Posted on 02/08/2008 11:33:31 PM PST by Stoat
Star visit ... Ben poses with Ross Kemp during filming of Sky One show
A SOLDIER who saw nine comrades killed in Afghanistan told yesterday how he was stopped from becoming a cop — because he is the wrong colour.
Brave Lance Cpl Ben Mayer, a regimental police officer with the Royal Anglians, was shown capturing Taliban terrorists on a telly documentary screened last week.
Rejected ... Ben with his letter
But when he quit the Army last month to fulfil his ambition of becoming a cop, the Metropolitan Police refused to even send him a recruitment pack — and told him in a letter they were only “actively seeking to raise interest from black and minority ethnic communities and females”.
But he could apply to be a volunteer special constable or a Community Support Officer.
Stunned Ben, 23, said: “After all I went through for my country to defend it, I just wanted to help the community at home — especially at a time when terrorism is such a threat.
“While I was in Helmand, I risked my life constantly to take on terrorists.
“To get back and learn that I am the wrong colour or sex to even be considered for the police has left me speechless.
"I feel discriminated against.”
Letter of the law ... Ben's told Met want women and ethnic recruits
Ben, of Billericay, Essex, was shown operating on Helmand frontline with 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment, in Sky One's Ross Kemp In Afghanistan. He was seen interrogating terrorists in Army jails.
The soldier, who also served in Iraq, left the Army after seven years.
He added: “I’ve always wanted to be a cop and my experiences dealing with prisoners in Afghanistan just strengthened that because I enjoyed it so much. I find it very disheartening. ”
Non-white officers make up 24 per cent of the London force — an increase of seven per cent last year.
Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair boasted in October that success in recruiting minorities meant positive discrimination was no longer needed.
The Met confirmed Ben had been refused a recruitment pack — but said that the force was not recruiting right now.
A spokeswoman added: “This is the case for everyone regardless of gender or ethnic origin.”
In 2006, Gloucestershire Police were forced to pay £2,500 compensation after “deselecting” white male candidates who had applied to become coppers.
Apparently the bureaucrats who continue to implement these truly evil policies never have any sort of trouble in their own lives. Anyone who has ever had some sort of difficulty and has needed to make that upsetting call for help at 3AM doesn't care what color or gender the person is who responds, they rightly expect the very most qualified and capable person to come to their aid....they don't care about this political garbage.
It's a monumental disservice to the taxpaying public as well as to the honor of all law enforcement and emergency services, and lives are lost as a direct result of this.
Revealed The hijab-wearing 17-year-old Muslim girl hired as a community police officer (U.K.)
Policeman 'passed over for promotion because he was white' (Great Britain)
New LAPD flashlights are too small to be used as weapons (Disarm Police -Empower Criminals update)
Met Police forced to spend £15,000 on new mascot - because old one is 'too male and white'(UK)
Great Britain White men may wait three years to get into the Metropolitan Police
Great Britain Muslim police officer excused Israel guard duty (Embassy duty excuse labeled P.C.)
Great Britain Gun crime on the rise as number of armed police falls
Great Britain Race laws defeat police crackdown on drug barons
Great Britain's Police Government is 'criminalising middle England'
Great Britain'I was refused a job because I'm white' (It's legal and it's called Positive Action)
whites are becoming increasing familiar with discrimination.
F* the Empire. It is clear to see, the Sun set long ago on it.
Thanks to the brave young men and women that persevere against the rising tide of idiocy and diverrrrrsity
Bring this young un over here to the good ole US of A, we are in desperate need of good moral cops. Of course, over here he would get to carry a weapon for defense.
The UK is on track to become a Muslim country. It won’t be long before Sharia Law is accepted. Some day the people of the UK will realize the terrible cost of failing to defend freedom and democracy. By then it will be too late.
The so-called “reverse” racism... When will people learn that true equality doesn’t mean “special rights”. Seriously, I don’t think MLK Jr. would be very happy with what his dream has turned into. People are STILL being judged by the color of their skin every day, and not the content of their character.
Absolutely ridiculous...
whites are becoming increasing familiar with discrimination.
Sadly, the Socialist mantra "Race is Everything, and if you disagree YOU'RE A RACIST!" has been destroying the lives and careers of our dear British Friends for quite some time now.
Question: If you or a family member were to be sitting at home, minding your own business, and one or more armed thugs decided that the fun thing to do is to break down your front door, kill everyone in the home and steal all of your possessions, would this be the person you would want to come to your aid?
