AIBU to judge racist parents as 'bad' parents?

[May2December]

I think they are setting a bad example but they feel their political views are valid!

Well, my PIL don't go around in white pointy hats looking for people to lynch

I don't know enough about their views to be able to label them as "racist".

I know some people are quite happy to slap a label on someone but I don't feel equipped to do that. For example, they make comments about the Eastern European window cleaners in Sainsburys such as "I wouldn't know whether to trust them because you don't know if they're honest."

This isn't said in relation to them being E.European, it could be that they just distrust window cleaners. Hence, I say "a bit racist" as it's an impression I get from them, more a feeling than a definitive conclusion.

Very quiet on this thread, I can only asume that IABU (according to mumsnet) to judge people for their own predjudices, (it does worry me that I might prevent my kids from playing across the road because of this)- or should I mind my own business?

I think you ANBU. The BNP party has some terrible views and is making some communities fall out a lot.

May - I think most of us agree that you are being completely reasonable.

OK thanks PW

It depends whether, May, you're just throwing the question out to the wind .. in which case we'd naturally all agree with you, or whether you are talking about something specific.

To cite Custy, for example, her grandma is not being racist when she says she 'hates muslims.' She hates the religion, and that's different.

I dislike all organised religion, and I certainly wouldn't bring my son up to embrace any of them. I would certainly not bring him up to hate, but I'd certainly guide him along the path of thinking which suggests that all deeply, fervently religious people are deluded loons.

Bloody stupid OP if you ask me. What made you post it?

the only racists I know are not bad people. things have have happened in their lives to make them the way they are. these days it is hard to understand though.
there are lot of bad parents out there i don't think you can pin point one reason for them being bad.
I mean what about the bloke up the road who thinks it is fine for his dd to call mine a spaz. i think he is a bad parent.

Message withdrawn

Older generations you can understand why the ignorance prevails, but not young, not at alll.

Racism seems so antiquated to me.
I grew up in an inner city and my schools were always a mixture of races, my neighbours were all different creeds and colours and on the whole everyone got on.
I think that for older people a lot of it stems from fear- the newspapers, the muslim extremists, the BNP propaganda.

People are complex. I don't think necessarily having dodgy attitudes makes you a 'bad person'. But I do think it's always worth thinking through what the logical conclusion to one's views are. Look at Hitler and the Jews. The situation very quickly escalated from 'I don't like Jews, they take our jobs' to 'I don't like Jews. Let's exterminate them'. Intolerance is really a very ugly and potentially dangerous stance.

Would I ever be friends or associate with someone I knew to be openly racist / anti semitic / anti-Muslim? I doubt it. I keep those sort of people at a distance, as I simply don't trust them.