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Common racist comments you hear in 2023?

1000 replies

SleepDreamThinkHuge · 28/04/2023 06:48

Compared to 30 years ago, how is racism different today?

For me, racism terms such as the n word p word are less used than they were 30 years ago. However, people have looked at other avenues. See comments below.

  1. "You have a chip over your shoulder" every time someone mentions racism or their lived experience it goes straight to denial mode. You are blamed for your lived experiences and told to get over it and how UK is not racist.

  2. "The UK abolished slavery. slavery was a long time ago." Every time someone tries to put forward a view of reparations of people who are still suffering from the effects of slavery they are shut down. "that was a long time ago we have changed and evolved."

  3. "I feel like a foreigner in my own country." Which is probably one of the most stupid statements considering that over 80 percent of the population is white. I always answer if you feel like a foreigner how do minorities feel?

  4. "name the racists" commonly said for Megan Markle that she should name the racists she claimed in the Royal family. But lets be honest if you did that the other person in whatever circumstance would just deny it and ultimately you will not be believed and be called someone who plays the race card and tarnishing other people's careers.

  5. "Why do black people have their own spaces if white people had it we would be accused of racism" This is commonly said by the same people who are not as vocal when other groups have their own space e.g. women, LGBT groups etc.. It just seems like whenever black people have their own space people have to put them down. Take Ngozi Fulani the media made it seem she was the bad person people argued why her charity helps black people suffering from domestic abuse. Sad how she was forced out Sistah Space due to the abuse she faced but the media never mention that and the racism she had to face.

  6. "Racism exists in all communities" this is another common one used and is a whataboutery technique. We have seen this with people like Kanye, KSI recently but what people forget there was a lot of criticism from the black community with their actions. So to suggest the black community or any other community does not do anything about racism is for the birds.

  7. "My best friend is black" This is something you would hear from the EDL or Britain First. But you would be surprised how often you hear this by a lot of people. Just because your friend or relative is black, Muslim, Asian etc does not mean you cannot be racist. Even if you are a white mother and your child is mixed race does not mean you cannot be racist. It is baffling how a lot of people seem to forget this and think that my saying I cannot be racist because of this automatically means they cannot.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
32
skullbabe · 21/07/2023 14:06

PinotGroggio · 21/07/2023 08:49

I work somewhere that seems to have only discovered racism exists after George Floyd was murdered and one of the senior managers, a white man, is very fond of giving presentations where he quotes Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King or Bob Marley 😬

Omg 😳

QuietUnicorn · 21/07/2023 20:16

@Socrateswasrightaboutvoting
Yes, I've had some people make weed references and attempted to touch my bushy/fluffy/exotic hair. 🙄

Although the examples that I've given are quite tame, compared to the other experiences on this thread, it can still get quite wearisome.
Most of the time I just laugh to myself and put it down to ignorance.

@PinotGroggio
"I work somewhere that seems to have only discovered racism exists after George Floyd was murdered and one of the senior managers, a white man, is very fond of giving presentations where he quotes Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King or Bob Marley 😬"

Oh lawd!

HadalyEve · 21/07/2023 21:30
cat dog GIF

I used to get the assumption I had weed to sell quite often as a young woman. The touching my hair was often combined with sniffing my head (I’m not very tall) and just made me feel like this.

Now I am well past 40 it’s restricted to comments.

QuietUnicorn · 22/07/2023 06:53

HadalyEve · 21/07/2023 21:30

I used to get the assumption I had weed to sell quite often as a young woman. The touching my hair was often combined with sniffing my head (I’m not very tall) and just made me feel like this.

Now I am well past 40 it’s restricted to comments.

How intrusive!😳

People are so strange.

Iwasafool · 22/07/2023 10:52

HadalyEve · 21/07/2023 21:30

I used to get the assumption I had weed to sell quite often as a young woman. The touching my hair was often combined with sniffing my head (I’m not very tall) and just made me feel like this.

Now I am well past 40 it’s restricted to comments.

That must be so irritating. I used to get fed up of comments about being teetotal because obviously as I'm Irish I must be verging on alcoholism at the very least.

I do remember my late MIL laughing in someone's face when they made comments about her needing to be careful what she was drinking as she'd need to be at Mass in the morning. As a proud Orange woman the idea of going to Mass, drunk or sober, was something she'd never have contemplated.

It's hard to work out how some people's minds work. I can't work out the sniffing your head, what on earth were they thinking?

Socrateswasrightaboutvoting · 22/07/2023 11:40

HadalyEve · 21/07/2023 21:30

I used to get the assumption I had weed to sell quite often as a young woman. The touching my hair was often combined with sniffing my head (I’m not very tall) and just made me feel like this.

