I think I've just been accused of racism at work

[Imlookingatapicture]

Panicking somewhat..

For context I'm the only Welsh person in our London office. Lots of banter around the football World Cup.

Chat started on teams (chat not video) re the 6 nations game tomorrow. Collegue (huge football fan, most vocal in the world cup) said 'I don't care about rugby. I'm half Welsh anyway'

I replied

'Oh I'm half English too. We all have our crosses to bear ;)'

Manager has just emailed me to say collegue above has complained, and it's not acceptable, especially given recent discussions around inclusion and diversity.

It was honestly just a joke, in the same vein as the world cup 'banter'

I know I shouldn't have put it on teams. Maybe context didn't come across.

How much shit am I in?

That's an awful thing to say. As if being half English is a bad thing.

It IS a bad thing. And not only is it a bad thing, it's a fecking POINTLESS thing as well. I'd be raging if I was half Scottish, half English - neither of which give me access to a nice burgundy passport in the way that something useful like being half Welsh, half French would do. .

After your updates, I think the offense might be due to your ‘anyone but the English’ comment. I’ve lived my life in Scotland and Wales and know that some English people do get really pissed off with this attitude. It’s unmistakably saying ‘I hate the fucking English’.

Having said that none of those people would have dreamt of going to HR about this.

We don't have free speech at work.

If that's the case then they should all be sacked and we'll just have to die instead.

I wouldn't have thought that was offensive. It's hard not to offend someone sometimes, especially with us living in the UK. The whole English, Scottish, Welsh and N.Ireland, UK thing.

I'm an English woman who lives close to Derry/Londonderry in N.Ireand and talking to customers I never know whether to refer to the place as Derry or Londonderry. It's so hard to judge. And yes I know the history so I just don't want to offend anyone.
The same goes with Ireland or Northern Ireland. 😭

It was a light-hearted JOKE! Good grief. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Sorry this has happened to you. I guess try apologising and hope that this idiot doesn’t take it further. If you’re in a Union I’d contact your rep. I always kept my head down when I worked in an office and am relieved that my current job is lone working and working from home. It makes life a lot easier in the current woke culture.

Do they also pick up on people who support different football clubs, and joke about that? Because that's basically all you were doing, only about national teams instead of Premier League football teams.

So this person has ribbed you a lot for being welsh in the past......And then when you respond in kind has reported you to HR for racism? Have a got that right? He's a bully op. A nasty piece of work.

Now you know.

Others in the office will know him for what he is.

I'd do as others suggested. Say you'd meant the cross to bear was the team's bad performance. That you're very sorry you didn't consider how it could be misconstrued and have made a bad error. And then never speak to or banter with this person again. They are not your friend.

I don't understand the issue at all. If you're half English and see it as a cross to bear who's to say that you're not allowed to feel that?? (I realise it's just a joke of course but if you were actually serious). How can you be racist against yourself as a white majority person?

I'd be giving this person a wide birth and icy professionalism from now on so they can't make any more petty complaints.

It doesn’t come across that way to me. It very definitely comes across as an anti English sentiment and such a sentiment would not be acceptable for any other nationality. In real life, I personally would not give this too much thought and indeed I am only half English myself, but I do think in the workplace one should make special efforts not to make disparaging remarks about other nationalities, do you disagree with that?

Tbh I find the anti English ‘jokes’ by Welsh and Scottish people pretty tedious, especially when they have left their motherland to live in…..England. I wouldn’t in a million years complain to HR about you being racist if I were your colleague but that kind of so called banter would make me roll my eyes and be a bit irritated. It’s really rude to say disparaging things about another nationality, especially when you’ve chosen to live in that country, and always comes across as having a massive chip on your shoulder. It’s really just not particularly funny.

So honestly, I would rethink that kind of humour in future. Not because it’s racist in any way but because it’s kind of rude and just irritating.

I would apologise to the guy and move on. Keep your guard up about literally anything you say at work because the environment sounds awful, but perhaps tone down the England related insults to English people because they are frankly tedious and not even a bit amusing.

You missed your calling working for the soviet politburo. If only you'd been born 50 years earlier you could have sent op for 're-education'.

Still tomorrow is another day...

How ridiculous this country has become. Not allowed to hold any views that may offend another. This isn’t diversity and inclusion. Counting down the days until I move from this country.

Sorry, that was a response to monomatapea.

But if you were to replace English with other nationalities further East the accusation of 'racism' would be acceptable, such is the nonsense surrounding the topic. It was clearly a bit of office joking as goes on all the time, I was a founder member of ABU, but as 'diversity' and such things are rammed down throats for the slightest reason maybe someone was taking advantage.

@Imlookingatapicture Race is a categorization of people based on their physical characteristics.

Referring to yourself as being English was referring to your ethnicity (a categorization based on a some sort of cultural trait, such as a language or religion) or nationality. Unless you had also included your race by specifying white/black/Asian English, your comment was not racist, as an English or Welsh person can be of any race.

I would strongly challenge any complaint that what you said was racist and ask for the reason why your colleague considered your comment was racist.
I think that a lot of people (including your accuser) confuse race, ethnicity and nationality.

I would agree that your workplace needs diversity training on race and racist behaviour to address ignorance on the subjects. Race, ethnicity and national origin are covered under our Discrimination law, and racial discrimination does not apply to the conversation in your post.

Any apology from me would be along the lines of "I'm so sorry you're confused about the differences between race, ethnicity and nationality"... (but then I have ethnic minority privilege).

Being English 100% is a protected characteristic. If you read the Equality Act you will see it is absolutely clear that nationality is included under the protected characteristic of ‘race’. Furthermore there have been successful discrimination cases brought by English people who have been discriminated against in Scotland for being English.

The OP has absolutely nothing to apologise for. It's her colleague who should be apologising for being an over-sensitive dick.

But if you were to replace English with other nationalities further East the accusation of 'racism' would be acceptable, such is the nonsense surrounding the topic.

So so close and yet.

You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I’m half Welsh, half English. We always have banter at work about the rugby as I support Wales not England in rugby. You were talking about yourself anyway . If it was me, I’d be making a complaint about the complaint. He doesn’t get to police what you think about your heritage. It’s just a bloody joke anyway!

The person who reported you is ridiculous! I wouldn’t even give this any attention and I would say so to anybody who pulled me up on it.

Here is article one of the convention on elimination of racial discrimination:

In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

You need to make a Priti Patel apology - “I am sorry you felt offended by my comments.”

Give him two paracetamol and tell him to go change his manpon.