Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Story of O wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:29 pm Groups like this exist because of the way they have been treated, now and in the past. Have you ever suffered abuse or violence because of your sexuality?

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:49 pm How many OTF/ podcaster replies to that tweet?

Un Corte Sobre wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:11 pm This is well meaning but not progressive.

Who would find it comfortable having a separate "Black Leyton Orient Supporters Group" ?

Just the racists I would suggest.

Gary the Plumber wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:25 pm Eh? Another day goes by without a manager being brought in and this is all the club have to worry about?

Groups like this are divisive, what about us straight fans - and I'm definitely 100% straight - where's our supporters group? Labelling people just breaks us down into smaller groups when we're all just fans at the end of the day, who we like to do sex to shouldn't even come into it. Except for the nonces, they shouldn't have a club.

Dunners wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:50 pm Perhaps the fanzines could also promote it?

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:59 pm The same cab drivers he has fronting the orient hour?

The Orient Hour wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 8:57 pm

Long slender neck wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:59 pm The same cab drivers he has fronting the orient hour?

No its not the same person who attends the show
We will be looking to promote this on a future show.

SteveJackson wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:48 pm Leaving aside the Neanderthals, the problem is about the distinction between meaningful commitment to making the club accessible, and keeping up appearances by being seen to be having the right initiatives.
The club currently allows a guy who was banned from here many times for homophobia to walk around the ground selling his fanzine, and has long indulged his abusive behaviour and demonstrably allows him to do anything short of being proven to have been racist: his misogyny and homophobia was no barrier to him being appointed to the board of the fans trust (after which I cancelled my membership citing his homophobia) and he retains their unequivocal support to this day. Would a gay fan feel comfortable being on the board with a man who has thrown around terms like “bum boy” on various iterations of this board?

Here’s the text of the exchange I had with LOFT upon hearing of Mat’s nomination:

“ Hi, I've heard from several places that Mat R***r has been nominated for this position. I would like to register my opposition to this due to the fact that he has previously used the unofficial Leyton orient board as a platform from which to threaten to use his existing connection to LOFT as a way of gaining the personal details of people he has fallen out with,in conjunction with him having issued threats of violence to me through social media (I can provide screen grabs of these conversations) and his history of posting homophobic content on various Orient websites. In the event that Mat R***r is given a position on the LOFT committee I would like to have all contact details for myself removed from the database, and for my resignation of my LOFT membership to be effective immediately if this person is chosen as suitable to represent the interests of Orient fans.

Thank you
Keith Williams”


Reply:

“ Dear Keith,

Thank you for your email. I do understand your concerns, however I hope I can assure you with the following points:
Any LOFT member is entitled to put themselves forward for nomination for election to the committee; that is their democratic right as a member of the society
The election to the committee is a democratic process carried out by a vote of the membership at large, it is not a selection process by the committee
All LOFT membership details are stored and accessed solely by the membership secretary and processed appropriately in accordance with the Data Protection Act
All LOFT committee members are required to act in accordance with LOFT’s Board Membership Policy, which is available on the LOFT website as part of the last set of Rules changes – this includes conduct, communications and abiding by collective responsibility for LOFT decisions
Anyone elected to the committee will be made aware of their responsibilities by me, in particular the above two points
As you know, Mat R***r is already one of our external board members (inaccurately often referred to as ‘trustee’) and while I’m not going to get into a character examination of either him or any other potential nominees, it’s fair to say that anyone who is hands on in the way Mat is will have those who like his approach and those that don’t in equal measure; that is why it is up to the membership to exercise their democratic right in who they elect to the committee, so that no committee member can take LOFT in a direction they don’t approve of.

I hope this assures you that LOFT’s propriety is foremost in my mind!

Kind regards,

Jonathan Kaye
LOFT Secretary & Webmaster”

Adz wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 11:20 pm I'd be interested to hear from any LGBTQI+ fans as to what they think about this setup, as really that's all that matters.