Was the ‘race card’ pulled??

YABU for using the phrase 'race card' as many pp have posted.

Read Akala, Natives for an excellent explanation of why it's so problematic and what you could use instead.

@GoodPudding is hitting the nail right on the head in this thread and saying what I want to about a million times more articulately.

It hadn’t even crossed my mind that they were black/white/asian whatever family

This strikes me as similar to “I don’t see colour”. I think we always see it, even if it doesn’t consciously register.

But even if she hadn’t pushed in (which she had!) it still wouldn’t be ok for a group of multiple people to join her? You don’t get to hold a space in a passport queue!

Well if the same implication was being made that the OP had reacted in the way she did because she was racist against Germans then presumably yes, but because Germans aren’t generally seen as a different “race” to ethnically English people then it would have been bizarre if someone had made that accusation.

You did nothing wrong OP, they were just common ignorant bastards.

Unfounded accusations like this risk muddying the waters when actual situations of racism exist.

Absolutely, but the bigger problem is there are some that say you can’t even suggest that there were unfounded accusations, and that if someone feels that certain behaviour is “racist”, it is, by definition “racist”, because racism centres on someone’s subjective perception, irrespective of the objective reality of the situation.

It’s the same philosophy that lies behind the trans-movement, and the hyper-individualist view that “my reality” is necessarily the only reality that matters. It’s crazy that the Left has embraced this solipsistic self-absorbed philosophy, when it also purports to be communitarian.

Would you have used the word Race Card if the family had been say German OP? Agree they were rude and you were right in what you did but to use that term is unacceptable

What a so and so she was! On the ‘race card’ terminology I’m happy to be corrected but my understanding is the expression ‘pulling the race card’ does sort of denote a game as it’s like this senario when the supposed ‘victim’ blames the op for being racist in the queue when actually they were just being cheeky! So they were finding racism to make the op look bad where there was no racism whatsoever. Of course pulling the race card is not an appropriate term when actual racism is present.

I don’t know what else it could be.

And that my lovely is racist or at the least unconscious bias x

There are white people who are unpleasant and try to gain an advantage any way they can by lying, gaslighting and manipulating.

Because we are all human and have similar traits, black and people of colour are no different. They can lie, gaslight and manipulate too, and aren’t above using false accusations of racism as a means to an end, especially when there are some on the Left who enable this by accusing anyone who does try and call such behaviour out as being “racist” themselves.

For years, an accusation of racism was one of the worst things you could be accused of… one step up from being accused of being a pedophile. Unfortunately, some people, mostly those on the Left, realised this and attempted to apply the term much more widely, in an attempt to browbeat people into accepting their leftist agenda. Now the term “racist” is becoming devalued as it more and more becomes a general term of abuse that’s used to shut down legitimate debate. It’s losing its real meaning sadly.

what on earth have I just read!!! Absolutely nuts

Some people use accusations of racism as a tool to try and avoid accountability and blame and deflect from issues. It’s not racist to recognise this. The term “race card” is a just a way of expressing this in two words rather than ten.

Presuming that non-white people don’t ever engage in this behaviour, are never manipulative, and are always right, is delusional.

Calling people who recognise such behaviour “racist” and seek to express it, is another example of massive overreach by the Left that perversely stokes racial tensions by denying people the ability to call out inappropriate accusations of racism.

@LadyKenyaas a feminist, I’ve absolutely no problem with the phrase “pulling the sexism card” being used if the allegations of sexism are completely unfounded, as the allegations of racism were in this situation.

From the situation the OP has described, a person pushed into a queue. OP and her family had an advantageous position ahead of her in the queue because OP had been waiting longer - not because they are white (I assume they are). Aye - jog on, Rosa Parks.

Unfounded accusations like this risk muddying the waters when actual situations of racism exist.

It is the race card. Speaking as someone who is mixed race.

But surely then it's down to the people who use their race as a reason to wrongly accused people of being racist to them to put that damn race card away? I've also completely unjustifiably been accused of racism a few times and it was awful.

Your language in talking about the ‘race card’ is racist.

That’s a false equivalence… “pulling the race card” doesn’t mean calling out racism, it means using an accusation of racism to deflect from an issue or avoid blame.

Stop policing people's language

You say the truth. You assumed they were implying that you are racist. I have no idea what they were implying. I wasn't there.

Ps I'm not saying you racist either. I don't even know you.

It’s frustrating when that happens. I was on the tube late last Sat night coming home from Oasis when some guy got on at a stop further along (so not been to the concert) and he must have knocked into a couple who were standing near the door. It was a busy carriage. The guy who got knocked into (white guy) shouted something about him being rude and it really escalated fast.

Other guy was gunning for a fight, shouting hit me, go on. I had 2 teen girls with me so tried to calm the guy down, to little avail. He then said ‘it’s because i’m not white’ which I found ridiculous as this guy would have no doubt said the same to anyone.

In the end the guys wife made him get off a stop early and catch the next tube which was very sensible. I was genuinely worried he was going to pull out a weapon as he was so gunning for a fight and so confident (this assumption had nothing to do with the colour of his skin, just based on how confident he seemed and really gunning for this guy to hit him.

This is why I don’t like being out late at night, especially with DD.

Based on what you written it doesn't sound like they think she pushed passed you. So they might thing think you are the entitled one. As I myself have had people push me out of the way and when I stood my ground insist that I should go back to my family.

Sometimes, I stayed in the queue. Why should I let adults who pushed me win? Other times, I went back to my family as this was not a fight worthy of my time. I'm black and have a younger looking face.

While I dislike the term race card (or anything card, really), it could be that they’re from a culture where this is fairly normal - someone stands in the queue and then the rest join in later - although in their case they’re wrong by default for the simple fact she pushed in.

I think you did well in not giving them any ammunition to escalate. It’s a lot easier to just kill it from the start than having to explain what happened.

There isn't a better term to use to express "was this person trying to gain an advantage by falsely accusing me of being racist", no.

Presumably something like "AiBU ot think this person was implying I am racist" would work if that's what you meant. It doesn't really need a phrase of its own, unless you think it's something that happens a lot therefore needs a pithy expression people can use to talk about it...

Are you in the US OP? I'm asking because you said vacation.