White people, have you ever experienced racism?
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I once stopped to watch an anti-Israel protest from a reasonable distance away when I was walking by outside a theatre. Got some anti-Semitic and anti-Israel abuse as a result, presumably, of having dark hair and not much else.
Shouted reply: "I'm not Jewish"
Couple of protesters: "Oh..."
Was faintly amusing.
Shouted reply: "I'm not Jewish"
Couple of protesters: "Oh..."
Was faintly amusing.
I go to college in Birmingham where there a huge percentage of the population is made up of various minorities. I have quite a large friendship 'group' of about 13, and including me, two of us are white, one is black, one chinese and all the others are indian bar one pakistani.
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
(edited 11 years ago)
I've experienced a bit of prejudice since my husband (who is Pakistani) and I started dating... it's hard to say it was definitely racist as cultural and religious issues came into it a lot, but I did experience a lot of rumours regarding my fidelity and lifestyle, including friends of my in laws reporting back on me (e.g. if they saw me in town with my brother they would imply I was cheating to my in laws)... ended up getting to the point where my in laws refused to meet me until a few months before our wedding (after almost 6 years together) :/ We have also had strangers (who I presume were Pakistani) approach us in public and ask my husband in punjabi/urdu what he's doing with a white girl.
To be honest though I have seen/heard of more direct racism experienced by my husband (although he says that he hasn't experienced that much), for example he was called an f-ing paki by someone he'd just assisted and I know of a time his sister had something thrown at her from a car by people shouting racist abuse etc. I also know some white people who don't consider themselves racist but say things that I would consider going along a racist line and I have known other people who are more blatant in their racist attitudes and seem somewhat proud of it (e.g. a guy my brother knows quite happily tells people he wants to go 'paki hunting' and boasts about the verbal abuse he shouts at Pakistanis as he drives past them).
To be honest though I have seen/heard of more direct racism experienced by my husband (although he says that he hasn't experienced that much), for example he was called an f-ing paki by someone he'd just assisted and I know of a time his sister had something thrown at her from a car by people shouting racist abuse etc. I also know some white people who don't consider themselves racist but say things that I would consider going along a racist line and I have known other people who are more blatant in their racist attitudes and seem somewhat proud of it (e.g. a guy my brother knows quite happily tells people he wants to go 'paki hunting' and boasts about the verbal abuse he shouts at Pakistanis as he drives past them).
Original post by United4prem
Being blamed for slavery and being called racist or no reason other than being white and expressing an opinion which didn't pander to minorities. I've also been attacked by Black youths for no reason and was in hopital for the nightbefore.
seen many similar instances to this.
seen many similar instances to this.
How do you know this was a racial attack Black on Black crime is more likely than Black on White crime! They could just been "thugs" and you so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...
Original post by AvadaKedavra
I go to college in Birmingham where there a huge percentage of the population is made up of various minorities. I have quite a large friendship 'group' of about 13, and including me, two of us are white, one is black, one chinese and all the others are indian bar one pakistani.
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
what you describe most certainly is racism. your 'friend' is a racist.
she sounds like she is well versed in the anti-white conspiracy theories of the modern far-left -- the idea that only white people can be racist is in fact racist, as is the stereotype that ALL white people are racist -- its like saying that all black people are criminals, or that all brown people are terrorists. ie, racist.
the only difference is that these views are legitimised by the prevailing politically correct atmosphere in academia and wider society which promotes this stuff as genuine theory -- it revolves around white guilt and minority grievance.
because of this, white people are emotionally all over the place on the issue. cognitive dissonance is common when white people, PC types especially, are confronted with anti-white racism -- they become very defensive or just assume what they experienced could not possibly be racism.
i think it goes beyond cognitive dissonance however. it more resembles a form of 'battered wife syndrome' -- they internalise and agree with the racism directed against them.
if i were you i wouldn't be so defensive.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Architecture-er
Sounds to me like you're just assuming things from nothing, to be frank. I'm saying this because I had a similar reaction at first, so don't take this as me criticising from a high horse!
