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Racism against south Asians in the UK

375 replies

ArtfulKoala · 12/07/2025 13:01

This is a very hard thread for me to begin. I’ve been intending to do it for months but felt unable to do so. I was born in the UK but I am of south Asian origin. My parents and grandparents emigrated here. We are five generations British and counting.

I feel that racism and racial suspicion towards brown skinned people has absolutely gone off the scale since Reform gained a foothold in mainstream politics.

At first it was the little things - being subjected to an extended bag check when entering a museum when white visitors walked straight in or were casually asked to just open the large section which wasn’t really checked. This is especially the case at places like Kensington Palace and the Imperial War Museum. For reference, I am talking about a small handbag 15cm by 25cm probably smaller than their own guidelines state. At Kensington Palace, it actually got to the ridiculous stage where the checker was asking me to open more and more zipped sections down to a 5cm one until there was literally nothing left to open and she was effectively asking me to open non existent ones!
There is an incident every time we are out ( me and my teenagers). People loudly talking about us standing right next to us talking about how we are entitled just because we have been directed to the front of the queue by staff as one of us is disabled.
Yesterday, we got on a damned train with cold, vegan salads from m&s and it started immediately. A white couple complaining loudly about “the smell” when there was none because they judged us by how we look and decided our food was smelly upon that basis. Then, when the ticket inspector came round and we showed the disabled railcard, a running commentary on how we must have gamed the system to obtain that.
It is really wearing. I don’t feel like we can belong here anymore despite being educated and fully integrated here. I fully pay for private housing, healthcare and education and yet I may as well have just stepped off a small boat yesterday as far as they are concerned. I cannot fight random bigots daily when we are just trying to live our lives having low key, relaxing private family time.
It is simply fogging to get worse isn’t it? I honestly believe that Farage will be the next PM ( I am politically literate enough to gauge this for myself rather than buying into tabloid scaremongering. Zayn Malik referred to similar experiences in the song he released last week. We have similar colourings to him and never experienced racism ever before this. Perhaps they think we are Middle Eastern and are directing a particular type of hatred towards us. Perhaps it is a new racism because there were not many Middle Eastern people in the UK until recently.

I know that it is not everyone everywhere but it is now frequent enough for us to come to expect it every time we leave the house. Is this the equivalent of the Weimar Republic for the UK? Since there is no such thing as “stopping the boats” then the headlines will continue and the hatred towards brown-skinned fully fledged Brits too.

If I don’t come back to this thread immediately, it is because it is a massive thing for me to write this down and I will be reading and considering the responses.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 17:06

VannessaFence:
'But for those who wish they could be like Japan and have one homogenous British racial and cultural identity - that's simply not our history. That ship sailed (quite literally) with the explorers.'
It literally is my history and the histories of millions of others. Mass migration into Britain is a recent phenomenon. Census data proves this. And for those of us who married our fellow Brits, that 'racial and cultural identity' continues through our children.

When you say recent what do you mean? The number of immigrants has increased in the last couple of decades but we've had large scale immigration since the 50s.

Prior to that British territory extended across most of the world through empire. This country took great pains to spread British cultural norms around the world and install the Queen as the head of state. As a country you cannot act in this way and then be protectionist about your own culture and race. As I said in a PP, my partner's South Asian family have white British people in their family tree from the colonial era.

The idea that we were a homogenous bunch of Anglo Saxons quietly minding our own business until all these immigrants arrived is nonsense. We're quite possibly the most globalist country in history and have welcomed and encouraged immigration/emigration for our own monetary gain for a long, long time.

Yes let's have a debate about whether immigration is too high and let's talk about ensuring people are integrating into British culture. But trying to maintain a "racial identity"? i.e. assigning value to people based on the colour of their skin? That is just racist.

notatinydancer · 13/07/2025 17:45

Tofana · 13/07/2025 12:55

Im fucking sick of racists. They’re everywhere currently. Insidious little creatures.
Im white btw so I won’t ever experience racism and have only ever had wonderful experiences with people of colour, but I do passionately hate racists. Stupid people whose biggest accomplishment is being exempt from racial abuse purely because they were born white. Twats.
I live on a council estate in the north west and I am always having rows with people saying racist shit or posting it in local FB groups.
Im sick to the back teeth of stupid people with stupid opinions. They’re equally as sick of me and i was called a “soft woke cunt” a few weeks ago because I don’t support reform. I’d happily put reform in a blender, turn the switch on and happily go about my business being a soft woke cunt.

