"I'm not racist but..."

[TessTickular]

There seems to be a lot of people on here who don't seem to realise that racism is a crime. They justify it by saying they know someone who is [insert whatever] or by claiming that they are pointing out differences not being prejudiced.

Over the last week I have been horrified by a number of diverse threads where casual racism is hardly even noted.

African midwives, Americans, Australians, Gypsies... IT IS NOT OK PEOPLE.

Please, Mumsnetters, enough is enough.

AIBU to request that we should ALL be standing up to racists and stop apologising for and accepting casual racism?

I haven't seen these threads, but I agree with you that any who says 'I'm not racist/homophobic/whatever-ist but...' invariably is. Disgusting phrase.

It really is doing my head in.

Not sure I've seen a thread like the ones you mention but I agree that:

'I'm not being racist but ...' invariably precedes a racist comment

Same with

'Not offence but ... (insert offensive comment here)

and

'I'm not being funny but ... (insert unreasonable comment here)

i don't care is someone is black, green, purple orange or white, as long as i can understand someone regarding mine or my children heath...couldn't give a flying monkeys

What do you mean by "racism is a crime"?

I can't be racist, my best friend is black"

GRRRRR

yanbu
should se the anti sn stuff on here

Ah yes, not best phraseology, sorry Paranoid.

McHappyPants2012 - I think I might be a bit prejudiced against a green or a purple person actually!

Although Americans and Australians aren't a race so it's not racism. Xenophobia possibly.

I've noticed threads where people write all English people are lazy and there is no such thing as British culture etc Racist

the foreign midwives one currently on pregnancy smacks of this op

Yes exactly Quiet, the latest in a string of them.

I'm not prejudiced against Christians because i AM one is a BRILLIANT line

I am not prejudiced against Christians ...or Catholics..but
I have noticed what I said above...in my little village anyway
I am not saying that they all are like this all over the world

Catholic churches are actually slightly more racially diverse than both C of E schools and community schools. This is attributed to the international nature of the church, which means they attract a higher than typical number of newly arrived migrants.

sississy - don't worry, catholic bashing is often the only acceptable kind of bashing allowed on Mn so you'll be OK.

I believe patient explanation and education and well as intolerance of offensive language and behaviour are the way forward.

Many people are misguided, not enough know the history of the Brtish Isles (as we were all too busy being taught about the Russian Revolution in school which was very interesting, but at the expense of understanding the roots of these isles? Meh) and many feel let down.

My Grandmother was NOT inherantly racist however she ended her life believing that Asians were the problem (not a belief I share at all) and in some ways I could understand it... why? Well, she grew up in a thriving but poor mining town where everyone had work. The pits closed, the town died, it got boarded up, everyone went on the dole... suddenly 'brown people' moved in in massive numbers (opening businesses and breathing life back into a dead place) but from Gran's perspective, her town was dead, and then it changed into something she simply did not recognise or understand. They were simply folk and there were huge problems socially and economically.

She didn't not hate Asians. She didn't know any enough to hold that view. What she saw, was not reality. Her anger was based on something she couldn't see. Her security was forfeit in the rise of crime which coincided with change and she could not separate the two.

Was she racist? By knowing her I don't believe she was, she was simply let down, as were her asian neighbours.

Patience. Education. Support. Listening to people's concerns. Accepting there are problems.

Shouting 'you're fucking racist' doesn't help unless someone is shouting 'you're a cunt' purely because of your skin colour.

Tory bashing is allowed too, apparently they can be shot.

OP was just thinking to myself how many threads in 'active' this evening have a common theme around race/ignorance/bigotry running through them, all thinly disguised. Makes for sad reading on what I thought was an intelligent forum... Might just stick to style and beauty from now on....

Quite, Tess the OP in the mw thread is still trying to justify herself in various different ways.

Sississy - nice demonstration of the point

I am just trying to say that I find it really strange hearing racist comments from catholics parents like. Here are some examples I heard on a Birthday party at the weekend:

' at dc's school the teachers are very strict so those children with that different colour than ours (she was saying it to not sound racist lol) can not talk with that accent (when they ommit the 't' for example)

or

' I couldn't believe when I saw a muslin at the school gate even wearing the thing on her head, I put X in a catholic school so she wouldn't have to get mixed with them...