AIBU to report racist comments made by a couple the GP waiting room?

[rhomb]

At the GP practice this morning. The practice has screens around the waiting areas which come up with name of patient, medical staff and room number when called up.

I was sitting behind a couple who did a running commentary between them. They used racist terms on the foreign sounding names. Then when a name came up such as John Pearson “ooh a proper name”.

I moved seats as I got fed up with the racism. They decided to move (unsure why) next to me. Then carried on. I was in two minds whether to report them. The couple would know it was me that reported them.

I am sick of racist people.

It’s not polite or nice but you can just tell people to shut the fuck up you know. I don’t think reporting them will do anything to be honest, I don’t really think you can be banned from the GP unless you do something to a staff member, you reporting this is just hearsay.

Thoughtcrime police has graced us.

Hilarious

Report to whom? To do what?

Obviously it's horrible but it's a private conversation. It's not illegal.

This. Either say something at the time, or let it go. The surgery will not do anything, I would have thought.

Is this a wind up?

What is this obsession with "reporting" things these days? Report to whom? We can all call out racists twats, why are you expecting to pass the buck and have someone else to do it for you?

They sound awful, but you should have made a comment to them at the time if you wanted them to know they were being offensive pillocks.

Is hating racism bad then? Oops.

They would still need medical care.

Plus there sounds like there is zero proof.

Wow the support for racism on here.

Yes the practice manager would have an interest in this ...Drs surgeries would have zero tolerance policies related to these things and remove people from their lists. Creating an intimidating environment is definitely not a no impact or harm event

If nothing else I'm sure they have the capacity to send out a message that such behaviour won't be tolerated...text, poster etc..

Most practices have a patient participation group who would discuss how to respond to this too

I might have been tempted to make a comment at the time but don’t think a complaint is appropriate.

Also if they moved next to you, as you claim that they did, and carried on, why did you remain silent? Strange.... But yes people should call out racism, Islamophobia etc.

If an employee was being racist you could report them. A member of the public not, unless it was hate speech.
You could have tried talking to them, maybe pointing out that many local citizens have names that originate in different parts of the world so it's not surprising that some come to the surgery.

You should have told them to keep their racism to themselves.

I assume when you say report them you mean you would report them to your gp surgery. What do you think the surgery will do?

Clue - it rhymes with duck call.

It's not a thought is it if it's spoken? It has become something more

A thought spoken is still a thought, what do you even mean?

YANBU, OP. You were right to move, the smell of their racism would have tainted you.

It sounds like they wanted a reaction from you, that’s why they moved closer to you.

The OP is desperate for everyone to tell her what a decent anti racist person she is.

Who would you report these people to?

How would you report them given you don't know their names?

What would you report them for?

What evidence do you actually have?

Can the other people who were there back you up over this story that definitely did happen?

Thoughts are the silent ones that stay in your head.
When you say it out loud, it's speech

It's 4.20 on a Friday and I didn't have any caffeine today, you could get me with a rubber chicken right now.

It becomes verbal when it’s spoken and subject to hate crime laws when it meets the threshold.

She is a decent, anti-racist person. Why would you think otherwise?

Huh?