Here’s some good news that’s come out of someone’s initial terrible behaviour. A group of – now certified – absolute legends who stepped in to stop an alleged bigoted, racially charged attack have been formally thanked by members of their local Muslim Association.
The incident occurred a week ago in Newcastle, allegedly involving a man, 27 year-old Scott William Papworth, who approached a car being driven by a mother and daughter who were both wearing traditional hijabs. Papworth is said to have confronted the vehicle and subsequently began hurling verbal abuse, including the sentence “We are Westerners and you’re not meant to be here.” He then punched the driver’s side rear mirror. The daughter of the pair then drove the car up the street before stopping to fix the mirror. At that point Papworth is alleged to have forced the left side of his body into the car as she attempted to re-enter, taking hold of the steering wheel and putting his foot on the accelerator. The car, which was in park, fortunately didn’t move.
At that point, a group of six local skaters who were passing by saw the scene and became concerned for the women’s safety and rushed to intervene – in the process of doing so, the men told police they heard Papworth scream “you Muslim c-nts.” When they neared the car, Papworth then turned on them, threatening to kill anyone who stepped in. He allegedly managed to steal two phones off the men before attempting to run off, but not before being struck by a skateboard hurled by one of the group.
At the time one of the men who intervened, Patrick Burgess, stated “People need to know that this is not OK. The way this situation has gotten is so not acceptable, and people need to start taking action and actively condemning this sort of activity.“
“It’s the indifference of good people that is bringing us down.“
The good news is that since then, Newcastle’s Muslim community has rallied around the group of men in a show of great gratitude for their efforts, including a formal thank you. Burgess and Justin Lanz, another member of the group, visited the Newcastle Mosque this past weekend where Diana Rah, the Vice President of the Newcastle Muslim Association, praised the groups “quick response.”
“It took a lot of courage to do what they did.“
Rah added that when all six members of the group are able to attend the mosque at the same time, they will be formally recognised with a certificate of appreciation presented on behalf of the whole Newcastle Muslim community.
Burgess stated that he and the rest of the men had been heartened by the attention the case drew and by the outpouring of positive public support for their actions.
“I think it shows the majority of people in the community are good and that the extremists who are doing these attacks are in the minority.“
Onya, lads. This is exactly the kind of positive, community-first attitude that’s needed by all. If anyone out there personally knows them, shout them a drink. They’ve more than earned it.
As for the offender, he has since been arrested, charged, and appeared before court where he was refused bail.
via Newcastle Herald.