You haven't given any examples which could be none other than flat out hostility, only things which could be seen as hostile, had the person been fully aware of how things work. To take being flat out ignored, for example, is probably because they weren't listening hard enough to pick out what you're saying from the English around them, once you're fluent its easy to hear what's directed at you, less so when you need to apply your attention in order to translate what you hear
I'd urge you to brush off as much as possible, you can find that you make really good friends if you develop a thicker skin against perceived slights (I'd imagine we English are particularly bad at this, since we hold such stock in small considerations!) because its such a great way to learn about new cultures and develop more diverse friendships!
You haven't given any examples which could be none other than flat out hostility, only things which could be seen as hostile, had the person been fully aware of how things work. To take being flat out ignored, for example, is probably because they weren't listening hard enough to pick out what you're saying from the English around them, once you're fluent its easy to hear what's directed at you, less so when you need to apply your attention in order to translate what you hear
I'd urge you to brush off as much as possible, you can find that you make really good friends if you develop a thicker skin against perceived slights (I'd imagine we English are particularly bad at this, since we hold such stock in small considerations!) because its such a great way to learn about new cultures and develop more diverse friendships!
I can understand why you might think that, though I was being completely objective when I wrote all of that. Naturally, I've noticed similar behaviour in other people- people of all races, though like I said, it hasn't quite been to the level displayed by that of the Asian community.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I did say, after all, that these were simply observations. It goes without saying that I've had positive experiences with Asian students too.
Original post by philistine
6'1", 190lbs or so. I don't have an intimidating face though, at all.
I doubt they can even see your face all the way up there
jk. it's probably a combination of your race and your height that's causing problems then. i would just ignore them or call them out if they do something particularly nasty
Original post by Farm_Ecology
As someone of polish descent, it's next to impossible to get a straight answer out of any public organization. I keep getting pushed around to immigrant related services before I can say anything.
This^
Original post by AvadaKedavra
I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
Haha I get this one all the time! Whenever I order spicy food I get comments like "you're not white!" or "i knew you were secretly African!" and i'm like "
"
I have, quite a few times actually. Technically i'm not fully white as my mum is mixed, but i have still experienced racist comments. Most of my family is Jamaican , so this means whenever i got to my cousins or godmothers house i tend to be the only person who isnt..well black. This didn't matter when i was younger, but now whenever i go, my cousins and their friends might make jokey comments since i can't dance to the kind of music that they dance to or because i'm a vegetarian and don't eat meat. Once one of their friends actually said i "walk like a white person"!!! which was weird...as i just walk normal like everyone else does... 
Yes, I was told by a group of people that I was 'some stupid white bitch' because I work at Pizza Hut and we had run out of lasagne and they were not impressed, I wasn't offended to be honest, but I do feel sometimes that 'white' people have their hands tied sometimes.
I'm not racist at all, but I can't stand the way people segregate groups of people based on colour, religion and pre-conceited prejudices based on media/social influence, but I WILL say that, here in England, if a person were to use a racial slur towards a black man, they would be in a lot more trouble than if the situation were to be reversed.
A big issue of mine is the whole football debate, especially in regards to the Hispanics such as Luis Suarez and Messi who seem are tarnished by some for being racists when people have been blindly ignorant of their culture and what terms such as 'el negrito' mean in said culture, if you ever visit any South American country you are given nicknames based upon your appearance, so if you're a little chubby you are 'el gordito', etc etc- but it's all very light hearted because they haven't been made to become so PC over such insignificant matters.
Sorry I've gone off target a little, but I DO think the problem is governments creating bigger barriers between ethnic groups by trying to unite them, because it actually causes nothing but more prejudices and more aggravation.
I'm not racist at all, but I can't stand the way people segregate groups of people based on colour, religion and pre-conceited prejudices based on media/social influence, but I WILL say that, here in England, if a person were to use a racial slur towards a black man, they would be in a lot more trouble than if the situation were to be reversed.
A big issue of mine is the whole football debate, especially in regards to the Hispanics such as Luis Suarez and Messi who seem are tarnished by some for being racists when people have been blindly ignorant of their culture and what terms such as 'el negrito' mean in said culture, if you ever visit any South American country you are given nicknames based upon your appearance, so if you're a little chubby you are 'el gordito', etc etc- but it's all very light hearted because they haven't been made to become so PC over such insignificant matters.
