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.

People are being really shitty to the OP here.
I totally understand the feeling of wanting to speak up but not feeling able to. Nobody wants a mouthful of abuse or any other abusive behaviour back, but you never know how people will respond.
OP, I'd write to the practice manager giving the day and time and tell them all the things this couple said. I know it's after the fact, but at least they can keep an eye out for it happening again.
And if it does happen again when you're there, go and have a quiet word at reception. So what if they know it's you? They've got something to be ashamed of; you haven't.

Why do you think she is decent?

She didn't confront two racists, can't possibly report them but has gone on here to show off about how decent she is.

That's not the sign of a decent person.

That's the sign of...

Somebody who's not decent

Sorry that happened to you. I have seen people watch gormlessly when harassment of women / racism happens.

Seriously? You think they should be removed from a GP’s list for making childish comments? Should people you deem racist not be allowed access to the NHS? Yet another MN on their high horse 🙄

Exactly - are you the speech police? The Wrongthink Stasi? If you don't like what someone says, but you don't say anything, what do you think anyone else will do? Feeble

If you see racists, you confront them.

No it's, no buts. No 'i don't want them speaking back at me'.

Doing nothing is cowardly.

Doing nothing but coming on here to show off that 'I'm sick of racists' is even worse.

In fact, you could even argue...

It's worse than racism

Of course it would have been satisfying if she had confronted them but it’s not my place to berate OP for what she didn’t do.

It doesn’t make her not decent. She still cares.

Agreed.

She cares about how she's seen.

Don't confuse that with caring about racism.

Confusing the two stems from the same place of ignorance as...

Racists.

This basically. You should’ve spoken up. The GP practice can’t do anything now.

Also we haven't actually determined that anything racist has happened.

Considering it's highly likely that those cunts voted for people who want to be privatise the NHS, then yes, remove them and give them what they want, a bill for their care.

It's pretty ironic people accusing the OP of virtue-signalling and then doing it themselves.
It's inconvenient but true that it can feel too intimidating to confront this sort of stuff in the moment. I'll hold up my hands and say I probably wouldn't. That doesn't make me worse than a racist

And? What’s that got to do with the price of fish?

I worked frontline for decades. People are racist, sexist, and every other ‘ist’ or ‘phobic’ you can think of, but you still have to patch them up (theoretically without judgement) and send them on their way. Had to do the same with criminals as well, although they obviously went to, or back to, prison at a point - who do you report them to for being torturers/murderers? The fact is, no matter what sort of utter arseholes people are, they are eligible for healthcare without judgement (of course, we privately judge, but not outwardly, and it can’t affect treatment). So zero idea of what OP is trying to achieve by trotting home and bashing this out on Mumsnet. Virtue signalling?

I doubt that if it was a private conversation, not directed at anyone ffs

@rhomb the best solution would have been to stand up to them.

I would have turned round and told them to stop being racist, that the NHS is very reliant on foreign workers, so if they dont like foreign people they should stop using the NHS and GP home.

I wish the bastards were made up, however millions of them voted with their racist brethren yesterday.

Have you quoted the wrong post?

I don’t know that it’s illegal - probably not - but a GP surgery can certainly make clear unpleasant speech like that is unwelcome in my opinion.
Maybe put up a sign or something?
But I think it would be too tricky to flag it with the couple directly since OP didn’t flag it with the reception at the time.

Racism is everyone's business so why don't you take your obviously racist feelings and go elsewhere.

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MNHQ

Yawn

Exactly it IS her business if she’s having to listen to that crap as well. They’re in a public space.

It’s not like a couple having a private chat in their front room and someone was listening in under the window ffs 🤦🏽‍♀️

Honestly this is where I miss living abroad. I didn’t understand most of what was being said in the local language, so I didn’t need to deal with that stuff 😂

Taking the piss out of someone's last name is not a hate crime.