Do you honestly think white people don’t experience racism ?

Namitynamename · 13/07/2025 17:53

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 13/07/2025 14:49

I wonder what proportion of rapists carry rape kits? How would searching a man reveal if he is a pedophile rapist? This is just silly, knee jerk crap. Terrorists carry bombs and weapons. That is why searches are carried out. And the vast proportion of bomb and weapon attacks in this country are carried out by people who would not be characterised as ' white'. You know that's true. It may not correspond with how we may like life to be, but there it is.

Game theory would suggest that racial profiling is counterproductive.
Rape is hard to search for. But the majority of knife crime is also carried out by men and is maybe a better example as it involves carrying a knife..
Imagine that to tackle knife crime the police regularly stop and search men. Including all young men**. This is hugely unfair on those young men who are left feeling like second class citizens. It also means that the men who carry knives just ask their girl friends to put them in their handbags. So knife detection goes down. That's why nightclub bouncers often check women's handbags.
Randomised checks are actually much more effective at stopping crime and terrorism than racial profiling.

** I know this was an issue especially for young black men in London with stop and search
.it had similar results. Other groups were asked to carry knives and in some cases individuals drawn into crime when they wouldn't have been previously.

2dogsandabudgie · 13/07/2025 18:00

OP - I recently went to Kensington Palace and was subjected to a very thorough bag check where all the pockets abd zipped areas were inspected with a small torch. I'm white so think this is normal when visiting royal palaces which are still used by the Royal Family.

If you go to Buckingham Palace it's like going through airport security

Namitynamename · 13/07/2025 18:04

MuckFusk · 13/07/2025 03:43

The subject of "white genocide" has been raised, peeps. The shame is crippling white people. It won't be long until they start committing suicide from the toxic shame of whiteness.

Good hairy grief. I'll leave it to you Brits to take that bullshit apart. How do I know it's bullshit, you might ask, since I don't live there? I know it's bullshit because racists in every currently or formerly predominantly white country on earth, regardless of how many new immigrants come into the country every year, make the exact same claims.

Really big noses used to be considered beautiful. Now they aren't
As a thin lipped, big nosed woman I wish beauty standards were other. But I'm not a victim of racism. It's not the same as what OP is talking about.
And I think the same thing happened in the Netherlands following the success of Gerthy Van Wilders. I don't know if people became more racist or it just felt more socially acceptable. Which some would see as shifting the overton window away from Woke. But it's just being a horrible knob head really

I hope in the end that the pendulum swings the other way again. In the Netherlands the racist party have shown themselves up for being the chaos merchants they are. And for not actually giving a shit about the people who voted for them.

2dogsandabudgie · 13/07/2025 18:11

Tofana · 13/07/2025 13:51

Acknowledging that white people have done shitty things isnt self hatred, it’s knowing what I think is an acceptable way to treat people.
I treat everyone the same. I don’t have some white saviour complex. Last person I had a physical fight with was an ethnic minority. Just because I can’t stand racists doesn’t mean i infantilise PoC etc :s

Why are you physically fighting with people? Can I ask how old you are?

MuddlingMackem · 13/07/2025 18:18

MuckFusk · 13/07/2025 03:31

The British Empire imposed British culture on other countries for ages. So the UK does not not have a history of immigrating elsewhere and expecting others to accept their culture, it has a history of taking other countries captive and forcing them to. Do you really not know the history of this? I'm not even British and I know that FFS.

When people from the UK move to other countries, it's usually to predominantly white nations in Europe, Commonwealth nations or America, so there isn't a whole lot of cultural difference to expect people to adapt to, is there. It's a false comparison.

How are British people supposedly being prevented from celebrating, or being attacked for celebrating British culture? Give examples. Eg; have employers stopped celebrating Christmas and offering Christmas vacations and now celebrate Ramadan instead? The claim needs to be supported with real life examples.

