Is Britain Racist?
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Original post by Yawn!
Nah, she works at Aldi. That's where you get your cheap steaks from. 
I get them imported from the US.
East India Bill.
Original post by Bill_Gates
I get them imported from the US.
East India Bill.
East India Bill.
No you don't. Your mum gets 10% staff discount at Aldi.
Original post by Yawn!
No you don't. Your mum gets 10% staff discount at Aldi.
I trade in spices from former colonies. I think i know what i get.
Original post by Bill_Gates
I trade in spices from former colonies. I think i know what i get.
You don't trade in spices. You get them on offer from Aldi.
Luckily I don't seem to have come across that many racist people in my life. If I didn't read the news, I'd think we were a very accepting country.
I'm shocked though at some of the things I see people post on ridiculous pages like Britain First, and some of the things that newspapers are allowed to publish. And shocked that people continue to buy these papers.
I had an interesting conversation with a guy who was interviewing me the other day (it was relevant to the role) about how the places in the country where UKIP did the best in the general election are the least multicultural. Farage stood in Kent for God's sake. We both agreed that if you were to only read the papers, and have limited ACTUAL contact with different cultures, you could start to become xenophobic, racist, and scared of anyone who isn't 'local'.
So I think my lack of contact with these imbeciles comes from being fortunate enough to live in a multicultural area.
TLDR: Only certain areas of our society are racist. Luckily I've been sheltered from them most of my life.
I'm shocked though at some of the things I see people post on ridiculous pages like Britain First, and some of the things that newspapers are allowed to publish. And shocked that people continue to buy these papers.
I had an interesting conversation with a guy who was interviewing me the other day (it was relevant to the role) about how the places in the country where UKIP did the best in the general election are the least multicultural. Farage stood in Kent for God's sake. We both agreed that if you were to only read the papers, and have limited ACTUAL contact with different cultures, you could start to become xenophobic, racist, and scared of anyone who isn't 'local'.
So I think my lack of contact with these imbeciles comes from being fortunate enough to live in a multicultural area.
TLDR: Only certain areas of our society are racist. Luckily I've been sheltered from them most of my life.
Original post by sana_malik
im a 'pakki' but i dont feel the term is racist. I've been called a pakki by people who meant it in a racist way but my mouth never shuts so they faced even more colourful words from me. So yeaah.... overall i dont take the term pakki as an offence... instead i embrace it. its just an abbreviated way of saying pakistani
Cool. Well in London it's rather offense. And you just said that you've had people say it to you in a racist way which means it can be used to cause offense to someone of Pakistani heritage.
And then you accept it like a term of endearment, you're just contradicting yourself.
Original post by That's so mean:(
Cool. Well in London it's rather offense. And you just said that you've had people say it to you in a racist way which means it can be used to cause offense to someone of Pakistani heritage.
And then you accept it like a term of endearment, you're just contradicting yourself.
And then you accept it like a term of endearment, you're just contradicting yourself.
im not contradicting myself...... im simply saying it can be classed as an insult (if you take it as an insult like i did) or as an abbreviated way of saying pakistani (like i now do)......... im a british pakistani so if saying pakki was racist then is being called a Brit also racist?
(wow im confusing)
Original post by sana_malik
im not contradicting myself...... im simply saying it can be classed as an insult (if you take it as an insult like i did) or as an abbreviated way of saying pakistani (like i now do)......... im a british pakistani so if saying pakki was racist then is being called a Brit also racist?
(wow im confusing)
(wow im confusing)
That was exactly my point though, now people are accepting the word "paki" as a form of greeting.
But back in the 60s the word "Paki" held a lot of negative connotations.
So my point still stands and is valid, you're just pouring confusion into the mix and reiterating my point.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by That's so mean:(
That was exactly point though, now people are accepting the word "paki" as a form of greeting.
But back in the 60s the word "Paki" held a lot of negative connotations.
So my point still stands and is valid, you're just pouring confusion into the mix and reiterating my point.
