Me and My Mates and Racism

Some of this could be a very myopic generational view.
Of the black kids I knew well growing up, at least 2 of them have been involved in some quite high profile race campaigns.

Being in my 50’s and brought up in the 70’s, racism was absolutely everywhere, and relatives and family friends that are older than me would consider it ‘normal’. Whereas my kids consider it unusual.

I wonder @Gegenpresser if you’re still in touch with your Chinese mate, whether you’ve asked him if he’s suffered any racial abuse in the last 18 months. Because racist attacks on SE Asians have gone through the roof, and people I know who had gone years without feeling vulnerable no longer feel that way.

 

We need to look at where minorities are underrepresented and take a good look at whether they have equal opportunity or not, I don't think its advisable to have equality of outcomes - who wants someone as a heart surgeon because they have a trait you are positively discriminating for rather then they are good at heart sugery?
BUT, if we look at things like, football management for example, its clear black people are hugely underrepresented given the number of black footballers there are - we need to at least be asking why that is?

 

Are there 2 black managers in the Championship? And one of them (Val) came through in a foreign country. That speaks volumes for the coaching through the FA.

 

Thing is, you need the equality of opportunity to be able to go to medical school and up the career path to be surgeon. This is less likely as a minority. My daughter's doing dentistry, those that have come in on access programmes ( so maybe help with getting the work experience, needing slightly lower grades etc ) aren't doing any worse than those who come from a dentistry background and have maybe been to private school.

 

I’ve just read a Twitter thread that’s led to me coming back to this.

Because there are clear examples of this in this very thread.

Pointing out racism in this country will get you more negative attention than saying something racist.

We have elected an obviously racist PM, and if a black person appears on TV and points that out (a fact with tons of readily available evidence) complaints to Ofcom go through the roof.

So let’s stop pretending that those of us who can see the racism are the snowflakes running the agenda here. We have an actual racist as PM, millions voted for him in full knowledge of that fact, so let’s stop pretending that 99% of the country are totally against racism. 40% of them voted Tory knowing we’d get a racist PM.

 

But that’s not according to the op and his experiences , despite all the news of people being sent discriminatory and hate messages etc ,most people that post against it are not really angered by it but just want to shout loudest on a forum .

 

I think Farridge is the first person I remember who was a high profile MoraL licensee. "How can I be racist - there are black people in my party (ukip at the time).
I would question the sanity of those people personally, but it is/was their choice.
Having heard Nigel speak many people thought "hey, I agree with him, and I'm definitely not racist". And so the moral licensees were born and are still with us. There are people I know and like who think it is ridiculous how many black people are on tv adverts, or playing Ann Boleyn in a drama series. They complain about these things in the certainty that they are not racists. It's sad to see but hopefully the younger generations to come will not be burdoned with such prejudices.
Maybe a good question for us all to consider is - if in the future (it certainly won't happen in my lifetime) the races mix to such a degree that there are few if any white/black people left would that be a cause for concern? If so why?
It brings to mind an old hit by Blue Mink.

 

Oh I agree, you have to go back through each step of the system and say, is it equal?

 

I saw a recent conversation where junior doctors were discussing their education experiences, and the majority were from public schools. The country has problems with race, gender/sex (I'll not split them, but that is a separate argument), *and* class. If you go to the right school, you can get into the right university and you are set for life. Look how many of the current (and recent) cabinets are ex-Etonian, ex-Oxford. Then look at the media, medical, banking and other professions and you can see countless examples of this.

It is harder to fail if you go to Eton and Oxford than it is to succeed if you don't.

 

And all has been going ‘backwards’ for a couple of decades. If you look at a cabinet from the 70’s and 80’s whilst dominated by the ruling class, they were rubbing shoulders with grammar school kids who were bright and worked hard. Wasn’t Major our last PM not to go to public school?

Yet the working class will vote for DePfeffel (man of the people) but dont like the look of Starmer, son of a nurse and a toolmaker, extremely bright and hard working.

Thatcher certainly succeeded in ensuring that no one like her would ever be granted any opportunities again by creating a self centred populace.

 

I agree, class discrimination is still discrimination, and almost as insidious. Private school, titles, etc, all designed to keep the rest of us out.

 

I’ve always follow the outlook that you like or don’t like someone for what’s inside not the outside.
Racism can run both ways and I particularly don’t like folk who chuck ‘ racist’ out if somebody critics them.
Funnily enough I was having a conversation with our next door neighbour ( lovely bloke Nigerian built like a brick shithouse ) says the only ‘discrimination he’s ever been on the end of was football related to do with the team rather than colour.
Speaking of football, folk talking about racist comments at football, I remember in the seventies where whole ‘ends’ were bouncing up and down singing wer’e going P*** bashing, now that really was a sign of the times then

 

Just because racism was more blatant in the past doesn't mean we don't have to try to combat it now though?