Now I am well past 40 it’s restricted to comments.

There is quite a fascination with afro hair isn't there. The smell. the feel, what we put on it. It never feels like 'same but different' curiosity, just 'othering'.

Socrateswasrightaboutvoting · 22/07/2023 12:07

Iwasafool · 22/07/2023 10:52

That must be so irritating. I used to get fed up of comments about being teetotal because obviously as I'm Irish I must be verging on alcoholism at the very least.

I do remember my late MIL laughing in someone's face when they made comments about her needing to be careful what she was drinking as she'd need to be at Mass in the morning. As a proud Orange woman the idea of going to Mass, drunk or sober, was something she'd never have contemplated.

It's hard to work out how some people's minds work. I can't work out the sniffing your head, what on earth were they thinking?

I grew up in a major city in the 70's. We were conditioned (not by family but rather the government, media etc) to think negatively of the Irish. I didn't recognise this until my early teens when I started working and there were people whose families came from NI and Eire in my friendship group that I really understood the extent of the conditioning.

Reugny · 22/07/2023 16:29

@Socrateswasrightaboutvoting I had similar so much so in my older siblings circles people realised what was going on and started supporting certain paramilitary organisations.

Reugny · 24/07/2023 13:19

Just so it is here in case other posts elsewhere on MN mention it - https://metro.co.uk/2023/07/24/police-arrest-mum-in-front-of-crying-son-for-not-paying-for-her-bus-ticket-19180165/?ico=trending-module_category_news_item-0

Fellow MP Claudia Webbe said: ‘The most disrespected person is the black woman. The most unprotected person is the black woman. The most neglected person is the black woman.
‘The Met Police is the boot of the state; they do not care about black people, and black women in particular.’

Also why is this "Joe" not speaking to the police?

PinotGroggio · 24/07/2023 14:08

Oh yes, I'm sure Cassandra from Kensington would've been treated the same way by police officers. Outrageous.

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 14:50

It seems rather excessive to do all that,in the belief that she had not paid the bus fare. Her poor son, screaming while all that was happening was horrendous, the poor child.

Roussette · 24/07/2023 15:30

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 14:50

It seems rather excessive to do all that,in the belief that she had not paid the bus fare. Her poor son, screaming while all that was happening was horrendous, the poor child.

And they had actually made a mistake and she had paid. Awful.

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 15:53

Yes, that is true@Roussette . I just do not understand why they were arresting her before they had established whether she had paid the fair, or not. It just all seems rather heavy handed. I am surprised that they would arrest people for this, as opposed to giving them an on the spot fine though.

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 16:40

I don't understand why she wouldn't show them her ticket or if she couldn't find it why she wouldn't give her name and address. Isn't that what normally happens? I know she did have the ticket, don't know if she found it or they searched her but sometimes you can't find a ticket or receipt in the moment - well I can't as I shove them in my pocket so often have a selection to go through.

I'm not sure what the police were supposed to do if she wouldn't produce the ticket to the inspectors or give them her name and address or are people saying the police were lying and just did it for no reason. If the ticket inspectors were checking tickets and had the police there for backup there must be some sort of issue.

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 16:41

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 15:53

Yes, that is true@Roussette . I just do not understand why they were arresting her before they had established whether she had paid the fair, or not. It just all seems rather heavy handed. I am surprised that they would arrest people for this, as opposed to giving them an on the spot fine though.

Reading it it seems like she wouldn't show the ticket or give her name and address and tried to walk off. Not sure how they would establish she had paid without that.

BiscuitsBiscuitsEverywhere · 24/07/2023 17:06

It's outrageous and so blatantly racist. And yet they blithely say they see nothing wrong with the way the poor woman was treated.

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 17:33

BiscuitsBiscuitsEverywhere · 24/07/2023 17:06

It's outrageous and so blatantly racist. And yet they blithely say they see nothing wrong with the way the poor woman was treated.

But if she wouldn't show them the ticket or give them her name and address what do you think they should do?

BiscuitsBiscuitsEverywhere · 24/07/2023 18:15

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 17:33

But if she wouldn't show them the ticket or give them her name and address what do you think they should do?

They should have treated her with respect. They shouldn't have manhandled her or handcuffed her, for a start. Nor should they have separated her from her distraught child. Even if she had committed the terrible crime of not paying her bus fare 🙄 it still would have been outrageous behaviour on the part of the police. And I don't believe for a moment that they would have behaved that way if she had been a white woman.

