To think I should be able to express a desire to not want to send my child to the local school which has more than 95% asian children and not be called a racist!

[Sails]

The school is a few minutes walk away from me but I have no intention of sending my children there. Most classes there isn't a single white child in it especially the younger end of the school. The other nearest school is about a 25 minute walk away. It has a 50% mix have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. I have asian neighbours and even they don't even send their Reception child to the local school. Told my hairdresser that I don't want to send my child to x school and she said "thats a bit racist!" Told my neighbour and she too was shocked and said I am probably the least racist person she knows!

I don;t think it's racist, it's your personal choice. You're not bad-mouthing foreigners - if you were then THAT would be racist. It's just like, for example, if you lived in Wales and the local school was full of Welsh speakers - if you don't speak Welsh then you won't send your child there. YANBU, I think everyone who says YABU is BVU.

Thanks haemomum!Must admit not something I am used to being called and I think far to many bandy that title about without fully realizing its meaning/how hurtful it is! I'm wondering if the hairdresser was in this category and didn't realize how much she offended me? She'd probab

Thanks haemomum!Must admit not something I am used to being called and I think far to many bandy that title about without fully realizing its meaning/how hurtful it is! I'm wondering if the hairdresser was in this category and didn't realize how much she offended me? She'd probab

Oops didn't mean to post then! Was saying would prob be horrified to find she was a subject of a mn discussion!

MrsSparkle - direct quote fom Spokette on that thread "They like Bob the builder and to my knowledge, there are no black characters there but they watch it because they really enjoy it. So I am not anal about it."

Her point was tht she liked her DC's to watch programmes with positive role models (for them ie non-white), She didn't actually say she stopped them watching programmes which had only white people in them. That was YOUR construct.

'i went to catholic school- its horrific, your child will end up getting very sore knees(all the kneeling to pray), end up with terrible guilt issues( sex- bad, sinners the lot of you kind of crap, only marry a catholic and stay married regardless of spouse beating shag '

I went to Catholic schools. From there I went to Oxford (first person in my family to go to University). I married a Presybterian Scot. We are very happy and have been for 13 years.

They taught me respect for myself as a human being; and that there is more to being a woman than being a sexual object. Pretty good message to grow up with, I believe.

Gosh Bob the builder, how very brave of her

The reason i found the thread so typical is because if i, a white person, had started that thread and stated it the other way around, i would have been branded a racist. I think i said that on the thread too.

yes I remember you saying it repeatedly. I just didn't agree with you then and I don;t agree with you now. I do agree that its possible for non-white people to be racist, its just that you take every opportunity to accuse non-whites on these kind of threads of being racist.

In truth I doubt (or you would have made the point by now) that you have suffered from real racism and I venture to bet that virutally every non-white person in this country has suffered from racism to varying degrees. I would find your harping about us poor white people being prejudiced against more convincing if you put it into some kind of context ie thats its a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the issues of racism that non-whites still face in this country.

I'm white and have lived in this country all my 44 years bar three when I lived in a black African country and I've never had to deal with so much as a throw away line in either country. It only took 12months of living in the UK with a non-white child for racist comments to be directed at them in the street.

Your insistence on trying to position white racism as on a par with any other kind sticks in my throat somewhat.

And why is Bob the builer and more than in the night garden? We were discussing childrens programmes FFS, she has toddlers, it would've looked pretty bloody odd if she'd said University challenge.

"its just that you take every opportunity to accuse non-whites on these kind of threads of being racist."

Apart from the thread we have been discussing, where??

So why is it ok for a non white to want to let her dc only watch programmes that have a balance of non white people/charactors and white charactors rather than ALL white programmes and that's not racist in anyway.

Yet it's not ok for a white British person to not want to send her dc to a school that is 95% Asian and would rather send her dc to a school where it is more 50/50 and yet that is racist?

Can you really not see where i am coming from here?

"Your insistence on trying to position white racism as on a par with any other kind sticks in my throat somewhat."

That's not what i am trying to do at all and you really appear to be mising the whole point. I know what kind of racism that went on by the generations before me and i am not trying to trivulise that in anyway.

