AIBU to think that racism is getting a lot worse of late.

It’s fairly thick to question why a black man would be in a playground with his grandchildren.

It’s also fairly thick to then say “it wasn’t me!!” When really it’s just that it was your social media team, who you manage.

It’s thick to consider human beings illegal. It’s thick to assume men are crossing the ocean, because they want to bring crime to “our shores.” Seems a lot of effort, right?

It’s thick to have a preferred type of asylum seeker. It’s thick to not want people in disused hotels, but also not want them living next door.

I could continue 😂

Anti-discrimination legislation came into force in 1976 and was given teeth via the Commission for Racial Equality. There was a lot of activism. Groups like the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism organised events, marches etc.

And we had a whole generation reaching adulthood who'd been educated alongside children from minority groups, so didn't see them as "other" in the way that their parents' generation did.

What puzzles me is why that particular pendulum is swinging back so far in the opposite direction.

People already believe that is happening.

I disagree. Asylum seekers are often criticised for leaving their families to face unimaginable conditions after being abandoned.

I'm not sure that's a very helpful stance. We have to assume that ALL the family is in peril unless we categorically can state otherwise. Don't give the reformers any more opportunity and start picking holes in the family reunification programme! We know enough that regimes won't just be threatening a single person, it will be all members of the family.

So say the nylon flag clad fools that have never lifted a hand to a woman or child.
I've related my experiences of contact with people involved in the extreme far right there's a lot of uniform fetishists,I've was shown photos from a Rock against communism festival from the late 80s grown men in brown shirt uniform and SS uniform and the odd Hitler.

The local NF organiser for our area was mid 40s and liked the company of teen skinheads.
He was later busted with child abuse imagery.. magazines iirc late 80s.

As the Specials sang on the record.Why.
With a Nazi salute and a steel cap boot.
You follow like sheep in a wolves clothes.

Do you really all believe in this ‘us’ and ‘them’ narrative? I wish the world was as simple as it is in some people’s heads!! But the ironic thing is it’s the same posters who are constantly saying how thick and uneducated ‘they’ are ….

Yes, definitely just more emboldened, I don't think there's necessarily more.Racist gobshites just sound louder as they've got social media to spout off on now and gather together and egg each other on. Plenty in RL just as disgusted as us but aren't as vocal about it.

Yep that's always a bit transparent!

Apparently if you close them down, they automatically vote Reform. People keep threatening me with it for some reason, as though they weren't anyway...

This. There is no "debate" to be had. I'm not about to understand racism. It's always dressed up in "we just have legitimate concerns" and "oh, so you don't care about women and children then?!" 🙄

🥲

Also we - non-bigots - are supposed to empathise with them and understand their racism. That's changed. Nobody thought we should consider whether the NF had a point of view. Now anti-racism is cited as a reason why racists are emboldened!

I try to tell myself that there isn’t more racists, but that the racists feel more entitled to express their racism. Nevertheless it’s depressing.

It's a crime called Being In A Park While Brown. It's how these people think. And they're right here on this thread. With their apologists.

Quite right to feel unsafe, OP. Half black women arent safe is the UK, surely your day to day life proves this.

I doubt that many people would be heavily concerned about immigration if (a) we hadn't spent the last two decades seeing our public services demolished and our wages stagnating and (b) we weren't told across mainstream and social media that immigrants are a terrible danger to our way of life. It's really easy to manipulate public opinion, we all know that.

Oh I think you demonstrated enough of your views for me to be very certain I don't agree with you.

I have read that the world is becoming more right wing generally.

No, Reform wouldn't definitely win. I don't understand why people keep repeating that and you live in an echo chamber where people apparently blame immigrants for everything wrong with the country.

I don't know anyone who mindlessly goes on about foreigners all the time, people I know tend to have a wide range of opinions.

Bearing in mind that lovely distillery in Nepal, founded by former Scots regimental people, (a) a lot of you were and (b) exporting whisky making is clearly one of the greatest contributions one can make to civilisation.

People flee for all sorts of reasons, it doesn't mean the whole family are affected. A Syrian man may be fleeing execution for opposing the current government for example. That doesn't mean his whole family are in danger.

I think you’re right- my friend is mixed race and her lovely mum was shouted at to “go home” a few months ago by some young lads.
This is a lady in her late 70s who’s been in the UK since the 60s and worked her whole career as an NHS nurse 🤬
Said she’s not had anything like that happen to her since the early 80s

Also disgusting as there's nothing wrong with people who aren't white "hanging around parks" (ie, just being at the park!) What are they basing their knowledge that they're "immigrants" on and must be up to no good? Their skin colour?! 🙄

I don't yhink that's doable. There are no spare houses, or very few. We only have to look at waiting lists for social housing to realise that's not going to work I'm afraid. If someone is allowed to leap frog over someone else who is on a ten year waiting list for a home, thats going to open a whole new can of worms...