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 18:51

They should have treated her with respect. They shouldn't have manhandled her or handcuffed her, for a start. Nor should they have separated her from her distraught child. Even if she had committed the terrible crime of not paying her bus fare 🙄 it still would have been outrageous behaviour on the part of the police. And I don't believe for a moment that they would have behaved that way if she had been a white woman.

Exactly this! Hopefully that should suffice for you@Iwasafool. Also as a woman of colour I would not put it past the police to not have given her any time to provide her ticket before coming in strong. They say one thing, but their actions say another. Even if she had not paid to travel, the way that the police behaved was unnecessary.

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 18:58

BiscuitsBiscuitsEverywhere · 24/07/2023 18:15

They should have treated her with respect. They shouldn't have manhandled her or handcuffed her, for a start. Nor should they have separated her from her distraught child. Even if she had committed the terrible crime of not paying her bus fare 🙄 it still would have been outrageous behaviour on the part of the police. And I don't believe for a moment that they would have behaved that way if she had been a white woman.

She wasn't put in handcuffs because she hadn't paid a fare, she was put in handcuffs because she tried to walk off when asked to either show her ticket or give her name and address.

I think she is the one responsible for her child's distress.

So you think if a white woman was asked to produce something, ticket, receipt for shopping, driving licence or whatever and she refused, got abusive and tried to walk off you think the police would have just stood there and let her go? I've seen a white woman arrested in similar circumstances when she was stopped for suspected shoplifting and yes she ended up in handcuffs.

If the report is wrong and there wasn't some sort of swoop going on with ticket inspectors with police back up and they only stopped her and didn't give her a chance to produce the ticket then that is definitely wrong and racist but that isn't what is being reported.

I just don't understand why she wouldn't show them the ticket.

Sorry I don't like racism but this isn't it.

Iwasafool · 24/07/2023 19:02

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 18:51

They should have treated her with respect. They shouldn't have manhandled her or handcuffed her, for a start. Nor should they have separated her from her distraught child. Even if she had committed the terrible crime of not paying her bus fare 🙄 it still would have been outrageous behaviour on the part of the police. And I don't believe for a moment that they would have behaved that way if she had been a white woman.

Exactly this! Hopefully that should suffice for you@Iwasafool. Also as a woman of colour I would not put it past the police to not have given her any time to provide her ticket before coming in strong. They say one thing, but their actions say another. Even if she had not paid to travel, the way that the police behaved was unnecessary.

As I said above it wasn't about paying, it was her refusing to produce the ticket or give her name and address and trying to walk off. If the police didn't give her that chance then that is wrong but it isn't what is being reported and she had already refused to comply with the ticket inspectors so not just the police word on this.

Believe me I don't think the police always get it right but if she refused quite reasonable requests, I think it is in the terms of travel that you produce a ticket if requested, then I say again what do you think they should do? Should anyone be able to just say no I'm not showing you a ticket or saying who I am? How man people would bother paying in that case and then when the service stops as uneconomic we'd all lose out.

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 19:13

You can think that she is responsible for her child's distress all you like@Iwasafool . Hopefully there are more people who think the opposite. The fact remains that the police were acting rather forcefully for want of a bus ticket. I, thankfully do not believe everything that I read either. The media have not been known to be too honest imo. I was not there, neither were you, but you are so willing to believe that she was in the wrong because of what you have read.

LadyKenya · 24/07/2023 19:15

Also you are so sure that racism had no place there@Iwasafool Hmm

SleepDreamThinkHuge · 24/07/2023 19:42

It is a shame that people who are the first to scream out women's rights are nowhere to be seen or play down racism/unconscious bias. As they would say they need to check their own privilege as well.

Black people in particular are stopped and search more. It is always the usual thing you "fit the profile" or the stereotypes that exist lead to racism/unconscious bias e.g. being followed in shops more because they suspect them of theft. Look how long Stephen Lawrence's murder was and not everyone involved was caught. We hear stupid comparisons to this day. His parents are grifters, milking it etc.. And the ridiculous comparisons to why Lee Rigby does not have his own day. Here is the difference - Stephen Lawrence killers did not all go to prison Lee Rigby's killer is not walking the street.

OP posts:
BombasticSideEye · 25/07/2023 00:07

I actually don't even bother engaging with a lot of threads on MN anymore. There have been threads where I've felt like I have something constructive to add or some words of support to offer a poster but racism on MN has become so bloody rife, I just can't trust that I'm interacting with people that deserve my time or would give me the time of day if they knew I was black. I suspect it won't be long before I completely deactivate. I'm here out of habit more than anything now. MNHQ are clearly happy with the status quo as evidenced by their lack of action in this area so I can only surmise that black women aren't truly welcome here.

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