"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?

sozzledchops and sississy ought to be ashamed of themselves.

It's acceptable to "bash catholics" is it? Well, I am so glad that I am not in your area or I am one of your poor children who will be brought up with this sort of sickening attitude. And yes, if you are allowed to "bash" my faith, then I am allowed to "bash" your parenting.

On another note, I do not believe that humans are born racist but experiences make us so. There isn't a day goes by when I don't hear about "non-British" people scamming the benefit system. I work with an Asian fellow who is bone idle, after many warnings about being late, being sloppy, silly mistakes, he was eventually sacked. He appealed, lost and is now playing the "racist card" against my boss.

I get on a bus every day and there is always someone who pretends they don't speak English to get a free bus ride and it works and they get on the bus smirking and will get off the bus with a very loud and clear "thank-you" or speak to their friend in obvious English after making a scene at the front of the bus.

This is just my opinion on how SOME non-British born people influence our decisions and judgements. We never see in the newspaper about how an Asian family works 12 hours a day to put food on the table and then help the kids with homework etc. We hear about families that exploit the system and claim they can't work and get massive houses with a bedroom each for their kids when there is a Council list as long as my arm for people who end up in a 2 bedroom house or flat with 3 or 4 kids.

It is experiences like these that make people racist. Sorry if you feel like I am imposing my views on you but just putting my point across.

It is experiences like these that make people racist. Sorry if you feel like I am imposing my views on you but just putting my point across.

But Natalie these are not experiences, these are anecdotal tales/unreliable hearsay/slewed reportage, which are universally (in)applicable to people of any and every colour and nationality, so I am afraid to use them as justification for racism just will not wash.

And are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that the fact we don't read about hardworking Asian families in the press means they just don't exist? Sheeesh!

Fucking hell Natalie - our local super selective is full of Asians precisely because they work so hard.

Rethink needed.

missnatalie, I agree that catholic bashing is completely unacceptable.

But to argue that racism is the fault of a few black and brown people is beyond absurd. I work with a white woman who is bone idle, but I don't conclude from that that all white women are bone idle.

Perhaps he is not "playing the racist card". Perhaps he genuinely found it difficult to work alongside people like you, as the prejudice in your post comes across loud and clear.

missynatalie, I think maybe we ARE born prejudiced, we are instinctivly triabal, just look at football supporters, or the instant rivalry that springs up as soon as children ae placed in a house system at school. We are genetically programmed to protect our tribe. I think the way forward is to accept and overcome natural instincts,with intellience and education, rather than try and pretend they don't exist in ourselves and others

OP, this thread has proved you right many times over. Just perhaps not in the way it should have done.

Oh fucking hell.

missnathalie - just stop reading the Daily Mail. Then you won't hear so much about this kind of bullshit thing.

hilly sorry that's how your post read to me I see what you mean now though
It is horrible to hear day in, day out " oh I'm so glad I'm speaking to an English person! Them p&£is/Indians are useless/I can't understand them etc it is most definitely racist as I don't see how labelling an entire section of a company as "them Indians" or "p&£is" could be anything other than blatant, offensive racism. That's in my case though and I accept there is a language barrier, accent to accent but you very rarely hear anyone saying them scots/scouters/Geordies etc though as we have CCs all over the UK and the world (Delhi, Pune, manilla, etc).
It's acceptable to say a blanket " I have difficulty accepting broad accents" etc but not singling out one type over another IMOA

tether - ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.

Back to S&B? How are you, anyway? (NCed fan of yours )

Well, if nothing else, missnathalie has illustrated your point beautifully, OP. But it's not her fault, she wasn't born that way - it's all them pesky foreigners and the Daily Mail that made her like that.

Back to S&B indeed.

Just don't mention the new black

Missynatalie - you don't sound too bright. You berate posters for Catholic bashing and then have a go at Asians or 'non-whites. Priceless!

Ah, but it's all their fault sozzledchops, that's the difference. If only all those brown people would stop benefit scamming/being bone idle/pretending not to speak English, there wouldn't be any racism.

Obvious, innit?

The edl thread....I can't even get past the op.

You don't read about Asian families working hard because that's not news. You know newspapers print news...things that are not routine. They also do not report that I changed my pants. Or that the grass is green.

You changed your pants?

I know honey..and the daily mail didn't mention it!!! GUTTED.

As for Catholics being racist by virtue of their religion?! My catholic school had Irish, Spanish,Italians, Filipinos, Indians, Portuguese, African, west Indian students. Hard to find time to develop racist views when your playmates are as diverse as that. I do not see Catholicism as a whites only religion! It is far more global that c of e for example. Not that that is a raist religion!!

Have to say that Sissisy's first post is the absolute BEST illustration of a point ever in the entire history of Mumsnet! That she could not see the irony of that post is just astonishing!

Incidentally my brother went to an all boys Catholic school and more than 50% of the kids there were black

Actually I live in a predominatly white area - when it comes to school time for DS the choices will be a couple of very quaint village schools in affluent areas or the catholic school. I want him to go to the catholic school because I feel that actually it will be more diverse and I kind of dont want him to spend his life just mixing with rich white home counties kids (we are not rich btw!)!

the Catholic school near me has something like 70% plus non white student population.

Yes, catholic school near us is very diverse. A lot of asian parents we know like the ethos of the catholic school, even though they aren't actually catholic. As far as I am aware, they are made to feel very welcome.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - no single group has a monopoly on bigotry. And casual prejudice is repulsive in all its forms.

Catholics are no more racist than anyone else, they, along with other Abrahamic faiths, do have a leetle monopoly on homophobia though.

And Indian/Chinese/Malay call centres are a PITA because noone understands/speaks/gets English unless you live in an English speaking country.

My dcs go to Catholic school, it's very very white.

Can I just say that my face in my previous post was supposed to be sarcastic - these things never come across well on the internet do they?!