Revealed The hijab-wearing 17-year-old Muslim girl hired as a community police officer (U.K.)
(Yes, I know that here in America the thugs would be dead before the door was even broken down, but unfortunately our British Friends don't always have the ability to have things turn out that way......)
Your addition to the headline is inaccurate. He wasn’t told he ‘wouldn’t be hired because of his colour’, he was told that the Met Police are not currently recruiting probationary officers (if you check their website they do have vacancies for experienced officers and special constables).
If this guy really wants to be a police officer, then a role as a special constable is a good way of getting the foot in the door. Or he could apply to another force where they do have vacancies.
With all due respect, but in the real world such a course of action but all but guarantee he would never be offered a paying position.
To wit: Many,many moons ago when my husband was active duty and we lived oversea I did volunteer work at the on-base post office. I enjoyed the work and so was there quite often.
Had been volunteering not quite a year when one afternoon in early December I could help but spot two young gals (HS seniors or so) working there. Imagine my surprise...and shock...I was told that they had been hired as temp holiday workers, at $7 an hour. (We're taking maybe 14 years ago). They had never done this type of work before -- filing, sorting, etc. -- and it showed.
Flabbergasted I asked the NCOIC why I hadn't been offered the position, or even been told about it. He looked puzzled and said, "Well, you're always here volunteering so we just thought that..."
If I were a betting woman I would say that that's the sort of thing that'll happened to this fellow should he ever volunteer with the Met Police. He's either got to force his way in through the courts, or move on to another career, or country. Anything else and he'll be a doormat.
No, actually it is quite accurate, but the limitations of space imposed by Free Republic didn't allow me to go on for another two sentences and explain the precise circumstances of his refusal. . He was told that he wouldn't be hired FOR THE JOB HE WANTED because of his color. From the article:
A SOLDIER who saw nine comrades killed in Afghanistan told yesterday how he was stopped from becoming a cop — because he is the wrong colour.
*******************************************
He wasn’t told he ‘wouldn’t be hired because of his colour’ he was told that the Met Police are not currently recruiting probationary officers (if you check their website they do have vacancies for experienced officers and special constables).
Yes they have other jobs, and they have secretary jobs and custodial jobs as well I'm sure. But he doesn't want any of those jobs and the letter he was sent (and is partially reprinted here) says very clearly that they are "only “actively seeking to raise interest from black and minority ethnic communities and females”. And that was the reason why his application was refused.
*******************************
If this guy really wants to be a police officer, then a role as a special constable is a good way of getting the foot in the door. Or he could apply to another force where they do have vacancies.
He wasn't rejected because he didn't have his foot in the door, he was rejected for the job that he wanted and applied for because of his color.
He probably will indeed end up having to go elsewhere to find work, and nobody has suggested that he will be barred from all jobs for life because of his color. It's just unfortunate that the Met Police have rejected his application for the job he wanted because of his color and he will have to go elsewhere. A great loss for them.
“in the real world such a course of action but all but guarantee he would never be offered a paying position”
I work for a UK police force and know plenty of officers who originally volunteered as Special Constables. Nobody gets ‘offered’ a position as a police officer, by the way, everyone has to apply through the formal application process. Having experience as a SC offers a considerable advantage when going through that process.
“He’s either got to force his way in through the courts”
On what basis would this go to the courts? There are no current vacancies available, so there is no job for him to apply for, and applications are not being accepted. He has received a form letter informing him of this, as would anyone who enquired. You can’t sue an employer for not having any jobs available.
“He was told that he wouldn’t be hired FOR THE JOB HE WANTED because of his color.”
No he wasn’t. He was told that there are no current vacancies for the job he wanted. The other bits are quoted from The Sun. I’m sure you’ve posted enough articles from that source to be aware that their reputation is for invention, exageration and hyperbole, rather than accuracy.
“the letter he was sent (and is partially reprinted here) says very clearly that they are “only “actively seeking to raise interest from black and minority ethnic communities and females”. And that was the reason why his application was refused.”
No it doesn’t. The part of the letter reproduced doesn’t include the word ‘only’ at all. That’s an addition by The Sun. It’s a form letter, sent to anyone enquiring about vacancies, saying that there aren’t any. His application has not been ‘refused’ as there is nothing to currently apply for.
“It’s just unfortunate that the Met Police have rejected his application for the job he wanted because of his color and he will have to go elsewhere.”
Again, completely inaccurate. If vacancies come up in the future, then he can apply for that vacancy. There are no vacancies now, so applications are not being taken.
