Racism

[Pixxie7]

Does anyone agree with the continuing claims particularly amongst a lot of celebrities claim that the uk is fundamentally racist particularly in relations to Meghan-Markle.

I think as a country she was welcomed with open arms.

In relation to the black actors not getting roles and the fact he had been cast...
I think the idea is though that "black" roles are about "black" issues. As in theres lead roles for them in films about slavery or about race issues or the ghetto but limited roles in other films. Black actors are also cast as the best friend at times, no one os arguing there are zero minorities in film but rather that they are shoved in 1 dimensional roles

If you think of you bog standard boring rom com where the race of the lead isnt a part of the story line. how many of those have a black lead? Or a crime programme? Or even a fantasy film where theres dragons but no major black characters?

I know as a gay person, i see gay people put in gay roles eg the best friend or the wise cracking gay, theres even a whole lgbt category on netflix. I struggle to think of when i last saw a character who just happened to be gay eg a wise cracking dective who solves the murder then goes home to her wife? The or kickass superhero?

Television is getting better at it but in general its fairly limited

Wow @treaclepumpkin that link needs to be posted on all the Meghan threads on Mumsnet!

SamanthaBrique

If only. I commented on a thread months ago surrounding the double standards over how the press have dealt with each woman during pregnancy and was told it was not true. Or that Kate was simply supporting her bump, whilst Meghan was deliberately drawing attention to it.

Can you imagine going to the lengths of that sort of mental gymnastics over hatred over someone you’ve never met? It’s pitiful.

@JacquesHammer The assumptions and mental leaps are gobsmacking aren't they? And Kate by contrast has been elevated to become some sort of weird combination of Wonder Woman, Mother Teresa and Monty Don rather than an actual human being.

Nope its not an agree to differ.

You are wrong, and there are plenty of reasons been gjven here why you are wrong (ad in Meghan being condemned for behaviour that Kate got praised for etc) .

You also didn't only claim that Abbot isn't what she once was there were the other claims too

the actors didn’t read out the Gujarati dialogue they just made random “Indian sounding” gobbledegook mouth noises.

That is appalling

There is an odd side to this:
I am of Scots/Irish heritage born Glasgow, MrsPan is Brit born and Pakistani.
She does a superb Irish AND Scots accent - when I attempt a South Asian accent it sounds deeply racist. I think I know why, but it's still v weird. And we laugh our socks off.

There see genuine criticisms of Megan but there is also an undercurrent of racism in the coverage. There are legitimate criticism of Thomas Markle but there is an undercurrent of white privilege in it. I just watched Piers Morgan this morning refuse to take the lived experience of black and minority people as racism and say he knows what racism is more than them and they dont know racism but he as a white man does. The mental gymnastics people and Piers go through to defend Thomas Markle and cast him as an innocent party despite faking paparazzi pictures and continuing to speak out is disgusting. The willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt but malign her mother is racial bias and racist. If Thomas Markle was the black parent the British press and most people would completely write him off, focus solely on his wrongs and absolutely not give him the benefit of the doubt or try and rationalise his decisions as being scared and ill-advised

No racism

Nothing to see here

Not as bad as in other countries

Always 'playing the race card'

She needs to take Piers Morgan on as advisor - apparently he only 'possibly' knows less about the incidence of racism than a black person.

Nope no racism at all there @Becles. Nor in the numerous threads on MN where posters apply their (very) amateur psychology to Meghan while elevating Kate to sainthood. No such thing as misogyny anymore either...

Agreed @blubelle7, I won't repeat the rumours about her mother here but they're on other threads and have no basis whatsoever. It's just another way to attack a black woman.

@Becles

I was going to say something about that chimp picture. So many people came out in support of the DJ who posted this and said he is not racist. There is a chimp staring you in the face, how blatant do you want him to be since the lived experience of a minority is too subjective for you to take as racism.

Also I find it extremely funny how so many people say the UK is not racist, there is no racism here but I am yet to hear it come from a minority person who is more than likely to be racially discriminated against.

It's like being in an abusive relationship, something happens, then denial, minimization and justification occur.
Man hits wife
She says "You hit me, I have a bruise"
His responses

1. No that didn't happen/ No that is not racist
2. It's only a tiny bruise/You are being oversensitive, it can be interpreted many ways, it's just banter, learn to take a joke- stop playing the race card
3. If you didn't make me so mad I wouldn't hit you/Well they do xyz (insert whatever racial stereotype) so why am I racist for pointing it out (um a white person does a bad thing, they are taken as an individual, black or minority person does a bad thing and all black people must do that or get the blame for said action)

As a white woman, I think that sometimes people struggle to see the racism because it's not our experience, while the misogyny and sexism is so blatantly obvious.

Having said that, I've been appalled at the racism I've spotted right off the bat in the context of Meghan and have made a conscious effort to understand some of the more subtle racism which, once I did, has horrified me.

The point is that she has been vilified in a way that a white, english, middle/upper class man just never would. Speaking out is seen as inappropriate, aggressive, uppity, bolshy etc words that have clear misogynist and/or racism connotations.

I think micro aggressions are endemic and I think the only way we can change is if we accept them. Watching that Nova Reid talk posted at the start of this thread, I recognised those behaviours in myself or situations I've witnessed. I know that I've been guilty of not wanting to sit next to the black man on a train or bus. But, once I realise these behaviours, I've also been known to give myself a virtual face-slap and go sit down. But you have to see and accept them for what they are before you can modify your behaviour.

@lilymumsnet
So glad that the term "race card" is finally being recognised as a racist and inflammatory statement invariably used by those who are either racist or want to play down the horrific impact racial prejudice has on BAME individuals

www.collinsdictionary.com/amp/english/uppity#

Can't be arsed getting involved in the argument but I've never heard or seen 'uppity' used in a racist way. In fact my dds pet name when she was younger used to be little miss uppity because she could be rather toffee nosed.!

My only contact with the term uppity was Mr Uppity (Mr Men books) as a child - Personality: Know-it-all, Arrogant, Pompous, Snooty, Disapproving, Narcissistic, Cold, Rude, Contempted, Snobbish, Wealthy, Overzealous (Mr Men WIKI)

very apt!

Any form of racism is vile, MM has obviously been subjected to it, but nothing like the average black person has. You can hardly even tell she's mixed race anyway.... She has much more good fortune than most of us. But racism in any form is vile....however that shouldn't mean she can't be criticised, her being mixed race doesn't automatically make her a good person. Far from it. I think she's awful. I certainly don't feel sorry for her as I'm sure she doesn't give a toss about anyone but herself.

punnet I'm wondering if it's an American thing because I've honestly never seen it used in a racist way here..........other than on mumsnet of course.

Fwiw I quite like Meghan. I don't think she's done anything wrong, other than to show Harry that there is a way out. And she won't be subjecting their child to that shit life. I don't blame her tbh......... Personally I think the children of the royals should have complete privacy until they're adults. At which point they can choose whether to remain or not.

crestedrobin

What does a mixed race person look like? In your view.