Does the UK have a racism problem?

[JolllyBee]

In just the last 24 hours alone we've had in the news:

Prince William’s godmother quits palace over comments to black charity boss

Meghan Markle had several 'disgusting' and credible threats to her life, Met cop reveals

Various people's census rants going viral and getting a scary amount of support

James McAvoy shocked by hometown racism in Glasgow after castmates abused on street

and a few days prior:

London Fire Brigade houses a toxic culture of bullying, racism and misogyny, inquiry finds

It's the anti-racist movement. The claims that colourblindness is a form of racism. That all white people have some racism that they're not aware of. That simply being around white people is harmful to ethnic minorities.

I have a friend whose parents are Eastern European but was born here but looks very Slavic. He gets asked regularly where he is from (and has been asked this by both white and black people). Would it therefore be considered racist if a black person asked a white person, such as my friend, where they are from?

Some of my friends who voted Remain (so did I) told me explicitly that a big part of their reasoning was that they wanted more 'nice' immigrants from 'nice' European countries and less muslims.

If you are referring to the Lady SH situation then what you are implying is completely different.

She was like a dog with a bone asking over and over after the complainant had also confirmed she was British. It was a No but where are you REALLY from type scenario and that is unacceptable

Agree 100%, it is part of the human condition. I think it's based on fear of 'the other', where people just can't see past superficial differences. We're all humans at the end of the day.

Yes

things may have improved it may not be as bad as in other countries but that’s not good enough there is still a problem and because it’s so often subtle here in the UK it’s often explained away 🙄

but every racist voted for brexit

I can assure you there are plenty of people who voted remain who are racist. Very much so.

That was the point I tried to make but got abuse from several posters so grab your hard hat because apparently pointing out she's elderly, from a different class, and not up with modern language means I'm a terrible, vile racist 🙄

You’d think so but clearly not!

The problem begins when so many of you do not know what racism means. You confuse it with xenophobia and prejudice. That’s why some of you claim white people suffer racism in the UK.

Who are you talking too?? I’m black and I fully understand what racism is. I also understand the difference between racism, prejudice, xenophobia and discrimination.

I was agreeing with the poster because it’s not only immigrants and asylum seekers who face racism. Many people who are born in this country and are British by nationality will still face racism. A pp quoted how many immigrants live in this country as if that’s a measure of whether this country is racist or not. Maybe you shouldn’t assume someone’s race from behind a screen?

Some white ethnic minorities in the UK do suffer racism.

Like a lot of relationships, it's about having realistic expectations of each other. Five years isn't actually that long to learn a language fluently enough to understand a medical examination - especially if you're a bit older or have other responsiblities - like a mother at home all day with a number of children.

The fact people who suffered racism and xenophobia are telling you they feel the racism and a massive amount of people is telling them “ no that’s not what you should feel “ screams volumes .
We moved from England to Scotland due to brexit ( lived there most of my life over 2 decades ) , if anyone here truly believes brexit and racism and xenophobia is not correlated then sorry you are a huge problem because you cannot even recognise racism .
I lived in a middle class affluent area so nobody was throwing stones at me or my lovely French neighbors on the same street ( who moved away to France after 30 years in the U.K. the week before I moved ) . But the bigotry was obvious in all the “ so are you going back home the “what do you do for a living ( and when I told them the “ oh so you are the good kind , I hope you stay “ . The cherry on the cake was me speaking with my mum on the phone while waiting to pay at Tesco and a very polite men asking me “ are you polish or Romanian ? “ when I told him , none I’m from …. . He replied “ oh that’s less bad “ .
I had my children with me , they looked at me I must have looked absolutely furious and with tears in my eyes and at that moment I remember thinking , my kids will be ashamed of their background they will be scared of even speaking a second language , how can I protect them from this sort of xenophobia .
I tried the following months to put it behind me , but from then onwards it got worse , I cringed at the question “ so where are you from “ , I was constantly looking over my shoulder . I couldn’t put my kids through that .
we moved to Scotland , thankfully I only ever had a encounter with a bigoted person and was not direct , most people would not tolerate anyone telling others publicly what they get told down in England .
Took me ages to actually be able to have small conversation when I moved up here , everyone was so nice , but for almost 6 months I still looked over my shoulder and I still cringed at the question so “ where are you from”

3 people discussing it on This Morning, all white (Holly, 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.

Sorry Vanessa Feltz and Phil, plus another white lady

No more than any other country and less than many imo. The world is racist, every race and every country has racism in one guise or another whether they care to admit it or not.

I have grey hair now and do not like it when people assume (wrongly) I don't have my full faculties and talk to my son or daughter instead of me. Isn't that a form of racism also

I think their assumptions may be correct.

This.

The UK has a racism problem (and a misogyny problem) but it isn’t as bad here as it is in America, Asia and mainland Europe. That’s why so many refugees are risking their lives in illegal small boat night crossings to get to UK instead of staying in France/ Italy/ Poland.

I imagine Vanessa Feltz has experienced a fair bit of anti-semitism.

The lady who made the allegations against Lady Hussey has already been on GMB and was shown again on Lorraine.

ITV has probably let her go off to the BBC or Sky to continue her discussions there.