What kind of utterly moronic f***wit is this man?

[MrsMerryHenry]

This morning. Me (black) and DS (multi-ethnic) at the bus stop. DS is 2. I am chatting on the phone. DS is playing with his toys.

Odd man (white) standing at bus stop. Giving DS dirty looks. WTF??

So I say to Odd Man: 'You seem to be giving my child strange looks and I'm wondering why.'

Odd Man approaches (smell of booze wafts over) and says, 'Well, he was giving me strange looks.'

'He was giving you dirty looks? He's two years old!! Two-year-olds can't give dirty looks!'

Odd Man then mutters some incomprehensible nonsense and I instruct him to go back and wait for his bus, which he does. He is definitely drunk. Standing, but drunk. Then starts yabbering on about how he'd rather sit next to a 'British lady, alright? British lady.', referring to an old, white lady standing next to me.

At this point the penny dropped. He's a racist. A drunken, brainless racist. He saw two brown-skinned people and decided that the child would be less able to defend himself so started giving him dirty looks.

What a prick.

The sad thing is, it makes me wonder whether this BNP election result will fuel more brainless morons into taking direct action against other brown-skinned people. And judging by yesterday's convo about people not offering seats to pregnant women, I have to ask myself how many non-racists would be willing to do anything about it.

MMH - he is everything you describe - I hope that in our children, we might be able to stamp this terrible crap out - glad your day got better.

MrsMH - sorry? Bemused. Were you asking me my ethic origin? It's white UK.

In a roundabout way, yes - because for some reason which I can't recall, I'd always thought you were black! I had a very clear image of you looking like Skin from Skunk Anansie, believe it or not!!

So when you wrote what you wrote about your mother, I thought: huh??

Makes sense now, tho.

I can't imagine any situation when a child is being abused when I wouldnt step in and offer support of some sort. SO unacceptable.

The only time we have suffered overtly from racist abuse DS was also about two and I said nothing just because I was so shocked (also drunk man) Thankfully one of the friends of the drunk idiot said to him " what did you say that for" and hussled him away.

Why are some people so convinced that the source of all their problems is some stranger who is a different colour? WHy can't they spot the glaring problmes in themselves?

MrsMH, i wonder if being a black woman you are less likely to hear the racist comments that I as a white woman hear regularly?
I hear it all the time, because people think it's ok to use racist language around me. They see no reason why it should upset me.
These same people probably wouldn't dare actually voice their opinions in front of you.

MrsMH! So for you that you had to have this experience. Still enough of the narrowminded gits out there, sadly, to darken someone's day every now and then.

I dont think drunkenness is an excuse really, although he probably would have been less obvious about it had he been sober.
Git.

Have a biiiiig (hug) from me for you and your DS.

Dragonbutter, you are so right. I am mixed heritage but look kind of mediterranean and sound completley British. I've heard people say some awful things.

MrsMH: Fair enough. I am old enough to be a bit 'on the internet no-one knows you're a dog' ie I don't often know - or think much- about which MNers are of which ethnic origin, same as I am regularly surprised by people turning out to be men/women when I had vaguely thought they were the opposite sex.
My mother is more elderly-reactionary-high-Tory than actively racist BTW, she says unfortunate things but is never deliberately rude or offensive. I know it's not right and frequently challenge her on it, but she's 76 and not likely to get the idea now sadly...

Thanks for your lovely messages, everyone. DB - very interesting, and sadly I think you're right. Even more sadly to me, your post (and SG's post) reminded me of unfortunate things that my parents would say about 'white people', comparing European and African culture and behaviour. It always made me uncomfortable as a child - you know when your parents are saying stuff you know isn't right but they're your parents, surely they're meant to be right all the time?

On a lighter note you reminded me of this website, which made me smile.

Nighty night, y'all.

lol MrsMH - I like the Vespa entry!

Sorry for the Hijack

Kew - if you're still around. Come on over here for a chat

Love that link MrsMH.

It's so random, isn't it! At first I was affronted by the title, then I read it and giggled, and then I started to think: Hey! I like some of this stuff, too!

I can't believe the writer's made a book out of it, though...

Some people drive me nuts.

Cheeky old bastard.

The good news is, most of these crazy old racists are old and will die fairly soon.

I'm personally ashamed that we are so apathetic in this country that not enough people turned out to vote and so a fringe party like the BNP got a shot.

I'm sorry you experienced this - if I had seen it I would have shouted at him on your behalf!

at whomoved!

MrsMerryHenry - I see your point above about the Asian chap being horrible to the eastern European woman and was reminded about a recent encounter with my OHs extended family. they are all of Hungarian descent, first and second generation...the first generation having moved over here in the 60s. They were really laying into 'all these bloody eastern europeans' and other foreigners coming over here, not working and claiming benefits, or taking 'our' jobs...I just could not BELIEVE it!!!!!

It's incredible, isn't it, willow? But they would probably somehow manage to convince themselves that they were different from the other immigrants.

Wasn't Michael Portillo (son of Portuguese immigrants) also meant to be anti-immigration before he left politics and joined the real world?

I believe (having been told this by someone who lives there) that in Slough, which has quite a high Polish population from the war era, the "old" Polish guard are quite anti-immigration by the "new" Polish influx; especially the newest influx who seem to be less work-oriented than their predecessors. The "old" Poles think it is giving them a bad name.

Now there's a surprise, thumbwitch. It's never occured to me to derogate newcomers from Africa, how bizarre. It's just people, innit? We're all crap in one way or another but somehow always consider ourselves to be 'better' than someone else.

Also wow - if the new Poles are less work-oriented than the old Poles, then ! All the Poles I know (many: I used to live there) are extremely conscientious.

I was thinking this morning about the things my parents used to say - they were very morally conservative and used to criticise white Brits' apparent lack of morals with regard to sex on TV, newspapers (though my Dad did buy The Sun on occasion ), revealing clothes, etc. They had great relationships with people of all ethnic backgrounds, though. So I'm confused as to how to categorise their 'white people' statements and I'm now trying to work out where on the 'racism' scale I would place them:

Positives:

1. They left their home country to settle in the UK
2. My mother always used to talk about how beautiful multi-ethnic people were, and that they were lucky to have 'the best of both' in terms of genetic inheritance (ohhh, if only she were able to see my beautiful DS!)
3. My father was overjoyed by my choice of husband (white)
4. My mother was also very happy for me, though she expressed concern that it would be difficult for me to be in a relationship with someone of a different colour - I think this was more about society's response than our ability to build a damn fine marriage

Negatives:

1. They used to make critical comments about 'white people' (see above) I can't recall them ever criticising anything apart from the 'moral' stuff which I mentioned.

Not convinced I'd call them racist, but then perhaps it's not me who should decide that. What do you think?