London Commuter Arrested After Racist Rant Goes Viral

  • Share
  • Read Later

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i47HoiM0Au8]

Note: The video above contains offensive language.

By now, most of us are sadly accustomed to seeing abhorrent behavior in viral videos. A video that went online on Sunday after being filmed on a London tram is just another example. As the clip begins, a British woman sits on a packed car with a small boy in her lap and starts spewing vitriol at the other passengers in the carriage, as someone begins filming her.

The clip doesn’t show what instigated the tirade (if, indeed, something did instigate it), but the woman is clearly angry. She shouts, “What has this country come to? With loads of black people and a load of f—— Polish. You ain’t English either. None of you are f—— English.”

Meanwhile, other passengers try to interject, asking her to watch her language and telling her to be quiet. The video is offensive and disturbing, especially considering the presence of the child. Unfortunately, it’s not all that surprising as videos like this have gone viral with a disappointing frequency.

What is surprising, however, is what happened after the camera stopping filming and the clip went viral. The backlash to the video prompted police to investigate and a woman has been arrested in connection with the video. The woman, 34-year-old Emma West, appeared in court today and has been charged with racial harassment. Frankly, NewsFeed is a bit flabbergasted. We’ve come to expect a type of vigilante cyber-justice over these types of displays, but having the courts intervene due to hate speech on a YouTube video still seems to be unfamiliar territory.

PHOTOS: The Meteoric Rise of YouTube