Crime against fashion ... dad reports ‘racist’ Hawaiian shirt insult to police
Due to his love of loud Hawaiian shirts, Rich Wilson is frequently accused by friends of committing crimes against fashion.
But the father of three was astonished when he was the victim of a race-related hate crime, apparently because of the red Hawaiian shirt he was wearing.
Mr Wilson, a 47-year-old artist and B&B owner who also works with refugees, was walking to a convenience store in Hull at 2am when he was confronted by four youths and called a ‘wannabe Paki’.
He is convinced it was because of his unusual shirt and reported it as a hate incident to police. ‘I’m sure I was a target because I was wearing a Hawaiian shirt,’ he said. ‘If I was wearing a normal jacket I would have blended in. I am a fan of Hawaiian shirts, I’ve got nine. I get ribbed by friends about how loud they are.’
Describing Tuesday’s incident as he walked to a Sainsbury’s Mr Wilson said: ‘A gang of four youths were hanging round outside causing trouble and then one ridiculously called me a “wannabe Paki”.’
He said a youth rode a bike towards him to run him down but he stood his ground and they swore before riding off. He said he reported the incident as a hate crime because police ‘need to know what is happening’ for accurate crime statistics.
Mr Wilson, who said he was also called a ‘Paki’ four years ago by football hooligans, added: ‘I am dark haired and when I have a tan I could possibly be mistaken for someone of foreign extraction but it doesn’t really matter as it shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.’
Humberside Police have recorded what happened on Tuesday as a hate incident. They said a race hate crime is one seen by the victim or anyone else to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race.
‘It shouldn’t be happening’