What i am saying is in 2009 Britain, racism is increasing towards white people too, yet you seem admant to egnore this? Or is it because it's ok to be racist to a white person because the generations of white people before us were vile and racist towards non whites etc so we somehow ^deserve it?

OP YANBU.

MsSparkle i don't know which thread you are refering to but i agree with you when you say that racism is increasing towards white people in this country and that it is mostly egnored because it's like we somehow deserve it. I wasn't born when the worst of the racism went on yet i am somehow blamed for it because of the colour of my skin.

I have been victim to many racist attacks (i have alot of black friends and go to alot of places that are mostly black people and whilst there are some that accept me, there are many that don't) but because no one takes it seriously, i just don't say anything anymore. I think there are a number of white people who suffer racism these days but keep quiet about it because they get the "Oh poor you" attitude. It does seem like people think i deserve this because of the actions of those who were racist before my time.

Kew, i am well aware that non white people still face racism everyday, but i feel that doesn't give you the right to refer to us "poor" white people as though we are just whinging about nothing. Just because racism towards white people is in a minority (although because i suspect most isn't spoken out about i can't be sure about this?) that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken seriously. Just because you yourself have never experienced it, that doesn't mean others haven't. I think it might depend on where you live.

A little while back, i went to club with a few friends. It was what you would call a black club, i went because i love the music. I was let in, but made to feel really uncomfortable, everyone was staring at me, giving me dirty looks and there were a few indirect comments from people. I left soon after because i was made to feel so unwelcome being a white person. I was the only white person in the club.

I thought after, for people who are always saying, why should the colour of your skin matter? They didn't half make an issue of it.

I wouldn't want my daughter to go to a 95% Asian school (even though she is part-Asian herself!) Or a 95% anything school - I would prefer she went somewhere more diverse. I don't see that that is racist.

It seems a bit disingenuous to say that you should be completely indifferent to the racial make-up of your child's school.

If the OP had said she did not want to send her child to a 95% white school and was sending them instead to the 50% white school down the road, she would be applauded!

Yes YABU

Many people refuse to send their DC to our local school because they are worried about them being in a minority. The school is 85% Muslim. It really irritates me when I see them all driving to another school 20 minutes away.

I agree it is in the best interests of the whole community to be more mixed, but how will this ever be achieved unless people are brave enough to try the local school out?

I thought about this thread today when I was out with ds1 at about school finishing time. I saw a stream of children and their parents all in the school uniform of the school abit further away that I mentioned walking home. All walking towards and beyond the direction of my house some even walking past the local school in question. So it seems that I certainly wont be alone for the school run and I am obviously not the only one who feels like this. But I knew that anyway as I have previously mentioned all my friends who live locally with children similar ages either have done or will do the same which is probably why I was so taken back by the comment.

So if all those other people jumped over a cliff would you jump too?

If all those other people started to send their DC to the local school, it would then become more mixed which would be of benefit to the whole community.

I hate segregation.

Of course the OP is NBU to opt to send her child to school which is not her local school because she prefers to do so, for whatever reason.

However, that wasn't the question she asked - she asked specifically whether she should be able to express a preference against this school in racial terms, without being labelled a racist.

YANBU. I'd be concerned about the vast majority of pupils not speaking English, regardless of race or colour.

you arent racist. I wouldnt want my DC's (half egyptian/english/russian jew/irish/canadian) to go to a school which had a huge majority of one race. To be honest I'd be worried they would be picked on as well as lose sight of their own heritage(s) or pick up habits that arent compatible with the manners we brought them up with.

i dont care if anyone calls me racist. Its my business where I send my kids.

Er, this thread is quite old

3 fucking years ago this thread was started!!

I am probably the least racist person she knows!

Does her social circle consist solely of you, Bernard Manning, Nick Griffin and John Terry?

zombie thread folks

Ooops hadn't realised, the original post is from nearly three years ago.

I bet the original poster has moved on and is busily taking skull measurements of different racial groups or trying to invade Poland.

YANBU

My ds is the only white boy in his class.

It's not a problem. Honestly! As long as its a good school.