to get a sinking feeling whenever someone begins a sentence "I'm not racist, but..."

[deaconblue]

twice in a couple of weeks people I really like have begun like this and completed their sentence with, if not racist, certainly prejudiced statements. I often wish I could just leg it out of the room when I hear a sentence beginning with that phrase.

you sicken me you hate-monger

obviously aimed at the egg and spoon bigot, and not your therapist quote

well, you know, some of my best friends are eggs and spoons, but I just wasn't brought up that way, and it's like a different culture and I can't be expected to understand about eggs and they probably don't like me anyway.

Im confused are you actually angry mayor or are you being sarcastic?

I have no idea about the egg n spoon comment..I dont get it. Rather dim today I have to say.

Ok, I looked it up, I always thought use of the word 'racialist' was just a helpful indicator that someone was a moron, like people who can't even spell the racist terms they're using.

But it turns out that 'racialism' is subtly different from 'racism', at least according to wikipedia. So saying things like 'Chinese men are generally shorter than English men' could be racialist, without being racist.

Of course, to say such a thing, you're assuming that our popular conception of 'races' make sense etc etc, but still ...

Reminds me of those sentences that start "no offense, but..." and then go on to say something really offensive.

Or "don't take this the wrong way, but..."

When someone says that than get a heavy frying pan ready because it's going to be something you can only take one way

I think Mayor Quimby got it - or s/he might be very hot under the collar about discrimination between races. Who knows!!

YANBU - my mum does this then says things like there were too many immigrant workers in town and she felt scared.

That's interesting. In that case racialist is not actually wrong is it (though the person saying it may mean racist). I mean I gather that certain races are genetically more susceptable to certain illnesses (sickle cell anemia?) That's not a criticism, just an observation.

YANBU. My heart sinks too especially when you think you know someone and that you also think they share the same morals and values as you.

I have become really good friends with someone I met at antenatal 6 years ago. I thought we were on the same wavelength and we are about so many things. A couple of weeks ago she commented that she would never go on holiday to Africa as she would hate to be surrounded by black people. I told her how I felt about this comment but since then she has made no mention of it and things have carried on as normal betweeen us. I feel so guilty about this. I really like her but feel its now only a matter of time before she spews another racist comment.

What does this say about me? - I would really like opinions on this.

no firm sense of satire here.

that's interesting about the racialism definition. i first became aware of racialist from sacha baron cohen using it as ali g satirising the stupidity of some who find it necessary to cry racism when much of the time the topic doesn't even include race.
i think he used it when someone said something about short people (or something equally as bland) and he looked stoney faced at the mp/whoever he was winding up and said "is that not racialist against short people?"

and since then have used it in the manner of taking the piss as do friends. e.g.
person 1 :ugh i hate black coffee
person 2: ooh racialist
and things equally as infantile that make me laugh after a few drins

the only person I have ever heard use the word racialist was Jade Goody

I have no friends who say 'I'm not a racist but...' as because as soon as they uttered those words my friendship with them would be over.

"Now I'm not a racialist, my first wife was a black lady, but "

So, marry another race, it makes you an expert, and also immune from criticism. What a winner!

(From a plumber, btw)

Nobiggy - I hate that whole idea. How can I be a racist, my brother's black.

or I'm Asian, so can I be racist? (from a collegue berating Somali's)

These sorts of coversations usually have a "It's PC gone mad" thrown in somewhere

And I loved the egg and spoon comment!
I'm not racist but I've never trusted the 500m

"Now I'm not a racialist, my first wife was a black lady, but "

couldn't agree more."i'm not racist some of my best friends are black...but you have to admit them muslims are shouldn't be allowed over here what with 9/11"
just because you may be tollerant of one/or even every race bar one doesn't mean you are not a racist.it just means that you are a selective racist. chances are it just means you haven't been given the opportunity to be more of one.

add to that people who think that only white people can be racist.
e.g.
"he's not racist he's black"
or around the time of that jade goody saga the amount of people coming to her defence with comments along the lines of "how can she be a racist/she's hardly a racist she's mixed race herself"

or "i doubt she's a racist her dad's black"

yes because only certain races are capable of being racist against a distinct group of other races.

I had a neighbour who was always coming out with the "I'm not racist but... blacks/Jews/travellers blah, blah" and then complaining that "I don't pay my taxes so that they can blah blah blah". Had to point out to her that she didn't actually work so her taxes weren't funding anything .

"Had to point out to her that she didn't actually work so her taxes weren't funding anything . "
it's also fun to point out to these morns that they are being anti-semetic when they are giving out about "the jews", xenophobic if it's about "them foreigners" and just plain biggoted/prejudice when they complain about travellers etc. they don't really know what to do with themselves then.

also could someone explain the whole anti-semetism thing?i'm irish so have no real cultural background on snti-semetism (i'm pretty sure our constitution even mentions jewish people as it was written around WWII) and any jews i've ever known it's been more of a joke than anything else as their's never been any real (at least in my generation/or maybe just the people i know) strong prejudice or oppression of jewish people.

with black people (or other clearly distinguishable ethnicities) i can understand it because it is so evident in much of the world (i don't mean understand as in agree with it, just that i can at least follow the ill-informed logic of it.fear of change,easily identifiable as different,easy scapegoat etc and there are so many examples from my own country as well that i see it's effects)

basicallyi'm wondering how people in britai who are so proud of their contribution in WW2 and rightly so, can then be anti-semetic when chances are any jewish people they know look like them,sound like them,probably were born in the same area/country and will have many similar customs. it's a big ask i know i've just never understood it.

It's me!

I knew you'd turn up sooner or later

Notwithstanding proper definitions of "racialist" - thanks NQC - I definitely have found that broadly speaking, in South Africa, people who say Racialist tend to me the most racist. I just assumed it was an easy way for me to spot them!

It is a good point someone raised though. How do you preface a phrase which could be taken as been racist?

Discussion around immigration and multi-culturism is a pretty interesting and valid debate to have but from (our) very liberal perspective there is a tendency to jump up and down and shout "ooh! ooh! racist! racist!" as soon as anyone raises a question or makes a statement which has a potentially negative implication for a minority group. That's probably why people feel the need to preface any comment like that with a disclaimer, whether they're racist or not.

I sometimes wonder whether the liberal left's reaction to these issues does more to stifle meaningful debate on these matters than anything else.

But I don't think this sort of preface is any use - racists don't (generally) realise they're racists, anyway. So my own opinion about whether I'm racist isn't worth anything.

(I did start a thread ages ago, saying that everyone was racist, it was a question of context, degree, and what you did with your prejudices ...)

homosexualist! that's funny!

i used to work with somebody who'd start a sentence that way, but I don't actually think she is racist. Even though initially I thought, hell, what's coming next?

She might not have been racist in her heart but she hadn't the brains she was born though!

What she meant, in her inarticulate way, was a black bitch is still a bitch whether she's black or white.

But by starting the 'gripe' with I'm not racist but, she dragged race into it, when it wasn't the relevant point.

arhgghgh! hope that makes sense.

I feel sorry for people who are too inarticulate and too thick to express themselves properly, sort out what's relevant/irrelevant and can't see the woods for the trees sometimes.