This appears to be the primary basis for your objections, and you're welcome to them, although I don't share such a strident view. I've found The Sun to be hyperbolic on occasion and I think that most readers are savvy enough to understand that, but I haven't known them to make things up entirely out of wholecloth. Since this is an 'exclusive' article, it's impossible to check it against other sources and so this is the extent of what we have to go on.
However, for these points about him being refused an application due to his race to be untrue, the entire interview with Lance Cpl. Mayer would also have to be fabricated, as he states quite clearly that he understands his refusal of hire is due to race. A direct quotation of his:
“To get back and learn that I am the wrong colour or sex to even be considered for the police has left me speechless.
"I feel discriminated against.”
I think that many here, including myself, find the points made in this article to be entirely believable and plausible in the context of what has been going on in both the USA and the UK for decades.....passing over white men in particular while favoring women and minorities is, unfortunately, so very commonplace that it's entirely humdrum and unremarkable. What makes this article compelling is that it's happening to such a heroic and superbly qualified soldier. If any of the points made in the article were in any way outlandish then I would be the among first to question it, but sadly most all of us have seen similar stories play out time and time again.
Why would they have to fabricate his quotes? He is either mistaken or, more likely, happy to play along with The Sun to generate manufactured outrage (as The Sun does best) at a complete non-issue. "Man wants to apply for job, told there are no vacancies" wouldn't really capture the reader, would it?
The guy has a letter from the MPS telling him why he cannot currently apply. The Sun has a picture of him holding it. The Sun quotes from the letter. But they don't quote the part of the letter that gives the reason why he cannot apply! Why not? That's what the whole story is supposed to be about! Why quote a bit of meaningless equal opportunities blurb from the end of the letter and not quote the part that actually says 'sorry we're not currently accepting applications because....'? The obvious answer is that quoting the whole letter would prove their story completely manufactured.
They do of course, attempted to maintain the sham of journalistic good form by giving the Met right of reply and sneaking in the real reason why this guy is currently unable to apply with as little fanfare as possible right near the end of the article:
"The Met confirmed Ben had been refused a recruitment pack — but said that the force was not recruiting right now."
Unfortunately, I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that this business of entirely manufacturing news out of nothing is something that The Sun does, and I've been reading them, and comparing them against other papers, for a number of years. I've actually found more inaccuracies in the UK Times than I have in The Sun over the past couple years at least, and far more spin in The Guardian.. If I had something more than your seething, visceral dislike for The Sun to go by I would find your arguments more compelling. They do have a 'certain style' that a lot of people are going to find polarizing, and that's to be expected in a tabloid. I factor all of that in as I read it, and I do believe that the vast majority of readers here at Free Republic are sophisticated and discerning enough to spot a hyperbolic style when they see one.
The Met's reply is the only truly substantive thing that can be pointed to in the article to counter anything that was said previously, and I'm afraid that taking the word of a Government bureaucrat over that of a heroic soldier is not something that I will readily do. In my experience with 'affirmative action' hiring here in the USA, I'm accustomed to those overseeing such policies to lie endlessly about their existence, their implementation and their scope, to keep as much of it secret as is possible and to cover it up if necessary. Of course they will not admit to the press that they turned down a heroic soldier because of his color, that wouldn't be a good career move.
At any rate, hopefully other articles on this matter will eventually appear to either confirm or deny The Sun's treatment of it, but once again I simply don't find the notion of a white male being refused a position because of his color to be out of the ordinary at all; there's nothing even remotely odd about it, as it happens all the time, unfortunately.
I can remember a number of years ago when the Los Angeles Fire Department was hiring. Some guys were told, “We can’t hire you because you’re white!”
Also, circa 1992, white guys had to have a score of 110% on the written exam when applying for the Los Angeles Police Department. They were given 10 points for being veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, and had to have a perfect score on the written exam. Women and “minority” men where allowed to have a written score of 80 - 90% on a sliding scale of which group was favored the most, and they were not required to be Gulf War veterans. Utter bullcrap, in my opinion.
Britain 3% Muslim
America 3% Muslim
Official coverage of Britain by Shariah = 0%
Official coverage of America by Shariah = Texas
btt
Well, a friend of mine was an Inspector in the UK who migrated to Canada with his family because he couldn’t take all the crap that was going on in the police force (he sure didn’t appreciate the new vocabulary guidelines that’s for sure).
He had to start from scratch again and became a Police Constable, just to escape the lunacy that was overtaking England.
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