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

[Changedusernameforthis2]

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 OP is talking about is racism towards a Muslim person, and there has been 'explicit spoken and written racist language and violence' towards Muslim people in the United Kingdom for over 50 years, with upticks in the 70s, early 00s, 20s. Not to mention global anti-Islamic sentiment and particularly during the genocide in Gaza 😊

LOL!

It’s not either / or. Her behaviour led him to respond in a racist manner.

I think both were in the wrong.

The woman should not have been continuously going behind the stall, whatever she was doing.

The man should not have made that comment. Whether racist or not, there are a million other ways to address this situation without resorting to name calling.

If it was me there, I personally wouldn’t have said anything. I think the only time I would step in would be if it escalated and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was being racist and her not being able to walk away etc.

I think it is obvious that the people who are trying so hard to explain away the man's comment are... well, yeah. Hopefully, they are just racist and not genuinely stupid, because the latter is impossible to argue with, and they never manage to understand the other side's argument.

Your post at 15:21 among others.

why do I need to bring explicit racism towards Jews into a conversation about racism? It’s relevant as I’ve already said. I was contrasting ops pearl clutching about her perception of an ambiguous comment versus weekly explicit racist threats and violence my community experiences. Sorry if you don’t think I should mention it but that’s too bad.

I don’t think anyone on this thread has “insulted people based on their race”. Not that I’ve seen anyway.

On what planet is calling a Muslim woman a rat not explicit?

Are you referring to me saying: "You wanted to make it about Jewish people so just say that. Of course racism and prejudice in general is despicable but this had nothing to do with antisemitism."

If so, that is not an objection. It is a statement that you have made this post, which was about racism towards a Muslim woman, about Jewish people because you wanted to. I also said that racism and prejudice in general (i.e. to all people) is despicable, but that the post had nothing to do with antisemitism.

Thanks!

You don’t know what’s in someone else’s head. Thinking you have to go round policing everyone’s language in case they may be expressing a view you disagree with is ridiculous. It doesn’t help anyone. There is plenty actual racism and hate in society to worry about.

“Going behind stalls at a car boot sale” is a culture?

Fascinating.

So what do you think “they are like rats, it would help if we stopped giving them everything” means?

In your considered opinion?

Policing what is "real" racism doesn't help anyone either does it?
Remember bigots aren't fussy. They have plenty of hatred to go around. Don't give them any wiggle room. They'll use it against you too.

Good grief (I should be surprised by this post - but I am not.)

Exactly this! I don't understand what else he would mean by that comment to be honest!

Calling people rats and saying they get given too much, is that racist?

That clearly is an objection to me raising a particular type of racism though. But whatever, I get it’s not fashionable and many on mn would prefer to stick to imagining what is in the head of some white male possibly reform supporter.

How do you know they were Muslim?

I would have had the same response had you brought racism towards any other group into this but yes obviously it does raise red flags when a post is about racism towards Muslim people and your response is ‘well what about anti semitism’

Did someone do that on this thread? Not me certainly.

what the man allegedly said may or may not be racially motivated to be honest. We don’t know. Try to be more open minded.

Do I have to "know what's inside someone else's head" before being able to judge what they say or do as racist?

It would help if you read the OP, the thread would make more sense.

Yes. If you’re saying it’s racially motivated and there’s nothing in what they’ve said to indicate that conclusively. You need evidence

We do now, it is fairly obvious that he was being racist whilst having a dig at immigration.
How can you downplay the statement as maybe not racist?

I think this is more about your issues than mine. We don’t even know if the woman in question is Muslim or not.

but many people do have unconscious bias.