Muslim thrown off National Express coach in Bristol after passenger said they felt "uncomfortable"
A man was thrown off a National Express coach in Bristol after a passenger said they felt "uncomfortable" - because he was a Muslim.


The man had boarded the service, which runs to London Victoria, at Bristol Coach Station at 10.30am on Thursday morning, but was promptly told to leave by a member of National Express staff after a woman onboard the coach said she would feel "uncomfortable" travelling with him.
Fellow passengers looked on in disbelief as the man left the coach with the member of National Express staff.
Passengers were told the man had been asked to leave because he had too much luggage, but University of Bristol student Rebekah Makinde said the complaints were clearly made because of the man's religion.

"I couldn't really believe what I was seeing", the 21-year-old told the Bristol Post. "As soon as he got on the coach, the women at the front were just silent and staring at him. They were making their feelings very obvious.

"As soon as the man sat down, one of the women went to speak to the driver. Another member of staff then came on and asked the man to get off. He didn't protest or anything, he just got off.

"What disgusted me the most was that someone actually thanked the woman after he left."

Miss Makinde said she then asked the driver why the man had been asked to leave and she was told it was because he would not put the printer in the undercoach storage with the rest of the luggage.

"It's ridiculous. Everyone had luggage with them on the coach, I had bags and my laptop on my seat next to me and nobody said anything about that. The coach wasn't even that busy and there were plenty of free seats.
"It was only when the woman raised her concerns about the man saying she felt uncomfortable that he was asked to leave.

"I heard the entire exchange between the woman and the driver and I know luggage was not the reason he was asked to leave."
She added: "I understand that drivers want their passengers to feel comfortable. But not if it stems from someone's unfounded and Islamophobic beliefs and at the expense of another paying passenger. I am truly appalled."

Nick McDonald, from Redland, was also travelling on the coach on the way to a work conference in London
He said: "I heard the group of women at the front of the coach say he looked 'shifty'. She got off the coach to make a complaint and the next thing a man wearing a National Express vest got on and asked him to get off. If the man was carrying too many bags, why was he allowed to board the coach in the first place? It wasn't until the woman said she felt uncomfortable that he was asked to leave.

National Express said the man was asked to leave the coach following a complaint about his "bulky luggage".
A company spokesman said: "We categorically deny an incident in which a passenger was asked to leave one of our coaches was in any way Islamophobic. The gentleman concerned boarded with excess luggage which became an issue for a number of our other customers. He refused to put the excess luggage in the hold when requested, was abusive towards our staff and walked out of the station. Our staff, who often have to make difficult decisions at short notice, remained professional throughout and are extremely upset at these serious allegations which are both unfounded and untrue".

Bron: Bristol Post, 7 december 2015. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Man-th...tail/story.html

Mening: Alvorens ik mijn mening over dit artikel vertel, wil ik eerst opmerken dat deze inhoud bijzonder subjectief is open is voor interpretatie. Het is overduidelijk dat de auteur van het artikel linksdenkend is op politiek vlak. Alles wat "Rebekah Makinde" vertelde wordt beschouwd als waarheid in het artikel. Het zou kunnen dat zij de situatie helemaal fout heeft ingeschat of haar eigen subjectieve draai eraan gaf voor ze het vertelde aan de krant. De beschreven "feiten" mogen al dan niet kloppen, dat vind ik minder relevant, ik vind vooral dit onderwerp interessant en wil er dan ook iets over kwijt. Ik denk dat de woorden "racisten", "intolerant" en dergelijke nogal snel in het rond worden gegooid bij zo'n voorval. Ik heb persoonlijk ook al meegemaakt dat mensen die ik ken (en ikzelf ook wel eens) zich onveilig voelen door de aanwezigheid van bepaalde andere onbekende mensen. Het ging toen absoluut niet om moslims. Ik denk dat het natuurlijk is voor mensen om zich soms bang en bedreigd te voelen in een onbekende omgeving of in de aanwezigheid van sommige onbekenden. Dat het nu lijkt alsof veel mensen schrik hebben in het bijzijn van moslims, komt simpelweg door de recente feiten. Niet enkel in Parijs, maar de afgelopen jaren worden moslims op veel verschillende manieren als gevaarlijk afgebeeld in het nieuws. Dan kan je niemand kwaad nemen dat ze hier na verloop van tijd bang van krijgen vind ik. Ookal hebben de geintegreerde moslims bij ons niks te maken met die gevaarlijke moslims die we regelmatig op TV te zien krijgen.
Ik vind wel niet dat het correct is om dan te gaan klagen over je angst bij de buschauffeur in dit geval, en ik vind het zeker incorrect dat de man was gevraagd de bus te verlaten. Dat je van bepaalde onbekenden bang hebt, al dan niet onterecht, kan ik nog begrijpen zoals ik hierboven uitlegde. Maar ik vind het echt niet kunnen dat die persoon hieronder moet lijden en zich dan moet aanpassen omdat je jezelf oncomfortabel voelt. Als je echt vind dat iemand er te bedreigend uit ziet om comfortabel mee te kunnen reizigen, dan neem je toch zonder aarzelen zelf een andere bus? Blijkbaar dacht de vrouw in het artikel eerder aan de tegenovergestelde aanpak, en dat vind ik niet te verantwoorden.