the way the words "open carriage", on screen, converts into the concept of "empty carriage", in one's head. Yes, I fell for that too and the only thing stopping me getting snarled up in the ensuing mellée was the sheer number of pages which followed.
v) People who know their stations, from habitual use, select a specific carriage door because it lines up with the platform exit at their destination, saving unnecessary walking and time. Important, on the way to work; not as much urgency on the way home but why waste precious seconds there either?
vi) 13 pages and I'm surprised no-one pointed that out.
vii) Controversial, perhaps, but the chant merely self-identifies them as what they are. I have no knowledge of the relevant law but suspect this was a crafty way of side-stepping its boundaries by avoiding use of specific racial epithets. Although the chant (referenced early in this thread) appears to commence just after the shoving, it is only in that coincidental sense (of timing) that it is aimed at Sulemain himself. As commentary on the shoving, it is damning and confessional but not, in itself, racist.
viii) The shoving him off the train was an undeniably racist act and, in my uninformed opinion, is the only thing they can be prosecuted for.
ix) Any racist words used by the fans towards him cannot be heard on the video above the sound of the chanting (arguably, a depersonalised, "safe" chant was deployed to mask any such verbeage) and, thus, independant witnesses, who were within earshot will have to come forward. Needless to say, if their comprehension of English is as minimal as his, their memory of the words used will be equally poor.
x) Does any of us know whether ad-hoc videophone footage is accepted, for crimes of this nature, in French courts (or in UK, for that matter).
xi) Over-quoting (andy) is really bad on the eyes. I'm seeing double! I'm often supportive of your views but am fence-sitting regarding your spat with AOG, here.
xii) Disagreement en masse is not bullying.
xiii) Taking the DA stance with regard to behaviour decried by what seems to be most of the UK was taking a big personal risk. Doing so really called for the DA stance to be made clear *in the opening post*. Failure to do so comes across as a deliberate strategy to fool others into believing that you think the fans have been unjustly singled out or even that you support their actions. This keeps the thread 'on the boil', in the latest posts ticker and generates traffic. Hence my opening remark about click-farming.
Probably my longest post, to date (3740/4000).