Felix the Cat
12-21-2005, 09:38 AM
Negro insult 'is not racist' (http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2362732005)
CALLING a foreigner a "dirty negro" in Italian is not necessarily a racist insult, Italy's highest court has ruled.
The verdict, in a case where a group of Italian men punched and insulted some women from Colombia, caused deep unease at a time when Italy is struggling to contain racism.
The court ruled in favour of one of the men, who said he was not being racist in launching the assault with the words: "Dirty negroes - what are these negroes doing here?"
Most Italians would have no doubt that calling someone a "dirty negro" was a racist insult. The term is no more acceptable in Italy than in Britain.
However, an insult is racist "only if it is motivated by real hatred", or is likely to cause racial hatred in others or lead to "discriminatory behaviour", the court ruled.
CALLING a foreigner a "dirty negro" in Italian is not necessarily a racist insult, Italy's highest court has ruled.
The verdict, in a case where a group of Italian men punched and insulted some women from Colombia, caused deep unease at a time when Italy is struggling to contain racism.
The court ruled in favour of one of the men, who said he was not being racist in launching the assault with the words: "Dirty negroes - what are these negroes doing here?"
Most Italians would have no doubt that calling someone a "dirty negro" was a racist insult. The term is no more acceptable in Italy than in Britain.
However, an insult is racist "only if it is motivated by real hatred", or is likely to cause racial hatred in others or lead to "discriminatory behaviour", the court ruled.