All Empires imposed on other cultures, the British empire was not unique. It was just the last of the big empires, which is why it's the one everyone focuses on. But the world has moved on, and White Britons cannot be forever be lambasted for their forefathers doing what was still just the done thing then.

And Britain did buck the done thing by outlawing the African slave trade.

Fffavvavaa · 13/07/2025 18:22

The British empire also did many good things. Spread the law of rule and developed a lot of infrastructure. You can in theory consider it a form of Foreign Direct Investment.

Fffavvavaa · 13/07/2025 18:23

Indian kingdoms fought against each other as wlel

overthehillsandverynear · 13/07/2025 18:28

VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 17:06

VannessaFence:
'But for those who wish they could be like Japan and have one homogenous British racial and cultural identity - that's simply not our history. That ship sailed (quite literally) with the explorers.'
It literally is my history and the histories of millions of others. Mass migration into Britain is a recent phenomenon. Census data proves this. And for those of us who married our fellow Brits, that 'racial and cultural identity' continues through our children.

When you say recent what do you mean? The number of immigrants has increased in the last couple of decades but we've had large scale immigration since the 50s.

Prior to that British territory extended across most of the world through empire. This country took great pains to spread British cultural norms around the world and install the Queen as the head of state. As a country you cannot act in this way and then be protectionist about your own culture and race. As I said in a PP, my partner's South Asian family have white British people in their family tree from the colonial era.

The idea that we were a homogenous bunch of Anglo Saxons quietly minding our own business until all these immigrants arrived is nonsense. We're quite possibly the most globalist country in history and have welcomed and encouraged immigration/emigration for our own monetary gain for a long, long time.

Yes let's have a debate about whether immigration is too high and let's talk about ensuring people are integrating into British culture. But trying to maintain a "racial identity"? i.e. assigning value to people based on the colour of their skin? That is just racist.

'Protecting racial identity' 'Assigning value to people based on the colour of their skin'

A bit naughty of you! You are projecting ideas onto me that I do not have and did not make.

I'm merely pointing out who the people identified as 'White British' are and that you are trying to push an inaccurate narrative - and you are certainly not the only one - that Britain has a long diverse history. We really don't. That's a modern revisionist take and is not backed up by historical or DNA research.
I also didn't use the term Anglo-Saxon, but we were/are a fairly homogenous people descended from closely related North-Western European peoples who were mostly settled here before the last millennium.
We didn't have, 'large scale migration since the 50's' (I didn't need to go back so far by using the 50s as an example as were actually still largely a homogenous population outside of a few cities/areas well into the 90s). Again, census data shows this.
'you cannot act this way...' I can reassure none of us living had any part in creating or upholding the British empire, it seems to have been at it's peak in the Victorian era and mostly over by the time my elderly parents were born.

overthehillsandverynear · 13/07/2025 18:33

VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 17:06

VannessaFence:
'But for those who wish they could be like Japan and have one homogenous British racial and cultural identity - that's simply not our history. That ship sailed (quite literally) with the explorers.'
It literally is my history and the histories of millions of others. Mass migration into Britain is a recent phenomenon. Census data proves this. And for those of us who married our fellow Brits, that 'racial and cultural identity' continues through our children.

When you say recent what do you mean? The number of immigrants has increased in the last couple of decades but we've had large scale immigration since the 50s.

Prior to that British territory extended across most of the world through empire. This country took great pains to spread British cultural norms around the world and install the Queen as the head of state. As a country you cannot act in this way and then be protectionist about your own culture and race. As I said in a PP, my partner's South Asian family have white British people in their family tree from the colonial era.

The idea that we were a homogenous bunch of Anglo Saxons quietly minding our own business until all these immigrants arrived is nonsense. We're quite possibly the most globalist country in history and have welcomed and encouraged immigration/emigration for our own monetary gain for a long, long time.

Yes let's have a debate about whether immigration is too high and let's talk about ensuring people are integrating into British culture. But trying to maintain a "racial identity"? i.e. assigning value to people based on the colour of their skin? That is just racist.

Apologies for confusion, I didn't mention the 50s in my first response to you at all - I could have sworn I did!

