To wonder if a lot of people secretly hold views that are abhorrent (some offensive content)

[onlythedaze]

I have been wondering about this off and on over the weekend.

I was in a quiet part of an airport lounge on Friday night, some children were running around and a couple near me made a comment that was mildly acerbic but nonetheless pleasant enough - along the lines of, thank goodness they aren't ours, and then in a very low voice, the wife said to her husband something offensive about the race of some of the children. They both laughed in a conspiratorial way.

They looked perfectly ordinary, well dressed, well presented, smiling, professional. Not BNP members or skinheads or whatever the stereotype is.

Now before anybody leaps on me for saying that I sound naive, I don't think I am - I think a lot of people are actually secretly very racist, sexist, homophobic but don't voice these views because they are considered taboo.

Or am I being dramatic?

[BadEngleesh]

I bet the OP is delighted that her/his thread is turning out like this....

C'mon people open your eyes.

[MrsJayy]

I was in a taxi and a group of muslim men passed as we sat in traffic lights going into the mosque driver started banging on about Isis i was trapped with an arsehole talking shite

[Owllady]

You really think it's ok to refer to children (or anyone) as half breeds?

[BadEngleesh]

The poster inferred what the comment was in her/his post at 09:41

The referendum meant frothing racists now exist when they didn't previously, and I am positive the couple wouldn't have referred to two mixed race children as 'half breeds' on June 22

You know the comment said loud enough for the OP to hear

[MrsJayy]

Bad im not sure what you are on about could you say what you mean you are being far to cryptic for me.

[Owllady]

that quote has been taken out of context

[MissHooliesCardigan]

Andrew I get what you're saying but don't entirely agree. When I think about the people that I get on with and like spending time with, the bottom line is that I have something in common with them. It could be loads of things: a shared history eg school friends, similar political views, same sense of humour, similar age so can reminisce about the same things, shared interests, people who do the same job, people whose kids are the same age as mine etc. Race really doesn't come into that. I would have loads more in common with a black woman who had children of a similar age to mine who shares my sense of humour than with a white man who doesn't have children and loves Jim Davidson.
I do get that it seems to be an innate instinct in humans to divide people up
Into 'us' and 'them'. However, I'm not so sure how much it is 'hard wired' and how much is socialisation. My DCs have grown up in an extremely racially mixed area and IME, young children don't seem to even register that another child's skin is a different colour if that's what they've grown up with. I don't believe that anyone is born racist.

[derxa]

Bowie I suspect you'll find that there are plenty of twenty year olds who are racist.

[birdybirdywoofwoof]

Oblomov, you gave a very long and passionate defence of referring to mixed race children as half-breeds.

Please come back and tell us it was a skim-reading mistake.

[Oblomov16]

Sorry, I didn't see the OP mention the half breeds. I thought that was another poster who bought that up. Of course that's not ok.

[littleprincesssara]

I met someone for a job interview a couple of years ago and he suddenly went into this big rant about pedophilia and how kids lie about being molested to punish their parents for not letting them eat sweets or something, including doing an impression of a small child saying, "Dadda touched my bumbum and I fink he like it!!"

People. Are. Barking.

[RiverTam]

Nor is sharing your oh-so-valuable insight without reading the whole thread, oblomov.

[littleprincesssara]

Oh sorry didn't read notice there was more than one page. Mea culpa.

[derxa]

I think that the OP is delighted that we are all frothing and fuming away.

[BowieFan]

derxa

Yes, but that's because UKIP and the Tories have made racism mainstream and acceptable. 7 years ago, you certainly wouldn't be allowed to say the things people say so openly now.

It disgusts me, to be honest.

[Oblomov16]

RiverTam, climb down from your high horse. I did read the whole thread. And what I wrote still applies. I think your comment is extremely rude about my 'insightful' post.

[BowieFan]

derxa

And like I said, if you want to have those views, it's fine. It's the assumption that everyone else agrees with you that pisses me off. When I book a cab, I am not asking for the cab driver's opinions of Eastern Europeans and I shouldn't be subjected to them. That's what irritates me - the whole "well I just say what I think" culture that has been supported and is now mainstream. It means people are allowed to say truly awful things and are allowed to get away with it because it's their "opinion".

[Oblomov16]

Birds:

"Oblomov, you gave a very long and passionate defence of referring to mixed race children as half-breeds. "

Err, I did no such thing. Please point out where where in my post, or anything about my post generally, is a reference to 'half breeds'. No. no, i did not.
I did not skim read. I saw the half breed comment. But I didn't realise that it was op posting that, in refence to what the woman had actually said.

And all the other points of post still stand.

Read again.

[BusterGonad]

BirdyWoofWoof Are you seriously telling me that you have never read or heard of anyone being branded racist for being a nationalist or having a England flag on their car etc...

[BusterGonad]

BirdyBirdyWoofWoof Do you think St George's day is celebrated in England as much as other days that have nothing to do with England? Of course I'll cerebrate it if I chose too.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

Bowiefan

People have been saying racist things for years, and have they been very open about it, Brexit hasn't made that much of a difference it just another way of pointing fingers.

[dinosaursarebisexual]

That's Bad Flags Buster, Good Flags = Proms, certain sporting events.

[BusterGonad]

Dino I'm not sure what that's bad flags actually means?

[oldlaundbooth]

The only people I have met who haven't verbalised racist /sexist/homophobic views are Canadians.

Everyone else has, regardless of race, sex, religious affiliation.

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

It's the whole concept that these bigots think we all think the same way as them that disgusts me. They read The Sun and therefore think that represents all of us just because it represents their little viewpoint

Well, I guess it makes a change ... on MN it's usually the Mail which gets all the grief

Is it OK to say that racism and bigotry are not confined to white people?

You can try bob, but sooner or later you'll probably be told it's all about "privilege", "whitesplaining", wilful refusal to acknowledge the issues and all the rest

Personally I just wish folk could accept we're all different in our strengths and weaknesses, but still all have something to bring to the debate - except that, sadly, it sometimes seems to be too much to ask