This happened to me at the weekend and I feel ashamed I did nothing - Racism

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I was at a car boot sale at the weekend and there was a large stall there- that was a man and wife- selling 'fill a bag' type stuff - they were a house clearance company avoiding paying dumping fees I think

There was a lady there who was wearing a headcovering, she kept going behind the stall and they kept shooing her out
The man said in a sort of 'I'm muttering but loud enough for everyone to hear' way - he said "They're like rats, it might help if we stop giving them everything"
I was really shocked and just walked off but I feel really ashamed I didn't tackle it

What can I say if I find myself in this position again? I do not want to stand by and let it happen- I feel embarassed of being a coward

What an arsehole.

I find a 'did you mean to say that out loud?' or a 'care to elaborate any more on your biggoted views?' shuts them up a bit. On the rare occasions I am brave enough to confront a bigot., of course. It's easier online, and when there are a lot of people around.

Why don't you think it was just aimed at her behaviour and instead think he was commenting on her race?

And by this I mean, you say she kept going behind the stall, presumably where their cash and personal belongings were and they were telling her to stop and she wasn't listening.

Granted it wasn't a nice comment but I didn't relate that to race.

What kind of head covering?

I think i might err on the side of this tbh. I've done carbooting loads and the amount of people that try to come behind my table, rummage in any boxes I have put underneath/held back, have a nosy in the boot etc. it's a known tactic of enthusiasts that want to grab a bargain but seriously frustrating and difficult to manage.

SIL at Alton Towers last week with gd 2 and gd 4. Queuing for an adult ride when 3 Muslim lads who had been causing trouble earlier pushed to front of queue. VE day silence was being observed when they started shouting Fuck this get over it, it was years ago.

People were looking at each other when Sil told security who dealt with it. As they marched out they said when they found out who grassed they would seriously hurt them. Obviously in stronger terms.

People are scared to intervene for a multitude of reasons. Bigotry exists in all walks of life.

Why did she keep going behind the stall, even though he had shooed her out?

Do you think he would have been happy if it had been a teenaged boy or a woman wearing mini skirt that kept doing this?

Why do you think she was so rude. Even if there was a language difficulty, everyone knows when they have been shooed out? Why did she ignore this chap and invade his private space?

Did you intervene to stop this rude woman? Why not?

You are allowed to comment negatively on people with headscarves when their behaviour warrants it, you know. It isn't a halo. Or are you somebody who thinks every criticism of a non white is racist.

It's not.

She sounds bloody rude.

What do you think the man was referring to when he said, "They are like rats, it might help if we stop giving them everything"?

Well, Gary Lineker has posted a Palestinian anti semantic post referring to Jewish people as rats. Do you think it was connected to this?

It might have been as anti Jewish bigotry is very high at the moment.

Who did I think he was referring to?

Rude people who kept going behind his stall. What did you think he meant?

'Rude people who kept going behind his stall'. Where did you get this from? @op said, a lady went behind his stall.

You really think he said 'it might help if we stop giving them everything' was in reference to one woman who kept going behind his stall? How would that make sense

I agree Op, if she had a head covering it was very racist for the stall holders not to allow their stuff to be stolen. People with headscarves should be allowed to do anything they want. If not we are bigots. 🙄

This thread is a prime example of why racists just get away with it. People tie themselves in knots to deny that's what it meant. I love to be so naive, must make life easier

God, the minimising here! Chasing her away from behind the stall is one thing (and fair enough) but his disgusting comment was clearly about her being a Muslim, as him making a comment about immigration. Clearly. And you all know it.

Oh God! I did a car boot sale - once.
It was years ago, but my overriding memory was of being surrounded by eager bargain hunters before we even stopped the car - it felt like being in a safari park with the car covered in lions, or a zombie movie🤣🤣🤣
Unpacking was a nightmare, and the cheek of some people grabbing stuff from us as we tried to work on putting it out on our table! Never again…
OP if the guy was feeling like I was, I suspect his “they” was aimed at CF punters (which she was behaving like) and not necessarily racially invoked…

What can I say if I find myself in this position again? I do not want to stand by and let it happen- I feel embarassed of being a coward

You could ask the stall holder if they would like you to grab a security guard. HTH.

Surprise! People can be racist at the same time as someone from a different race is an asshole.

This sounds like a great example of “2 wrongs don’t make a right”

How did you know what their religion was?

Excellent advice!

It was unequivocally a racist - the woman didn't speak English and was dressed in a traditionally Islamic way.

It was clear what he meant- some others looked at each other and left the stall too

What a moronic post. You've made assumptions about them "trying to avoid paying fees" and about her, apparently being all harmless going behind the stall, not once, but repeatedly and after it being made clear she was not to go there. You'd be horrified what happens in some places if you get caught trying to steal off a stall. Being called a rat would be the least of it.

Clearly! So many people on this post trying to downplay racism/othering - if you lack critical thinking skills just say that!