Most of the time, videos on the Internet can be trusted to entertain and amuse. Sometimes all they do is shock and disgust.
A video showing a young British woman on a racist tirade has captured the condemnation of many online commenters, who have also helped launch an effort by the British Transport Police to identify her.
The two-minute video, taken on board a tram by a fellow passenger, shows the woman holding her baby as she identifies passengers she says are not “English,” and spouts abusive racist remarks towards a black woman on board.
Later in the video, another woman comes to the defence of fellow passengers, calling the ranter out for her behavior amongst children on board, including her own.
Posted on Sunday, November 27, the video has gathered more than 7,000 comments, most of which denounce and condemn the woman’s actions. On Twitter, the hashtag #mytramexperience began trending as the video got shared around.
“As a white British male, I feel disgusted to even be associated with this woman by my race and nationality. I thought there was pretty much no such thing as a native Englishman, aren’t we all pretty much Scandinavian anyway?,” wrote commenter The Specialscrew.
A hoard of gold apparently buried by Anglo-Saxon warriors 13 centuries ago, now on display in Washington, DC, at the National Geographic Museum, is a good reminder that the British Isles have played host to people of countless tribes.
“I really hope someone has reported the #mytramexperience woman and that she gets prosecuted. Her poor child,” wrote tweeter bexmartin.
A minority of commenters and tweeters came to her defense or expressed support for her remarks. But the takeaway, if there is one, was in the exceptional number of people who chose to make their condemnation as loudly heard as her tirade was on that tram.
Update: The British Transport Police reported Monday that it had arrested a 34-year-old woman for a “racially aggravated public order” offense. She wasn’t immediately identified. Meanwhile, the Racist Tram Lady remains at large on Twitter, where an apparent parodist has created an account.