The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #154378 Message #3622291
Posted By: Vic Smith
25-Apr-14 - 02:04 PM
Thread Name: Bacup Nuters and Racism
Subject: RE: Bacup Nuters and Racism
The incident of the burning of bonfire replica, a tableau of a travellers' caravan at Firle Bonfire more than a decade ago was a totally unacceptable perversion of the aims of Bonfire and it reflected badly on the whole Bonfire movement and this was realised immediately on that occasion by the vast majority of people who attended the event.
The reaction of many national newspapers at the time and the misunderstanding of how these things are organised locally by the press and by those who have quoted them as gospel in this thread does not reflect well on them either.
These public displays need to be aware of these sensitivities, it isn't too long ago that the good people of Lewes were burning a caravan full of 'Pikeys' at their annual bonfire festival.
Just how many misconceptions and misinformation are included in this statement?
The tableau that are burned at bonfire are controversial figures from either local or national news - last year Assad was the choice of many societies as were various expenses-fiddling MPs the year before. How many people know who is going to be parodied in this way? Very few indeed. The societies keep it a closely guarded secret with watchmen on the construction sites. Do society members have a say, a vote on who the target should be? No they do not. It is a closely guarded secret and most people are pleased for it to be a surprise on Bonfire night.
What the Firle people did was wrong
Did the people of Firle know what tableau was going to be burned that night? No they didn't. How many would have known? Perhaps ten or a dozen. Was this tableau well received when it was unveiled? No, it there was revulsion and horror in many people's reaction and people who were there tell me that it was booed.
But the newspapers decided it was a blot on the entire community and a decade later those opinions are trotted out again here.