LGBTQ+ / Rainbow Laces

I, like a lot of people, don't go to Truck Fest, I don't particularly enjoy the music that's played at Truck Fest. I don't think the club posting about supporting the even is in anyway divisive or exclusionary though just because it's not for me.

I'm not sure where the idea that support a major event held in our city somehow excludes others in any way.
Why is celebrating one group of people seen as divisive towards another group?

I stopped getting upset when it's my brother's birthday a long time ago. I learned that acknowledging others and celebrating them has no affect on my life or how I'm appreciated at all.
 
Strange form of not caring shown by Dick Walton there - where he doesn’t care so much that he comes on the thread to criticise the club and the initiative. If he really didn’t care wouldn’t it be easier just to say nothing at all?
 
dickwalton1964 said:
The bigger problem in all this is actually people like you - hell bent on making a case for something that, in the main, isn’t existing and that all ‘normal’ people are perfectly accepting of. If it’s the idiotic handful, leaving unpalatable emojis, then good luck in convincing them and what an absolute waste of time and effort trying to. Who cares about those idiots?
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As long as those idiots exist, it is important not to let them fill a vacuum with their bigotry. If nobody says anything to counter them and the club does nothing to show that they don't represent the club in any way then they make a way louder noise than the normal people (who as you say, couldn't really care less about anyone's sexuality). You may be right in that such knuckleheads won't be convinced by anything, but that doesn't mean the club or supporters shouldn't show their support.
 
MustardYellow said:
Most of the comments I've read on here have been positive - people agreeing that someone's sexuality simply doesn't matter because we all share and support the club as one.

Everyone has the right to question social initiatives, particularly when they're specifically pointing out our differences. Singling people out based on their sexuality is the exact opposite of what we want to happen, right?
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We're not 'singling' or 'pointing' out differences, we are recognising and supporting people in the hope we can get to a point where sexuality, race, religion, etc aren't the things that differentiate us but the very things that bind us......and we are a very long way from that.
 
SteMerritt said:
I'm not making a case for it at all, you are the one arguing for it's need, not me, so don't presume you know either me or my intentions. The club are supporting a local initiative which the people affected deem important. How does it affect you? It doesn't, does it? So why are you even commenting on it?

It is the idiotic handful that shows things like this are still needed.
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Who decided that? The club with a bit of virtue signalling? A survey of excluded fans? I`ve not noticed a raft of abuse or people complaining?

Think a forum would be pretty dull if folk didn`t comment............
 
Sponsoring is a form of advertising ( isnt it ?) - I don't have any issues with OUFC sponsoring Oxford Pride, its a celebration of a group that are a part of the local community

OUFC are a community club
 
Big Ron said:
We're not 'singling' or 'pointing' out differences, we are recognising and supporting people in the hope we can get to a point where sexuality, race, religion, etc aren't the things that differentiate us but the very things that bind us......and we are a very long way from that.
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Are we though? In the 22/23 season there were 1,007 reports to Kick It Out of discriminatory behaviour/language in all of professional and grassroots football in England. 15.5% of those were related to sexual orientation (~156).

There are a minimum of 1,990 games per season in the top 4 divisions, with 34,521,540 total spectators in the 22/23 season across all divisions (according to transfermrkt).

Even if you forget about grassroots football for a minute, just 156 incidents over such a vast number of events in the top 4 leagues with tens of million of attendees is actually pretty good. 0.07% of games would've had a homophobic incident, and just 0.000004% of attendees (assuming it's 1 perpetrator per incident) will have been homophobic at a game. Add grassroots into that, in which thousands of games take place each week with hundreds of thousands of participants, and those already tiny figures are even smaller.

Obviously ideally that number would be zero, but to suggest we're 'a very long way' from homosexuality being accepted in the game isn't really backed up data wise. Statistically it's quite rare, and proportionately it's an incredibly small number of individuals who do it.
 
Essexyellows said:
Who decided that? The club with a bit of virtue signalling? A survey of excluded fans? I`ve not noticed a raft of abuse or people complaining?