Skyrise · 13/07/2025 18:34

overthehillsandverynear · 13/07/2025 16:06

VannessaFence:
'But for those who wish they could be like Japan and have one homogenous British racial and cultural identity - that's simply not our history. That ship sailed (quite literally) with the explorers.'

It literally is my history and the histories of millions of others. Mass migration into Britain is a recent phenomenon. Census data proves this. And for those of us who married our fellow Brits, that 'racial and cultural identity' continues through our children.

Ding ding! 👏

There will always be a few exceptions, but on the whole, the British Isles was something like 99.% white British/Irish. Even in 1991, the first census to have the question about ethnicity, the UK was 94.65% white.

IslandVoiceUK · 13/07/2025 18:43

The most popular baby boy name in the Uk is Mohammed

TeenagersAngst · 13/07/2025 18:44

VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 17:06

VannessaFence:
'But for those who wish they could be like Japan and have one homogenous British racial and cultural identity - that's simply not our history. That ship sailed (quite literally) with the explorers.'
It literally is my history and the histories of millions of others. Mass migration into Britain is a recent phenomenon. Census data proves this. And for those of us who married our fellow Brits, that 'racial and cultural identity' continues through our children.

When you say recent what do you mean? The number of immigrants has increased in the last couple of decades but we've had large scale immigration since the 50s.

Prior to that British territory extended across most of the world through empire. This country took great pains to spread British cultural norms around the world and install the Queen as the head of state. As a country you cannot act in this way and then be protectionist about your own culture and race. As I said in a PP, my partner's South Asian family have white British people in their family tree from the colonial era.

The idea that we were a homogenous bunch of Anglo Saxons quietly minding our own business until all these immigrants arrived is nonsense. We're quite possibly the most globalist country in history and have welcomed and encouraged immigration/emigration for our own monetary gain for a long, long time.

Yes let's have a debate about whether immigration is too high and let's talk about ensuring people are integrating into British culture. But trying to maintain a "racial identity"? i.e. assigning value to people based on the colour of their skin? That is just racist.

I’d say the 1950s is recent in the context of migration. People say Britain has always been a melting pot but it really hasn’t. Migration has always existed but the white Briton was by far the majority demographic then things started to change in the 1950s/1960s.

Even then, for up to 20/30 years afterwards, it was still overwhelmingly white.

Noodledog · 13/07/2025 18:45

Tofana · 13/07/2025 13:51

Acknowledging that white people have done shitty things isnt self hatred, it’s knowing what I think is an acceptable way to treat people.
I treat everyone the same. I don’t have some white saviour complex. Last person I had a physical fight with was an ethnic minority. Just because I can’t stand racists doesn’t mean i infantilise PoC etc :s

Bloody hell, how many "physical fights" do you get in? Most people manage to get through life quite easily getting into no fights whatsoever.
Sounds like you have anger management problems.

Miaw111 · 13/07/2025 19:00

OP - this thread has proved your point. The first page alone has posters blaming Asian heritage people for the racism they experience...!

VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 19:03

I think you've all missed the point that I was making that Britain prior to the 50s extended across most of the world as the British empire.

For example, if you were born in Jamaica pre-independence you were considered a Citizen of the UK & Colonies and had the right to live and work in the UK. Many Jamaicans were taught that the UK was "the motherland" and to view themselves as part of Britain. Can you not see how nonsensical it is to do this and then complain about people moving from Jamaica to the UK?

The UK population may have been less racially diverse pre-1950s (assuming you discount the Irish population) but we were exporting Brits across the world, colonising countries and telling them they were now a part of Britain! Can you not see the hypocrisy here?!

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 13/07/2025 19:16

Namitynamename · 13/07/2025 17:53

Game theory would suggest that racial profiling is counterproductive.
Rape is hard to search for. But the majority of knife crime is also carried out by men and is maybe a better example as it involves carrying a knife..
Imagine that to tackle knife crime the police regularly stop and search men. Including all young men**. This is hugely unfair on those young men who are left feeling like second class citizens. It also means that the men who carry knives just ask their girl friends to put them in their handbags. So knife detection goes down. That's why nightclub bouncers often check women's handbags.
Randomised checks are actually much more effective at stopping crime and terrorism than racial profiling.

