To think people don't realise how much racism is directed towards Eastern Europeans ?

[rudolphrainbownose]

My boyfriend is Latvian, I am English. I've never really mixed much with the eastern european community until we started dating two years ago, so naively assumed racism wouldn't be so much of an issue.
However, my boyfriend works security at a railway station. He is often allocated to a very small station in town, and so is normally the only employee/ worker present. Due to this, his employer provides him and all staff with body worn cameras so there is audio/ visual proof of the following. Whenever people start behaving in an antisocial way at the station, ( e.g. kids trespassing on the tracks, smoking/ drinking alcohol, attempting to board trains without tickets etc), he will challenge this as part of his job. Obviously, as soon as he starts speaking/ engaging with these people, it is clear he has a strong eastern European accent. Without fail, they will normally retort, "well f back home/ back to Poland", ( he is not Polish, has never even been to Poland, but it is always "go back to Poland," ), that is the insult. Yesterday evening he tried to stop a man from stealing a passenger's bike, ( they have bike lock/ sheds there) . The man became enraged and started yelling , "just here for our benefits, go back to Poland!" ( despite the fact my boyfriend was in work uniform and obviously working). When my DP pointed out he was working and so not a benefit claimant anyway, the guy became very aggressive, shouted , "just f off back home and pushed my partner over." I'm genuinely shocked. Whilst physical violence like last night is rare, the "go back to Poland!" comments seem to happen at least once a month or so, just for doing his job and asking people not to steal/ smoke / drink/ tresspass etc at the station.

It's got to the stage that he insisted our daughter , ( two months old), had my surname when we registered her, as he didn't want her to receive abuse for having an eastern european name. AIBU to feel we don't actually recognise this group receive a lot of abuse ? To be perfectly honest, I was not aware of the extent of it until I met my partner.

On the other hand, it may just be that working security , ( and therefore "annoying," people by asking them to stop antisocial behaviour so they retaliate), means he is unfortunately much more prone to abuse than someone working in a shop/ factory / office etc

how does it make it any better if it partly because of his line of work?

I think there are distinctions to be had, though, for racism/xenophobia based on external appearance. My children are white and so can choose to hide or disclose their mixed culture background (which is upsetting but possible). Roma people are often persecuted as being identifiable. Accents also give away differences. It's a very complex issue and some aspects of it are not similar.

I think security is probably a high risk job for dealing with antisocial behaviour and comments. It doesn't excuse what's being said but I imagine that if for example, he was from Liverpool and was working in London, he'd get go back to Liverpool comments instead.

People who are inclined to behave like that will pick on whatever main difference they can find. Race, sex, accent, weight, sexual orientation, hair colour etc etc.

Does he have the same problem outside of work?

Half of my family is Eastern European and our experience isn't the same as yours.

No, most of the extreme abuse, ( which there has been a lot of), has been via "customers," at work.

I was thinking the same thing😂

I experienced incredible levels of racism/xenophobia from customers in hospitality. It's not just jobs like security. From all races and nationalities btw

It always amazes me how people think that just because other countries are racist / xenophobic as well, it's perfectly fine for the UK to be that way and people should just shut up about their experiences of racism.

I didn't say that the UK is the most xenophobic country in Europe but you obviously know that. Racists and racism apologists love arguing about straw men.

Well the main characteristic of most racists and sexists is a low level of intelligence. So enfuriating when you are on the receiving end of it.

Whether racism or xenophobia it is Hate crime, which is vile.

It is racism under the definition in The Equality Act 2010

So sorry to hear this. It must be so hard for you both. I have fully sympathy, partly because my mother was from Eastern Europe. Immigrants contribute so much to this country, as we are seeing in the gaps left since Brexit.

Black racism against White people is a fact
White racism against Black people fact
Black racism against South Asians - fact
South Asian racism against fact

It’s xenophobia and I agree wholeheartedly with you they it exists and largely accepted.

DDIL is Polish. She felt unwelcome during Brexit, other than that, I’ve never heard her complain about it.

DSIL is Asian. DD2 tells me of racism, directed at him sometimes.

DD2 (White British) complains of abuse, she experiences at work frequently!

I’d say DD2 experiences the most abuse by a long way!

Of course she does.

@Hobbi, but now imagine your dd had a strong accent or was black doing that job which already encourages abuse. See Diane Abbott for notes.

I remember working with some Polish colleagues. I also remember how so many others would bitch that the Polish guys would get some numbers and words wrong.
I tried to remind them that the Polish guys made the effort to learn English. I asked them what words they could say in Polish.... silence was deafening.

Just imagine how much abuse your dil or sil would receive if they worked in dd2's workplace

I'm not disputing that. I'm disputing the suggestion that white British DD2 experiences the most abuse.

During Brexit, people would complain to my husband about immigrants. Her would then point out to them that he was an immigrant. No, no, we don't mean YOU, they would say, because he is Canadian, and they meant Eastern. Europeans. Whatever you call it, it's most definitely a thing.

Why on Earth should your colleagues be expected to learn any Polish words?

I probably explained myself badly.

Polish colleagues got some words wrong. Piss was ripped out of them. They got called things like "thick as shit". I do not think trying to learn a second language makes someone thick.

@Berlinlover perhaps it's the fact that most of those doing the criticising are monolingual, not that they don't know Polish. Often immigrants are doing amazing things in a second or third language, like studying and working, things that many of us would find incredibly challenging.

YANBU. My English friend's Romanian husband 'englished' his name and now gets his wife, or an English employee, to do all initial phone enquiries. He found that his work (skilled, in demand, difficult trade) literally doubled, the first month he stopped appearing Romanian on client's first contact.

@rudolphrainbownose I am trying to quote a post but its not working so please bear with me. First of all, I'd like to sincerely apologise. My post read as I was somehow undermining your boyfriend's experience. I am really sorry. It is vile and I am so sorry he and his friends have been through this. Eastern Europeans really suffer in Britain.