Sorry I've gone off target a little, but I DO think the problem is governments creating bigger barriers between ethnic groups by trying to unite them, because it actually causes nothing but more prejudices and more aggravation.
?
They seem to think that every other woman from their ethnicity is somehow an extention of their own family.
Original post by Rags
I've experienced a bit of prejudice since my husband (who is Pakistani) and I started dating... it's hard to say it was definitely racist as cultural and religious issues came into it a lot, but I did experience a lot of rumours regarding my fidelity and lifestyle, including friends of my in laws reporting back on me (e.g. if they saw me in town with my brother they would imply I was cheating to my in laws)... ended up getting to the point where my in laws refused to meet me until a few months before our wedding (after almost 6 years together) :/ We have also had strangers (who I presume were Pakistani) approach us in public and ask my husband in punjabi/urdu what he's doing with a white girl.
To be honest though I have seen/heard of more direct racism experienced by my husband (although he says that he hasn't experienced that much), for example he was called an f-ing paki by someone he'd just assisted and I know of a time his sister had something thrown at her from a car by people shouting racist abuse etc. I also know some white people who don't consider themselves racist but say things that I would consider going along a racist line and I have known other people who are more blatant in their racist attitudes and seem somewhat proud of it (e.g. a guy my brother knows quite happily tells people he wants to go 'paki hunting' and boasts about the verbal abuse he shouts at Pakistanis as he drives past them).
To be honest though I have seen/heard of more direct racism experienced by my husband (although he says that he hasn't experienced that much), for example he was called an f-ing paki by someone he'd just assisted and I know of a time his sister had something thrown at her from a car by people shouting racist abuse etc. I also know some white people who don't consider themselves racist but say things that I would consider going along a racist line and I have known other people who are more blatant in their racist attitudes and seem somewhat proud of it (e.g. a guy my brother knows quite happily tells people he wants to go 'paki hunting' and boasts about the verbal abuse he shouts at Pakistanis as he drives past them).
They seem to think that every other woman from their ethnicity is somehow an extention of their own family.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by AvadaKedavra
I go to college in Birmingham where there a huge percentage of the population is made up of various minorities. I have quite a large friendship 'group' of about 13, and including me, two of us are white, one is black, one chinese and all the others are indian bar one pakistani.
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
I don't consider anything racism towards me, but sometimes I have heard hints of racist attitudes from some of my friends:
The black girl in my group is very concerned with race issues, amongst other things - she's a feminist, marxist, a bit hipster. She sometimes says things to me which I consider deeply offensive - not that they are directly racist to me, but... One of her beliefs that upsets me is that the only people who are ever racist are white - an idea I would consider racist in itself. She also often posts links to various blogs on facebook which are basically black people bitching about white people - not exposing racism, which would be good, but actually going further to attack all white people then. She also sometimes says that as a white person I am going to be racist in the future. I was lucky enough to get an offer from Oxford recently, and she tells me that I'm going to go to Oxford, hang out with rich white people and be racist. Things like this particularly upset me given the range of friends I have - I would like to think that they would not expect me to be racist, because we've been friends for a while and I don't see how I could possibly become so suddenly racist when my best friend of seven years is Indian?
I've never really known what to say to her when she expresses views like that, but thankfully some of my other friends (indians actually) also think that sometimes she is being borderline racist and argue against her a little...
Otherwise i sometimes get other minor things from my friends. I am 'the white girl' a lot of the time, and it's generally believed that I don't understand their culture. I'm quite inquisitive and often ask about the various languages they speech or their special cultural dress etc, but then I kind of get lightly mocked for being unknowing etc. I also apparently cannot eat spicy food according to most of my friends - white people can't take that/don't know what spice is.
I know nothing I've said is quite racism, and most of it was not said to be racist just friendly jibes, but I do worry that slightly racist attitudes do lie under the surface. If I told my black friend that she was going to fulfil a black stereotype at university or anything like that, I'm quite sure I would be accosted for racism - but for some reason, the line of what counts as racism against white people seems to be a little blurrier, and a little further away...
You need to sever all links with this "friend" trust me she's not normal and i think tbh she might be a bit crackers
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