Racism in the Royal Family

[StoneofDestiny]

Susan Hussey has resigned. Philip was coming out with similar comments in public all his life, yet there was no move to get rid of him. AIBU to think this is more royal hypocrisy?

Yes, that era definitely has issues. My MIL is openly racist AF, although strangely never about my race but all the other dirty foreigners 🙄. I'm one of the ok ones 🤦

Thing is, with the resources they have, you'd think they (public facing staff) have been highly trained in how to deal with people.

I used to work in a university and we had a visit from Princess Anne. She came round to speak to our team and to meet us personally. A week before we were given a document with strict guidelines on how to interact with her. No personal questions and only speak when spoken to, ma'am like ham and not like smarm, how to curtsy and bow.

But maybe it's only one way and they can talk to us how they please?

To be fair she didn't say she was from Hackney. She said where her organisation was based. The fact that she was answering the questions with answers to different questions should have been a big hint to most people that she didn't want any kind of personal talk. Even when she said the UK people who are open to chat would have said Leeds or Belfast, saying Im from any one of 4 countries is obviously guarded.

The first time when she named the charity may have been a mistake but the second time she was clearly talking in circles for a reason. Even if you think someone just isn't actually understanding your questions it is polite to drop it to avoid causing embarrassment.

Yes, the vested interest being to talk about SISTAH SPACE which she was there to talk about, and mentioned as she was being interrogated by the lady, who seemed to have no interest hearing about why she was there in the first place.HTH.

A specific interest in what line of activism? VAWAG?

@Foolsandtheirmoney I completely agree. I think class/status comes into this as well. Lady SH is used to people being deferential, to feeling 'grateful' to be spoken to at all. When people in those circles address people - they are used to getting answers and the answers they want. They are not used to reading the vibe, to treading carefully as they are rarely (if ever) challenged - especially by the general public.

It is the immense confidence and self assurance of wealth and privilege. I see it at work (on a smaller scale) - you can often tell those who are educated a top public schools. They don't question themselves, they have probably never had to.

and later verified by Mandu Reid, the head of the Women’s Equality Party

It's interesting how nobody actually impartial from the RF's side can verify what was said.

Refusing to believe something without the kind of ‘verification’ that satisfies them personally has become a trope of the hard right. Their first reaction is to call liar and we’re then supposed to chase our tails proving the truth of something that is already self-evident. It’s a massive distraction technique to put us on the defensive.

Well, quite. Fulani was being deliberately disingenuous during that conversation. I expect she's privately over the moon at how much publicity this incident will give her, and her charity etc, etc.

Why shouldn't she be? She's under no obligation to give detailed information about her genealogy to any old rude, inquisitive stranger just because they ask for it. Had the racist 'Lady' been interested in the links between racial heritage and the work of the charity, I'm sure Fulani would have had no problem in providing it.

The problem is that Hussey was trying to racially profile her as an individual. That is racist behaviour. If it's swung Fulani a few donations and further attention as to her cause, I'm sure she is over the moon. She has a right to be.

what mealy mouthed posts. The lady doing the interrogating did not even know what organisation Ngozi represented before demanding answers to her questions. And hopefully SISTAH SPACE will benefit from lady sh poor behaviour.

"This incident" has certainly shone some light on the racists that lurk on MN. It is a real eye-opener.

I am used to seeing the amount of disgusting racism on here, anytime a poc is involved in something. The racist always come crawling out. They come in different guises, but are not too difficult to recognise. I just scroll past the usual usernames I am aware of.

3 people discussing it on This Morning, all white (Vanessa Feltz, Phil and some other white lady - presumably a royal expert), come on itv why can’t you get someone who has experience being on the receiving end of racism talk about this.

Lady SH touched Ms Fulani by moving her hair (!) to read her name. This supercilious and inappropriate contact must have made Ms Fulani feel on the back foot, especially
seeing that she works with domestic abuse victims. Ms Fulani might have experienced domestic abuse herself and unexpectedly touching her without consent could be triggering in all sorts of ways. Lady SH abused her position of power to try and force Ms Fulani to answer personal questions about her heritage. But poor old posh lady, not getting away with it 😰

I remember after the England players got racially abused following the Euro final, GMB interviewed a young middle class white boy who had written a sympathetic letter to Rashford. How about talking to young black children and asking about their experience?