But back in the 60s the word "Paki" held a lot of negative connotations.
So my point still stands and is valid, you're just pouring confusion into the mix and reiterating my point.
thats the 60s we are now in the 21st century (i didnt even know the word pakki existed in the 60s), attitudes of people have changed not everyone sees it as an offence. i study at an all girls islamic high school and there are many nationalities e.g. people from Bangladesh, they call themselvs british bungies when theyre asked about their nationalities.
Original post by sana_malik
thats the 60s we are now in the 21st century (i didnt even know the word pakki existed in the 60s), attitudes of people have changed not everyone sees it as an offence. i study at an all girls islamic high school and there are many nationalities e.g. people from Bangladesh, they call themselvs british bungies when theyre asked about their nationalities.
Oh my god.
Look you're starting to aggravate me now, yes I know we are in the 21st century that is quite evident.
My point at the beginning of the thread was in the sixties people saw the word "Paki" in a negative light, it is now that it is being accepted as a term of endearment. But I still view it as a negative word that holds hatred and in my personal opinion because of it's implications on the South Asian back in the sixties and seventies.
Please just stop blabbering confusion and irrelevance by reiterating my initial points.
It's redundant!!!
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by That's so mean:(
Oh my god.
Look you're starting to aggravate me now, yes I know we are in the 21st century that is quite evident.
My point at the beginning of the thread was in the sixties people saw the word "Paki" in a negative light, it is now that it is being accepted as a term of endearment. But I still view it as a negative word that holds hatred and in my personal opinion because of it's implications on the South Asian back in the sixties and seventies.
Please just stop blabbering confusion and irrelevance by reiterating my initial points.
It's redundant!!!
Look you're starting to aggravate me now, yes I know we are in the 21st century that is quite evident.
My point at the beginning of the thread was in the sixties people saw the word "Paki" in a negative light, it is now that it is being accepted as a term of endearment. But I still view it as a negative word that holds hatred and in my personal opinion because of it's implications on the South Asian back in the sixties and seventies.
Please just stop blabbering confusion and irrelevance by reiterating my initial points.
It's redundant!!!
WOW! Your gonna live your life holding onto the sixties..... unless you were born then i don't understand why? why live your life thinking that the word pakki will always be classed as racist when people have clearly moved on? im a pakki and YOUR A PAKKI.....
You see i wasn't being racist there just someone telling you your nationality in an abbreviated way.
Original post by TheonlyMrsHolmes
"The language has changed but the sentiment hasn't"-Said the man, who is Black,featured in BBC three documentary, says he has experienced racism in Britain even though he is British.
So that made me think, do you think Britain is racist?
On impulse I would say "No" but of course I would say xenophobia and Islamophobia is definitely present, but racism? Personally I have never felt attacked based on race but that's just my experience.
But then looking at the wider picture, it can be true that underlying racism is present even if it's only subconscious. When people say "That town doesn't feel like England anymore" or "This isn't our country anymore" and "Britain doesn't feel like Britain" sounds like that statement fuelled by hidden racism, even if it's not openly expressed with discriminatory words.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3262328/Great-British-Bake-producer-admits-finalists-chosen-representative-mix-Britain.html
Then...I read the comments under that daily mail article...I think it would be fair to say Racism does still exist. Do you agree?
So that made me think, do you think Britain is racist?
On impulse I would say "No" but of course I would say xenophobia and Islamophobia is definitely present, but racism? Personally I have never felt attacked based on race but that's just my experience.
But then looking at the wider picture, it can be true that underlying racism is present even if it's only subconscious. When people say "That town doesn't feel like England anymore" or "This isn't our country anymore" and "Britain doesn't feel like Britain" sounds like that statement fuelled by hidden racism, even if it's not openly expressed with discriminatory words.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3262328/Great-British-Bake-producer-admits-finalists-chosen-representative-mix-Britain.html
Then...I read the comments under that daily mail article...I think it would be fair to say Racism does still exist. Do you agree?
"Is Britain Racist?" brought to you by the same channel that asks "Is water wet?"
