I wonder what was going through the tiny brain of the hate-filled yob who scrawled obscenities over Marcus Rashford’s face.
What did the pathetic little moron get out of defacing that mural?
A selfie to share with sicko pals, maybe?
A surge of supremacist bile in his gut and a transitory buzz of reading of his “heroics” on social media?
But whatever he hoped to achieve backfired spectacularly.
The hatred spewed on the wall in Withington, Manchester, was washed away with buckets of love, an outpouring of pride and the elbow power of a community.
Within hours the vile words were erased by messages of support.
Do you agree? Have your say in the comment section
And the flags, card, pictures or Post-it notes were a reminder of the healing power of love.
Some brains are far too full of bigotry to benefit and some hearts too stained to cleanse.
So I don’t expect the idiot who vandalised that mural to ever understand that he is the antithesis of a patriotic football fan and a total loser.
Or that Rashford has done more for his country in 23 years than ALL the haters and bile spewers will ever achieve.
Police are “keeping an open mind” about the motivation behind the graffiti and say it “may not have been racially motivated”.
But Withington people saw it as such – an attack on their local hero AND the two other black players abused after missing penalties in the Euros final.
What happened in Manchester this week was truly inspiring. It showed decent people will take a stand against racism and hate, and expect their leaders to do the same.
But love alone can’t cleanse the social media cesspit of vile trolls and abusers. They will keep spitting from the murky depths, shielded by anonymity, until the companies who profit from the traffic they prompt are forced to expose them.
Social media platforms could verify every user’s account by linking it to their true identity, so when vile abuse appears they can hand that info to police so the culprits are swiftly traced.
But they won’t do so unless the Government makes it part of their new Online Harms Bill.
No10 claims it is “too complicated” and sometimes there’s a good reason for anonymity.
It isn’t.
People WANT racists and haters named and shamed.
There is no place for sickening bigotry on virtual walls or real ones.
A resident watching the graffiti being covered said: “This feels like the win we didn’t get on Sunday.”
Rashford himself was moved to tears and said: “The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’ll be back stronger.”
And hatred will NEVER have the last word.