Think a forum would be pretty dull if folk didn`t comment............
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The people who organise Oxford Pride and the people who go to it I'd assume.
 
MustardYellow said:
Are we though? In the 22/23 season there were 1,007 reports to Kick It Out of discriminatory behaviour/language in all of professional and grassroots football in England. 15.5% of those were related to sexual orientation (~156).

There are a minimum of 1,990 games per season in the top 4 divisions, with 34,521,540 total spectators in the 22/23 season across all divisions (according to transfermrkt).

Even if you forget about grassroots football for a minute, just 156 incidents over such a vast number of events in the top 4 leagues with tens of million of attendees is actually pretty good. 0.07% of games would've had a homophobic incident, and just 0.000004% of attendees (assuming it's 1 perpetrator per incident) will have been homophobic at a game. Add grassroots into that, in which thousands of games take place each week with hundreds of thousands of participants, and those already tiny figures are even smaller.

Obviously ideally that number would be zero, but to suggest we're 'a very long way' from homosexuality being accepted in the game isn't really backed up data wise. Statistically it's quite rare, and proportionately it's an incredibly small number of individuals who do it.
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And yet not a single senior professional male player in the UK feels accepted enough to come out.

The women’s game is certainly streets ahead on that particular measure of acceptance.
 
MustardYellow said:
Are we though? In the 22/23 season there were 1,007 reports to Kick It Out of discriminatory behaviour/language in all of professional and grassroots football in England. 15.5% of those were related to sexual orientation (~156).

There are a minimum of 1,990 games per season in the top 4 divisions, with 34,521,540 total spectators in the 22/23 season across all divisions (according to transfermrkt).

Even if you forget about grassroots football for a minute, just 156 incidents over such a vast number of events in the top 4 leagues with tens of million of attendees is actually pretty good. 0.07% of games would've had a homophobic incident, and just 0.000004% of attendees (assuming it's 1 perpetrator per incident) will have been homophobic at a game. Add grassroots into that, in which thousands of games take place each week with hundreds of thousands of participants, and those already tiny figures are even smaller.

Obviously ideally that number would be zero, but to suggest we're 'a very long way' from homosexuality being accepted in the game isn't really backed up data wise. Statistically it's quite rare, and proportionately it's an incredibly small number of individuals who do it.
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Are the club just supporting the football supporting part of the community or the community in general in Oxford/Oxfordshire?

I'd suggest the latter and stats were put up earlier by Mojofilter about hate crimes.
 
Based on the demographics of the UK and your 'average' football fan, I expect the majority of people on here are at least one or two of: straight, white, male.

As such, many of us will never have known or experienced prejudice based on our race, sexuality or gender.

However, throughout the course of human history minority groups have been persecuted, largely for things entirely beyond their control and not within their choice.

The discrimination experienced by any one minority leaves scars for the following generations of that - and other - minorities. Regardless of how societal 'norms' have progressed, those scars are still very raw for very many people.

Yes, sexuality and gender should be completely irrelevant to one person's treatment of another. But it's incredibly easy for me to say that as someone who has never experienced that kind of prejudice against me. I can only begin to imagine the fears some might have of not being accepted in an environment they are desperate to be able to take part in.

The Club - or any person or organisation, for that matter - that takes steps to be completely, unashamedly supportive of persecuted and previously persecuted minority groups has my full support.
 
MustardYellow said:
Are we though? In the 22/23 season there were 1,007 reports to Kick It Out of discriminatory behaviour/language in all of professional and grassroots football in England. 15.5% of those were related to sexual orientation (~156).

There are a minimum of 1,990 games per season in the top 4 divisions, with 34,521,540 total spectators in the 22/23 season across all divisions (according to transfermrkt).

Even if you forget about grassroots football for a minute, just 156 incidents over such a vast number of events in the top 4 leagues with tens of million of attendees is actually pretty good. 0.07% of games would've had a homophobic incident, and just 0.000004% of attendees (assuming it's 1 perpetrator per incident) will have been homophobic at a game. Add grassroots into that, in which thousands of games take place each week with hundreds of thousands of participants, and those already tiny figures are even smaller.