Original post by sana_malik
WOW! Your gonna live your life holding onto the sixties..... unless you were born then i don't understand why? why live your life thinking that the word pakki will always be classed as racist when people have clearly moved on? im a pakki and YOUR A PAKKI.....
You see i wasn't being racist there just someone telling you your nationality in an abbreviated way.
You see i wasn't being racist there just someone telling you your nationality in an abbreviated way.
Right, I can clearly see this is getting us nowhere.
Btw I am not a Pakistani, I am Libyan, but I have South Asian features that's true.
But no I am not a Pakistani. I said at the beginning it was my friend that was getting the racial slants and me but I am mixed race, not Pakistani.
You're confusing everything.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by That's so mean:(
Right, I can clearly see this is getting us nowhere.
Btw I am not a Pakistani, I am Libyan, but I have South Asian features that's true.
But no I am not a Pakistani. I said at the beginning it was my friend that was getting the racial slants and me but I am mixed race, not Pakistani.
Btw I am not a Pakistani, I am Libyan, but I have South Asian features that's true.
But no I am not a Pakistani. I said at the beginning it was my friend that was getting the racial slants and me but I am mixed race, not Pakistani.
whooooooooooooooooooooooooopsss hahaha sorry
Anyone that finds the British to be racist probably hasn't spent enough time in rural Texas or Alabama.
Perhaps the British were that racist hundreds of years ago, but I don't think they are any more.
I mean, if the British were racist, then they would probably treat White Americans better than, say, a person of a different race that was born and raised in Britain. Do you really mean to claim that they would? I mean, sure, maybe they'd like the fact that I speak English as a native language and that they can pronounce "Jeremy Andrews" more easily than "Jose Gonzales" or something. But that has little to do with my being White.
I think what a lot of people from wildly differing cultures don't grasp about Western society is that it's just not that tribal. Everything is about laws, politics, interest groups, national borders, and individuality. People of the same culture, race, and language often go to war over ideals and sovereignty. People don't flock together or help each other on the basis of skin colour. They form unions, perhaps join churches, clubs, or political parties, but they don't go around thinking, "I've got to go help out White people because I'm White". That's rarely even a major aspect of their identity. I see it occasionally among people from other cultures that have more in common with each other, but even they end up excluding their own people that choose adopt the local culture as "traitors" of some sort. It's more common for race to be used as a misguided, superficial indicator of culture, than for people to genuinely believe in race as a valid construct.
I would guess that they prefer people who adopt the British culture regardless of race. Being ethnocentric or having a negative attitude towards a certain religion is not the same thing as being racist, although it can look like that to recent immigrants of a different race who live according to different cultural values. I'm pretty sure most of the people complaining about Islam are not racist. If they had to choose between a White person that spoke Arabic and worshipped Allah, and a person of Arab descent that was a tea-drinking, cricket-playing Protestant with a British accent, I think anyone could easily predict that they would prefer the second person to the first one.
Now, is it wrong to be ethnocentric or dislike certain religions? You can make a very strong argument that it is, but that argument is separate from the charge of racism. You can't generalize all forms of discrimination against an out-group as "racism", because that's not what racism means. Racism means you are being discriminated against because of immutable and heritable aspects of your appearance, like skin tone, face shape, or bone structure.
Perhaps the British were that racist hundreds of years ago, but I don't think they are any more.
I mean, if the British were racist, then they would probably treat White Americans better than, say, a person of a different race that was born and raised in Britain. Do you really mean to claim that they would? I mean, sure, maybe they'd like the fact that I speak English as a native language and that they can pronounce "Jeremy Andrews" more easily than "Jose Gonzales" or something. But that has little to do with my being White.
