Is my best friend racist?

Yes of course you’re free to continue, it’s just not going to work and I have a feeling you have more to contribute than lazy isms and phobias. Join the discussion in an honest way, you never know you might start to understand the depth of feeling and despair people are expressing.

Looking at the recent polls, the majority of Britain will be voting to sort this situation out. Thankfully.

My examples are all from men of Middle Eastern backgrounds.

I’ve never been followed around the park by a white man. Not saying it doesn’t happen, of course it does - the difference it’s not normal in British culture.

It was however, normal when I visited Turkey many years ago. I never went back as I realised the culture was far too alien from my own.

For those saying that different cultures don't have different rates of sexual offenses, the stats are clear that they in some cases do.

"Two nationalities – Afghans and Eritreans – were more than 20 times more likely to account for sexual offence convictions than British citizens, according to the data."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/10/foreigners-commit-up-to-quarter-of-sex-crimes/

There are also figures from other European countries, for instance in Germany, there are 90 Afghani rape suspects per 100K inhabitants, but only 9 per 100K German rape suspects.

They are generally there for less than 3 days as well.

hmm, I think you are being disingenuous. Here’s the quote again:

’It's always the people who have absolutely 0 experience of living in the places where all the illegal migrants are put that want to defend them.
Maybe go and see it for yourself OP. There is no integration. Not even an attempt.’

If you dislike immigrants so much, why do you want to live in a country where they make up over 16%? Is it purely for economic reasons or is there anything culturally you like?

I don’t dislike immigrants so much, not sure where you’re getting that idea? I‘m married to one. No I very much don’t want to live in a country where immigrants make up over 16%, which is why I’ll be voting to sort that situation out. Yes there are lots of cultural things I like about the U.K., I was born here and didn’t move here for economic reasons.

Would you like to answer my question whether you just moved here for economic reasons or if there is anything else you like about my country culturally ? Can you bring yourself to say anything positive about your adopted country?

Sure, that’s why Brits have a reputation of hooliganism abroad,

That's a sub-section though. I'm sure you or I don't go abroad to watch football and cause havoc, so it's surely not difficult to extrapolate that.

Your friend is correct.
Humans are tribal. Always have been and always will be.

Misogyny is a UK wide problem, blaming it on immigrants is simplistic and reductive.

2 women are killed every week by an intimate partner (mainly white men).

97% of rapes do not end in a conviction (mainly white men)

Free speech doesn’t mean freedom from criticism - especially when your ‘opinions’ sound like a recycled Daily Mail comment section. You’re free to talk. I’m free to call out the agenda behind it. That’s how it works!

so you’ve never had to walk past a “shop” (which is clearly a front for some other kind of activity) with your small daughter whilst groups of men gather around outside gawping at you both and sometimes making comments (those that can actually speak any English) as you walk past?

You’ve never experienced taking your small daughter to the park and being followed around by a man who repeatedly tries to make conversation with you in broken English despite making it clear you want to be left alone?

You’ve never had to walk past a migrant hotel whilst large groups of men stare at you and shout stuff at you that you can’t understand?

you’ve never - as a medical professional - been treated like a dog by a male patient because in his culture women are worthless?

ok … well then there is no wonder you are naive.

Your friend is entirely sensible - we need to dostinguish between race and culture.

Issues need to be discussed openly, otherwise we will never fix them.

Think that ship has sailed, unless you implement The Handmaid’s Tale and start forcing women to have babies.

This is true, but the slavery and treatment of women from ‘other lesser’ groups was a cultural norm just as it is today amongst some groups in the UK.

It’s not clearly about illegal migrants. Zero integration means she thinks no one has integrated.

I like most white people just fine, just as I like most people.

If you dislike immigrants so much, why do you want to live in a country where they make up over 16%? Is it purely for economic reasons or is there anything culturally you like?

My parents were immigrants :)

very few people argue for zero immigration, it is the huge numbers over a very short period of time that that is causing problems.

and yes, our societal and economic model needs to change so that we no reliant on ever-increasing numbers of immigrants

I agree with her 100%.

Did you mean the below? clearly about illegal immigration. Why the ‘white’ thing? Why the disingenuous quoting? If you dislike ‘white’ people so much, why do you want to live in a country where they make up over 80%? Is it purely for economic reasons or is there anything culturally you like?

’It's always the people who have absolutely 0 experience of living in the places where all the illegal migrants are put that want to defend them.
Maybe go and see it for yourself OP. There is no integration. Not even an attempt.’

ISIS is a terrorist group i.e. criminals.

What remained of Viking culture was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe.

“According to the Office for National Statistics this week, Britain’s “indigenous” population in the 2030s will be static and ageing. Growth in population* *will be buoyed only by immigrants, their number predicted to rise by 5 million over the next seven years.”

Do you refuse to let an immigrant doctor or nurse treat you in a hospital? Will you object to an immigrant care home worker wiping your arse when you’re in an old care home? No. So maybe show some gratitude to immigrants for doing jobs white Brits don’t want to do.

It’s not going to work, you aren’t going to be able to stifle people expressing opinion because they don’t follow your religion. Free speech is ingrained into British culture.

as an aside - it is often said that Britain has always been multi-cultural. And to some extent that is true. But the claim is exaggerated. e.g. the Windrush generation (immigrants to Britain from Commonwealth countries) covers the period 1948-71 and the total number of immigrants is estimated to be around 500,000.

Last year alone, net migration to UK was 430,000. It's inevitable that those kind of numbers are going to cause all sorts of issues.

Did you even read the posts you’re responding to? Clearly not! Red it again. JoyofNC said ‘There is no integration. Not even an attempt.’

So South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern people don’t contribute to the UK? Any statistics for this abhorrent view?

There isn’t a culture based around skin colour, maybe sun tan lotion rituals. Do you mean British people? What white people are saying there is zero integration? European immigrant integration into the UK has been successful.

Heres there classic ‘I’m just asking questions’ routine - as if wrapping prejudice in the language of ‘reasonable concerns’ suddenly makes it noble. Criticism of any belief system is fair game. Blanket suspicion, stereotyping, and fearmongering of people based on their religion? That’s Islamophobia. If the distinction feels uncomfortable, maybe it’s not the label that’s the problem.