Obviously ideally that number would be zero, but to suggest we're 'a very long way' from homosexuality being accepted in the game isn't really backed up data wise. Statistically it's quite rare, and proportionately it's an incredibly small number of individuals who do it.
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It's not that simple though is it? You are just measuring 'incidents' and complaints when there are wider attitudinal issues - how many times do we hear casually homophobic comments? On a fairly regular basis I would say.
 
BicesterU said:
Based on the demographics of the UK and your 'average' football fan, I expect the majority of people on here are at least one or two of: straight, white, male.

As such, many of us will never have known or experienced prejudice based on our race, sexuality or gender.

However, throughout the course of human history minority groups have been persecuted, largely for things entirely beyond their control and not within their choice.

The discrimination experienced by any one minority leaves scars for the following generations of that - and other - minorities. Regardless of how societal 'norms' have progressed, those scars are still very raw for very many people.

Yes, sexuality and gender should be completely irrelevant to one person's treatment of another. But it's incredibly easy for me to say that as someone who has never experienced that kind of prejudice against me. I can only begin to imagine the fears some might have of not being accepted in an environment they are desperate to be able to take part in.

The Club - or any person or organisation, for that matter - that takes steps to be completely, unashamedly supportive of persecuted and previously persecuted minority groups has my full support.
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BU - I'm in complete agreement with you but there is regular one poster, who we haven't seen on this thread as yet, who regularly mentions discrimination against white people and how we don't discuss it enough! Incoming.
 
It's like you can't just support an actual football club nowadays, there are so many other issues and campaigns linked to it. I consider myself a weathered football fan, 53 years following Oxford, I've seen most stuff a football match can throw at you. I must have been to at least 50 away grounds across the country in that time too - never once have I heard a racist comment from someone in the crowd and never once have I heard anything, since it's been topical, of a sexual orientation. I'm not sure where these people are who can't accept it but they don't sit near me - home or away. We've had the Akinfenwa chant and there's been a bit of gentle goading of certain players at higher profile games (Le Saux back in the day) but, in my opinion, it's stopped short of crossing that line. I may be wrong but I think in the past few years that type of chanting has died down considerably and been pretty much eradicated.
 
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dickwalton1964 said:
It's like you can't just support an actual football club nowadays, there are so many other issues and campaigns linked to it. I consider myself a weathered football fan, 53 years following Oxford, I've seen most stuff a football match can throw at you. I must have been to at least 50 away grounds across the country in that time too - never once have I heard a racist comment from someone in the crowd and never once have I heard anything, since it's been topical, of a sexual orientation. I'm not sure where these people are who can't accept it but they don't sit near me - home or away.
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Of course you can. Others are allowed to support the club AND be a minority, but you can just go about your day wistfully believing these things don’t happen and be entirely unaffected by it.

The club sponsoring pride doesn’t stop you or change how you support in any way. I’m yet to see you explain how any of this actually affects you. By all means, go ahead…
 
does anyone sit near you? If you’re as opinionated and repetitive as you are on here I’d be looking for a vacant seat elsewhere.

But I’d you’ve never heard a racist comment in 53 years of match going you might need your ears syringing.
 
dickwalton1964 said:
It's like you can't just support an actual football club nowadays, there are so many other issues and campaigns linked to it. I consider myself a weathered football fan, 53 years following Oxford, I've seen most stuff a football match can throw at you. I must have been to at least 50 away grounds across the country in that time too - never once have I heard a racist comment from someone in the crowd and never once have I heard anything, since it's been topical, of a sexual orientation. I'm not sure where these people are who can't accept it but they don't sit near me - home or away. We've had the Akinfenwa chant and there's been a bit of gentle goading of certain players at higher profile games (Le Saux back in the day) but, in my opinion, it's stopped short of crossing that line. I may be wrong but I think in the past few years that type of chanting has died down considerably and been pretty much eradicated.
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Do you attend matches with headphones on or go to grounds when there aren't games being played? The chanting may have died down but I've heard and continue to hear, what you might term 'casual' racism or homophobia all too regularly.
 
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