** I know this was an issue especially for young black men in London with stop and search
.it had similar results. Other groups were asked to carry knives and in some cases individuals drawn into crime when they wouldn't have been previously.

I would be seriously unimpressed if a senior anti terrorism official suggested running AT operations based on ' game theory'.

Namitynamename · 13/07/2025 19:30

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 13/07/2025 19:16

I would be seriously unimpressed if a senior anti terrorism official suggested running AT operations based on ' game theory'.

Wait till you here about RAND...
I

overthehillsandverynear · 13/07/2025 19:30

VanessaFence · 13/07/2025 19:03

I think you've all missed the point that I was making that Britain prior to the 50s extended across most of the world as the British empire.

For example, if you were born in Jamaica pre-independence you were considered a Citizen of the UK & Colonies and had the right to live and work in the UK. Many Jamaicans were taught that the UK was "the motherland" and to view themselves as part of Britain. Can you not see how nonsensical it is to do this and then complain about people moving from Jamaica to the UK?

The UK population may have been less racially diverse pre-1950s (assuming you discount the Irish population) but we were exporting Brits across the world, colonising countries and telling them they were now a part of Britain! Can you not see the hypocrisy here?!

The British Empire was pretty much over by the middle of the 20th century, Most of these artificial constructs do tend to collapse eventually, and it's just one of many empires that have existed throughout the world's history. Plus many countries demanded and/or fought for their independence - good for them!

SigmundinaCafe · 13/07/2025 20:06

I do not believe white people will ever experience the inherent suffering we’ve caused to non whites.

You claim that white people can’t be victims of racism — but if that’s true, how do you explain the accounts of many white victims of grooming gangs, who have clearly stated that their abuse involved racial and religious hostility? The perpetrators would refer to them as ‘white slags’ and claim that ‘white girls and non-Muslim girls are bad because [they] dress like slags’.

You come across as deeply misinformed and unable to express your thoughts clearly — frankly, it sounds like you have little understanding of the topic you’re trying to discuss.

NoisyMonster678 · 13/07/2025 20:16

I believe that every attitude ( both positive and negative ) comes right back to people, like a boomerang and ignorance is bliss to some until it bounces back.

I have seen this happen in real life and wow its extraordinary.

The situation you described OP, remember you and your family are not at fault, and I believe you know this and you are on he right track.

I understand, the experience is pretty is shamefull for the racists and wow have they got it coming back to them, its just a matter of time.

MuckFusk · 13/07/2025 21:13

TeenagersAngst · 13/07/2025 09:53

Also, an increasing trend towards Christmas being referenced as ‘the holidays’, US style.

Which is a problem because....? That's about acknowledging that Christmas is mostly secular now. It has nothing to do with immigration and these allegations of erasing UK culture.

TeenagersAngst · 13/07/2025 21:23

MuckFusk · 13/07/2025 21:13

Which is a problem because....? That's about acknowledging that Christmas is mostly secular now. It has nothing to do with immigration and these allegations of erasing UK culture.

By ‘Christmas is mostly secular’ - I assume you mean it is over commercialised and many people who celebrate Christmas do not do so through a religious lens.

That may be so, but why the need to rebrand it away from ‘Christmas’ into something else? And I don’t believe it’s as innocent as you make out.

MuckFusk · 13/07/2025 21:26

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 13/07/2025 14:49

I wonder what proportion of rapists carry rape kits? How would searching a man reveal if he is a pedophile rapist? This is just silly, knee jerk crap. Terrorists carry bombs and weapons. That is why searches are carried out. And the vast proportion of bomb and weapon attacks in this country are carried out by people who would not be characterised as ' white'. You know that's true. It may not correspond with how we may like life to be, but there it is.

What percentage of brown people carry bombs? Since terrorism is vastly less common than sexual offences, do the math. Try applying your own reasoning consistently.
I actually know of a case that happened near me where a man was behaving suspiciously, appeared to be following a woman and she called the police. He was arrested on the basis of having a rape kit, even though he never got a chance to attack her. Rape kits are obviously going to be more common than bombs FFS. How about kiddie porn in men's phones? Should men's phones be searched for that randomly? That would certainly reveal them as pedos.

Make a silly suggestion, get a silly one in return. Don't like it, don't make silly suggestions.

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