I think what a lot of people from wildly differing cultures don't grasp about Western society is that it's just not that tribal. Everything is about laws, politics, interest groups, national borders, and individuality. People of the same culture, race, and language often go to war over ideals and sovereignty. People don't flock together or help each other on the basis of skin colour. They form unions, perhaps join churches, clubs, or political parties, but they don't go around thinking, "I've got to go help out White people because I'm White". That's rarely even a major aspect of their identity. I see it occasionally among people from other cultures that have more in common with each other, but even they end up excluding their own people that choose adopt the local culture as "traitors" of some sort. It's more common for race to be used as a misguided, superficial indicator of culture, than for people to genuinely believe in race as a valid construct.
I would guess that they prefer people who adopt the British culture regardless of race. Being ethnocentric or having a negative attitude towards a certain religion is not the same thing as being racist, although it can look like that to recent immigrants of a different race who live according to different cultural values. I'm pretty sure most of the people complaining about Islam are not racist. If they had to choose between a White person that spoke Arabic and worshipped Allah, and a person of Arab descent that was a tea-drinking, cricket-playing Protestant with a British accent, I think anyone could easily predict that they would prefer the second person to the first one.
Now, is it wrong to be ethnocentric or dislike certain religions? You can make a very strong argument that it is, but that argument is separate from the charge of racism. You can't generalize all forms of discrimination against an out-group as "racism", because that's not what racism means. Racism means you are being discriminated against because of immutable and heritable aspects of your appearance, like skin tone, face shape, or bone structure.
For non-Muslim Indians, I think the United Kingdom, along with Western Europe, is less racist than countries like Australia and certainly the USA, but I think there are several countries out there that Britain could learn from, where they've managed to achieve a better standard of integration.
I think it depends on who you are. If your Pakistani/Bangladeshi or Black then you'll probably get far more racism/classism, and Arabs would probably be at the wrong end of Islamaphobia. Hindus or East Asians would probably feel quite happy with Europe.
London is probably one of the least racist cities in the world and that comes from a gay guy. The most racist thing I think London has is it's entertainment industry, and that's basically an extension of USA's Hollywood anyway! Britain probably has one of the most friendly gay cultures for Hindu Indians, and it's generally easy to get along with other people UK, something that's seems to be really hard in other countries.
I do feel that there are a few things that need tweaking with how London sees it's races. I think they should finally split the "Asian" ethnic group into: Arab/West Asian, Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Hindu/Other Asians(, East Asians). I really don't think most Indians identify with Paksitanis, especially those from the deep-south of India. Pakistanis would probably prefer to be Middle Eastern too.
What about South Indians vs Paksitanis? Pakistanis and Blacks get the most racism in Europe.I worry that colourism might become a serious problem due to what's been happening in the entertainment industry over the past few years, but I hope not.
I think it depends on who you are. If your Pakistani/Bangladeshi or Black then you'll probably get far more racism/classism, and Arabs would probably be at the wrong end of Islamaphobia. Hindus or East Asians would probably feel quite happy with Europe.
London is probably one of the least racist cities in the world and that comes from a gay guy. The most racist thing I think London has is it's entertainment industry, and that's basically an extension of USA's Hollywood anyway! Britain probably has one of the most friendly gay cultures for Hindu Indians, and it's generally easy to get along with other people UK, something that's seems to be really hard in other countries.
I do feel that there are a few things that need tweaking with how London sees it's races. I think they should finally split the "Asian" ethnic group into: Arab/West Asian, Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Hindu/Other Asians(, East Asians). I really don't think most Indians identify with Paksitanis, especially those from the deep-south of India. Pakistanis would probably prefer to be Middle Eastern too.
Original post by Swindle
Racism still exists and it isn't the preserve of white people. I've frequently heard racist views espoused by people from non-white backgrounds. A lot of it is associated with skin tone. The lighter you are, the less bull**** you'll receive.
What about South Indians vs Paksitanis? Pakistanis and Blacks get the most racism in Europe.I worry that colourism might become a serious problem due to what's been happening in the entertainment industry over the past few years, but I hope not.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by DiddyDec
Are there racist people? Yes.
Is the entire nation racist? No.
Is there any country on Earth with no racism? No.
Is the entire nation racist? No.
Is there any country on Earth with no racism? No.
.....You know this how?
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