Riots causing me (Muslim female) anxiety.

[Mavan1984]

I am a Muslim hijab wearing woman (born and brought up in this country). I have 3 kids under the age of 16 and the riots are causing me a great deal of anxiety. Me and dh had planned to take the kids out this weekend but we cancelled because we didn't think it was safe. I feel like we are better off just staying at home throughout the summer to protect ourselves and the kids.

I have had racist comments made at me before, but I don't want my kids to experience this. I feel like the rioting will empower others to be openly racist. I experienced this when 9/11 happened and I am just so scared because this time it feels a lot worse.

Me and dh were born to immigrant parents who worked very hard in menial jobs to educate us. We both have professional careers, but at this moment in time I feel like none of this matters and we are being attacked. Will it get any better? How can I protect my family?

A lot of my Muslim friends are feeling the same and it feels as though we have a very bleak future in this country.

A lot of posters dismissing OP saying "things will calm down so don't worry" err for how long? And even if they do, there's still this undercurrent of hatred amongst a significant proportion of people. There's the fact people have come out with these views. This is what they think when they pass a muslim or person of colour. Look at the numbers who voted Reform, it's scary. A lot of the voters are angry and looking for someone to blame.

The violence and disorder is on a wide scale, not in one pocket of one town, but widespread and is involving burning cars, shops, looting, attacking hotels housing migrants. Muslims are being blamed and targeted including communities who've lived peacefully in the UK for generations.

This is absolutely terrifying. Probably not for most white posters who live in leafy suburbs but for anyone of colour or living in areas that are being targeted this is terrifying and we shouldn't dismiss it as "oh well it will calm down" - easy for you to say

“This isn’t about immigration.
This isn’t about the murder of the young girls.
This is racist thugs rioting and trying to make their miserable little lives exciting for a few days.”

Spot on @Choochoo21

I cannot believe it is 2024 and things like this are still happening!

Racism is still very prevalent in the UK and it’s scary how one incident (which has nothing to do with race or immigration) has so many people showing their true colours.

Just want to add my voice in support of you, OP.

I’m in a minority group that can be subject to prejudice and violence, but not visibly so - I consider myself lucky in that respect. This must be a very scary place for you at the moment, and I’m appalled by what’s happening now. The rioters and protestors are grubby, ignorant opportunists, and I hope the full weight of the law crashes down on each and every one of them that have broken it.

I hope you (and all affected people) feel safer soon.

I hope you reported this incident because those responsible need to be held to account.

I just want you to imagine what it’s like to be a visible minority in this country right now. To feel unsafe and unsure about whether you’ll be targeted because of the colour of your skin or because some idiot thinks they know all about you due to all the hate and misinformation spread by the likes of Farage and Tommy Robinson. They are doing it for political gain and couldn’t care less about who is affected.
In this country, you are far less likely to be targeted because of the colour of your skin than I would be.

I'm so sorry, OP. These people are scum.
Solidarity.

No they are not. According to MN, everyone who is white is racist. The people on MN are part of the problem.

No they don't have to give reasons at all.

You want them, you have them all where you live.

Have the Gaza protesters looted/ burned cars and properties as well as assaulted the police? Please do not compare the two. It is highly offensive.

Sending a hand hold. Where I live absolutely everyone is horrified by the riots. Being 'far right' would not be acceptable in public where I live. I'm so sorry you're feeling this way. Just know that there are millions of people in the UK that are disgusted by racism and far right views. As a second generation immigrant woman, I'm sending all my love and support to you and your family.

This is how it started in France and Germany and they were ignored. Now millions of people vote for the FN and AfD.

Starmer will ingore them and the same thing will happen here.

White politicians don't know what it is like to be a non-white person.

Some do, some don't.

Oh give over

So what should they do? Write to their MP? What do you think would happen to the letter?

The problem is that Starmer is white and so doesn't understand what is it like to be scared as a non-white person. So he will not do anything.

But we do 🤷‍♀️ every local authority in the country has taken in asylum seekers

Priti Patel and Suella Braverman deliberately incited this type of behaviour. Have you listened to their rhetoric and the language they used?

You're certainly part of the problem.

I am not defending them. I am saying that they don't want asylum seekers in their town and no one is listening to them.

So what do you expect them to do when no-one listens????

OK I will bite !
And how do you think.it feels for ordinary people and families in areas like Stoke (or Derby or Middlesborough etc ) when everytime their city is referenced in the media it is to tell them how awful the place is and that they are the lowest of the low because they live there?Take Stoke for example if that is what you want to talk about. It has had more than its fair share of asylum seekers and the city has had many initiatives to make them welcome and support them.Generally people rub along together pretty well but as regards the hotels ! well it is quite a change to suddenly have hundreds of ( mainly ) single men suddenly dumped en masse in a particular area. They tend to hang around in gangs ( understandably ) and it is intimidating to local people who are increasingly seeing their neighbourhoods changed and overun . Churches are being changed onto Mosques and the white British culture is disappearing fast in some areas so it is not about multi culturalism but about people who.have lived here for generations feeling strangers in their own communities. And as others have said they feel powerless because they are just working class scum that should just put up with it all. You see the attitude on here and all across the media time and time again.
Non of this excuses the violence of course and I detest it as well but I am.just trying to.explain why people feel.like they do.in some circumstances.

Because it is the only way to get their voices heard. We are all talking about it.

No Tommy!

I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now.

I honestly believe that the vast majority of people are against these violent idiots. I live in a fairly white working class area and have even seen people I'd have assumed were racist, based on their usual social media posts/shares, publicly condemning the actions of the rioters. I think and hope that the far right are pushing a lot of their target audience away with their actions.

I understand that this is little comfort when you are worried about your family's safety though.

I hope that you and your children are ok, and that they are not scared by what's in the news

I am so so sorry. It's just awful. They do not represent the majority at all. I also live up North and have been following the news with horror, i cant imagine how you must feel, sending love x

Exactly. Unfortunately, the left wing MNetters who live in white middle class areas can't see this.

They aren't abused because of the colour of their skin.