The Student Room Group

Are middle class English people racist

I feel a common misconception is that white working class people are mainly culpable for racism in the UK. However, in my experience, middle class people have their own racial prejudices but their racism manifests itself differently, perhaps in the form of class-ism (but the two are correlated). I experienced this throughout university - I was one of the very few Muslim people at my university.

I only ever seem to be on the receiving end of this type of racism from people who are fairly middle class and English. I seem to go get on very well with Europeans, Americans, Asians but I don't have very many English friends - the ones who are, happen to be fairly working class. It's little things like not making eye contact with me, making snide remarks in my earshot, or not acknowledging me around campus, or speaking to me differently depending on which social group we are with.

In many cases, the very people who demonstrate, for example, for Palestine, Second referendum, against trump are the same people who can be so heartless when it comes to interactions with me and my Muslim friends. Historically, it has been working class people whose jobs have been 'taken' by immigrants but now middle class people don't feel as safe as a result of increasing social mobility in areas like education, medicine, finance etc. Whether it is intentional or not, I feel that this overt discrimination is putting obstacles to Muslims and other minorities from progressing.

While my Muslim friends agree with my observations, their solution is to ignore such people and/or retaliate by being equally disrespectful. But that is at odds with my personality: I don't want to feel dissociated from the majority and nor do I have the heart to retaliate. By doing so, it will only hinder my chances in life.

So my question is, has anyone else observed what I've outlined? Do you have any advice on how to deal with it?

Finally, please just be nice and give everyone a fair chance based purely on their character.
Some people are racist some aren’t, isn’t a class or colour thing.
You get racist people from every ethnicity, so there are a few bad eggs but tbh if they say something a bit :s-smilie: then they need to get out more
Reply 3
Avatar for Anonymous #1
Anonymous #1
OP
Original post by Andrew97
Some people are racist some aren’t, isn’t a class or colour thing.


I appreciate your response. In many ways that is the point I'm making.

But I feel it is particularly hypocritical of some middle class, so called liberals who are publicly speak out against discrimination of all forms, yet they seem to surround themselves with only middle class English people and are indeed closet racists. And the issue with this is that they perhaps don't see what they do as racist and nor does wider society.

I would rather be a victim of explicit racism from the EDL type. The problem is that privileged students who have these prejudices will end up making decision (e.g. reruitment, politics) that will have material impact on the social mobility of many minorities. And as a result of the subtlety, its something that's hard to report, or deal with.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you