What kind of utterly moronic f***wit is this man?

[MrsMerryHenry]

This morning. Me (black) and DS (multi-ethnic) at the bus stop. DS is 2. I am chatting on the phone. DS is playing with his toys.

Odd man (white) standing at bus stop. Giving DS dirty looks. WTF??

So I say to Odd Man: 'You seem to be giving my child strange looks and I'm wondering why.'

Odd Man approaches (smell of booze wafts over) and says, 'Well, he was giving me strange looks.'

'He was giving you dirty looks? He's two years old!! Two-year-olds can't give dirty looks!'

Odd Man then mutters some incomprehensible nonsense and I instruct him to go back and wait for his bus, which he does. He is definitely drunk. Standing, but drunk. Then starts yabbering on about how he'd rather sit next to a 'British lady, alright? British lady.', referring to an old, white lady standing next to me.

At this point the penny dropped. He's a racist. A drunken, brainless racist. He saw two brown-skinned people and decided that the child would be less able to defend himself so started giving him dirty looks.

What a prick.

The sad thing is, it makes me wonder whether this BNP election result will fuel more brainless morons into taking direct action against other brown-skinned people. And judging by yesterday's convo about people not offering seats to pregnant women, I have to ask myself how many non-racists would be willing to do anything about it.

[hf128219]

He was drunk. No offence should be taken. There are knobs everywhere!

[girlylala0807]

moron.

Hope you are both ok.

[Curiousmama]

Oh how awful for you Thanks goodness you didn't get into an argument with him. Totally pointless when it's with someone not only brainless but drunk to boot.

[Mintyyflavourcondom]

that you and your son encountered this. But, honestly, he's obviously a total low life - not worth giving a second thought to.

The egg pelting and fruit chucking at Nick Griffin surely make it pretty clear how people feel about the BNP?

I really hope your day improves .

[slyandgobbo]

That is awful. I worry about side-effects of the BNP election results too.

[ladylush]

Whether it will get worse now depends I think on where you live. Tbh I have seen racist behaviour for about 20 years on public transport and very few people challenge it As a lone voice in the past I can well imagine not being supported if my family were ever insulted on the bus (me white, dh black, ds and baby-in-waiting).
OTOH I was on a bus in the West End recently and a stupid (white) girl was ranting on about how she can't get a job because of Polish people getting in there first And a white man (very m/c) really made her look stupid. Served her right It was so embarrassing - made me squirm in my seat.

[YeahBut]

Well, he's a moron but you made him look like the twat he is so I'd try to forget about it.

[IDidntRaiseAThief]

he is what you described.

a low and ignorant arsehole.

[MrsMerryHenry]

Thanks, I'm fine - as you say, he was drunk and of Very Little Brain, so I'm not going to let the experience ruin my day. It also makes me even more aware of what I teach my son by example - when I was younger I never knew how to stand up for myself, so I've spent the past few years learning how to do so in a way that is true to my character.

I want DS to learn early on that it's crucial to retain one's self-respect but at the same time, when we defend ourselves we should do it firmly but decisively. I'd like to think that's what I taught him today.

Ladylush - I once challenged a guy on a bus who was making unkind an Eastern European woman, assuming she was Polish (which she wasn't) and talking in an aggressive way about how one should behave as a foreigner. This guy, by the way, was Asian - you'd have thought being brought up in two cultures he'd be a bit more sensitive .

I also had a lovely chat this morning with a white neighbour in her 70s who was complaining about white Brits who moan about foreigners taking their jobs - she was saying that the foreigners do a better job!

So I'm glad everyone's not like that prick I encountered today.

[ladylush]

mrsmerryhenry - yes it's always nice to have your faith in humans restored I personally would feel disappointed in myself if I said nothing so would always speak out. These days though, one does have to be wary of the fact that many young men carry weapons - especially in London.

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

I really hope there aren't many people like this idiot in the world. I would like to think that a lot of people who voted for the BNP are unaware (through their lack of intelligence and the BNP spin) how racist a part it is. Sorry you had to encounter him.

[MrsMerryHenry]

"I personally would feel disappointed in myself if I said nothing so would always speak out" - me too!

Yes, that weapons thing is infuriating. How dare these creeps think they have a right to scare us into silence?

[Hassled]

I think most people are very angry about the BNP result - remmeber the turnout was very low and the % of people who voted BNP are actually a tiny tiny number of the total population.

So I really hope you're wrong, and this won't fuel any increase in racism, whether overt or not. He was just a drunken tosser - I know it's easy for me to say, but ignore.

[MrsMerryHenry]

Yes, I know, Hassled, you're right (still haven't made that quiche, by the way - no bloody crabs around when I want 'em!). It's just that it's so rare that I am on the receiving end of any racism, alcohol-fuelled or not. So suppose I should I hope it was a one-off blip. It does make me realise that at some point I'll need to teach DS about racism and how to handle it . But for now I'll just enjoy life regardless of that arsehole!

[OrmIrian]

Twat! How horrible.

[OrmIrian]

Twat! How horrible.

[OrmIrian]

So bad it had to be said twice

I always want to speak up when I see things of this nature but I am such a wimp. I will try to be braver.

[SolidGoldBrass]

Horrible arsehole, to be sure, but just an alcoholic loon who really really doesn't matter.

BTE even my mum, who is not what you would call PC, loathes the BNP.

[ladylush]

He is not just an alcoholic loon though - he's a racist alcoholic loon. It's humiliating to have to defend your race or your dc in a public place when all around you people remain silent. It can feel very lonely.

[SolidGoldBrass]

I understand that: but to an extent, alcoholic loons are horrible to everyone they think they might be able to pick a fight with: this one might just as easy have started on someone who was (for instance) fat, tall, old, wore glasses, or if the DC had obvious SN. What a pissed-up Harry Ramp says is not particularly indicative of anything, however unpleasant.

[ladylush]

SGB - yes, I do take your point that a drunken racist loon insulting a woman and her family doesn't necessarily represent anything about society as a whole. A very unpleasant experience though. I also think that it's natural for people to worry about the impact of the BNP gaining more power and experiencing such situations is imo more likely to make people reflect on this.

[MrsMerryHenry]

I am really hoping that the flurry of investigative journalism into the BNP will unearth some hideous story that will prove once and for all that they are the cretins we know them to be, and will finally eject the bastards from the political system.

[MrsMerryHenry]

SGB - I could have sworn you'd said on an earlier thread that were black - I'm thoroughly confused...

[Hassled]

The Guardian, bless them, have a story today which says that the twat who shot the guard at the Holocaust Museum in the States had attended some American Friends of the British National Party meetings.

So yes, I'm sure there will be more and more coming out showing them as the thugs they are. And I can't wait.

[MrsMerryHenry]

Yes, I read that one last night, Hassled - that's what gives me hope!