People of no colour will never know what racism feels like which is why some are come out with the feeble excuses defending Hussey.I am mixed race and i can tell you it is always there in everyday life,sometimes subtle or most times fully racist.If we all reported it the news would be over whelmed by it.
Still dont know what makes the people of no colour think they are somehow superior to people of colour and then act upon these misguided thoughts.

XingMing "I'm white so unlikely to be asked this question, but I would like to ask, without prejudice, how any white person politely asks a POC where their family originated without the question being regarded as racist? I would genuinely like to know. For the record, I live in the Celtic fringe"

You've already had a few answers here, but here's my take on it .
I'm white too, and having given my tuppence worth on another thread regarding this subject, and been roundly condemned as a racist for it, I'd point out that asking/commenting on a persons origins or attire is indeed perceived as racist. I had no idea before, but other Mums-netters have enlightened me. God only knows how many people I have inadvertently offended in the past; if I did I was never made aware of it. But moving forward, I'd avoid heritage questions/commenting on attire with a 10ft barge pole, and suggest you do too.

I see every right wing racist debating trope is being wheeled out in here.

I know the temptation is to debate and engage but just don't, there's no point. They're not acting in good faith and you're never going to change their racist positions.

The goal posts are shifted at every turn, the debate changed when their previous central principal had been dealt with, like the pound shop Ben Shapiro cunts that they are.

1. Well that's not necessarily racist.

-when it's explained it is racist

1. Even if it is racist how do we know she meant it to be racist

• then the transcript of what was said is produced showing it could only have had racist intent

1. How do we even know she said it, it's just her word we're taking, interesting that in this big party there's no witnesses.

• a witness who overhead it verifies the account

1. No no not that kind of witness, the other kind, one from my team, you know a white one. Unless the RF can say that someone in line to the throne was there and recorded the whole conversation then I don't think we can jump to conclusions.

Genuinely ignore these racist faux naive, just asking questions simpletons

You are right @Mayorquimby2 it is relentless. But what is the alternative? Give up fighting against racism, and leave our children, grandchildren.... to inherit this mess, without trying to change things. I have said in many posts that I am just scrolling past the names I recognise. Unfortunately there are too many racist on here. I will just not bother with these threads, because it just brings them all out from under their rocks.

I have no doubt it happened just as Ngozi Fulani said. I believer her. And there were witnesses who upheld her story. BP released a statement saying LH apologises and has resigned etc.. There is no reason not to believe it.

LH comes from such privileged circumstances. She will get a softer landing than most would. And it’s something that will be most probably pretty much forgotten by many people, (especially twitter), in 3 days to LH’s benefit, but to the detriment of the much needed conversations on race.

Also, NG was made to feel unwelcome as did others who witnessed the discussion. Her description about how she felt for the rest of the evening - waiting until she could leave - my take was the whole experience distressed her.

My mother is a similar age to SH. She was very confused about why I pulled her up for asking where people were from many years ago, and it has taken time to get her to understand not to ask anymore. My mother has travelled widely and lived in Africa so her reasons for asking were always a genuine interest and wish to discuss her experiences in these places, but it is still wrong and she knows better than to ask now. For someone in SH's position she really should have known better and it is hard to believe how bad that transcript is. It is equally bad that someone representing the royals was not better informed about the people attending the function. The whole palace organisation need an overhall.

I will just not bother with these threads, because it just brings them all out from under their rocks.

Under their rocks? Do they ever get back under them?

It's a bit like whack-a-mole but with too many popping up all the time!

You forgot the "well dressed like that, she was bound to be asked questions" one.

Last night on the R4 BBC five o clock news programme Petronella Wyatt ( white, journalist , ex Boris squeeze) was interviewed. Apparently, although she is white and has a British accent she is often asked about her heritage , apparently her mother was from Europe and she has inherited her European features (!) . Fortunately for PW this doesn’t upset her in the slightest and she doesn’t see this as racist only as people being interested in other people, not as people trying to make negative comments about someone’s place in UK society.

She emphasised that Lady SH was a kind person and that PW had never ever heard her being mean to anyone. She was also of the opinion that Lady SH was likely to be more upset about the whole business than Ms Fulani!

Her Twitter account is interesting.

Vanessa is Jewish. I think she probably knows a lot about racism.

True@Lunar270 it is like trying to hold back the tide on here. We as poc are here, We do not have to justify our presence to anybody.