my heart broke today....

For absolute clarity Sabu from the* jungle** films.* is actually what was posted

Leaping to conclusions!

Craicon at 12.07 today, you wrote:
he looks like Sabu from the Jungle

That’s one of the most shockingly racists comments I’ve read on here in a very long time. I can’t believe that it hasn’t been deleted by the moderators and that a few other posters are trying to minimise the harm that continued use of such outdated stereotypes can cause?

That isnt Ellan wrote in her post at 20.17 yesterday is it? You missed off a very important, and integral to the context of her statement didnt you? She didnt say "He lokks (sic) like Sabu from the jungle". She said he looks like Sabu from Jungle Book.

That missing little word puts an entirely different slant on her post. By all means step in when someone has made an offensive or racist statement. But don't chop off salient bits of their post and then shriek "racism". Its untrue, unfair and unjust.

Most British Jews are white English people.. well that's how my friends think of themselves

was that racist or religious though?
I know someone who was disowned because she married out of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Edwina Curry
she who had the affair with John Major

If you are by chance a racist grandma, do not forget that you may well find your grandchild will fall in love with somebody of another race. What will you do then? Remember that lovely Jewish lady politician who talked about egg production having salmonella? She married a non-Jew, and her father disowned her and her children. (Sorry but I cant remember her name). The loss was his. In London one third of Jews and one third of black people are in a relationship with white English people. This is happening all over the world. Even in South Africa. Even in the USA, Even in Australia and New Zealand. Maybe not yet in North Korea. It is even rumoured that Hitler had some Jewish blood. So just accept it. All part of God's great plan.

It doesn't matter what colour peoples skin is - as the song say 'everything is beautiful in its own way own way' and I guess that goes for people as well.

This is a good opportunity to dig out any old family stuff and explore genealogy,explain about DNA and how marvellous it is we have the good bits from previous generations,how exciting history is etc.The Spanish/French connections in U.K. We are all unique and different,inside and out ? This is a chance to explore things just with him.

My little cousin cried because she wanted spots all over her face like I have (moles)
I think it's being blown up out of all proportion.
Particularly when it's leading to arguments and accusations of racism on here!

My parents both had black hair and blue eyes. My brother is the same. I had red hair, fair skin and freckles. Obviously a throw-back.

My son also has magnificent red hair but few freckles and he will take a tan whereas I am bleached white all year round. When he was born he had a full head of hair and was the joy of the maternity ward.

40 years ago, as a family we lived in North Africa when ds was 18 months. He played with the other local toddlers in the local play park. They loved to touch his hair.
I sat on a bench and the other mothers and myself smiled at each other and gestured positively. I have a lovely photograph of that day. It's a close up of my ds popping a sweetie from a packet he is holding straight into the mouth of a beautiful little local girl.

Ds and I were the only white people in the park. As far as I was aware noone was being obvious and looking at me in any negative way. Possibly I was of interest to them. I hope I was. That's how we learn. They likely had never heard a broad Ulster accent before !!. They certainly were of interest to me.

I'd reckon OPs little dgd's remark is quite normal... we notice something different and wonder what that would be like. Next day we notice something else different and that takes place of what we saw/thought the day before.

We are indeed becoming a bit of a melting pot,
Let the dear child revel in the differences.

Elegran

Colour of ones skin is very important. It is part of a person's identity and does affect how people respond and behave within a community.

Feet size?

According to Blue Mink -
All we need is a great big melting pot,
big enough to take the world and all it's got
Keep on stirring for a hundred years or more
And turn out coffee coloured people by the score.

Won't that be good, when everyone looks the same and racism will no longer exist. Mind you, some people will find something, anything, to discriminate against.

I must add that this term seems to have died out now.

As for your dear GD Morgana I think little girls tend to want to be like someone else every day of the week. When she was four one of our DGDs said she wanted to look like the Little Mermaid and have a tail. She has wanted to look like Beyonce too, now she is 8.

She is growing up in a multicultural society and colour of skin just isn't an issue, or shouldn't be. I have always told my children that everyone is different from us and that difference is a wonderful thing and it would be horrible if we were all identical.

I wouldn't make a big issue of it. Little brains tend not to dwell on anything for long, unless they are reminded all the time of an issue. As we all do, pay her (honest) compliments about her talents, her kindness, her character, her little idiosyncrasies etc. I agree with others that we shouldn't be putting much store on looks and describing little girls as beautiful Princesses etc.

Grandson thought it would be good to be orange like Nemo the other week. I almost dug out a picture of a certain President for him, but I didn't really want to have that conversation.

Exactly Day6 well said. It's getting ridiculous that you can't use 'a person' in a descriptive way without being accused of being racist.

And if you stop and think about it, would EllanVanin have compared her GS to someone she found repulsive because he is of colour?

Get a grip. Stop looking for it when it's not there.

Different abusive terms are used in different parts of the country, so it is perfectly possible for someone to not know that something has a different meaning elsewhere and to use them without prejudice.

One example is that there used to be a place on the outskirts of where I live, in which young people with moderate to quite severe mental disability were looked after. It was named after the area where it was situated. Children at my children's school caught on to the name, and if they fell out with a classmate, would say "You should be in XXXX!" or call someone they disliked a XXXX. Anyone from another town would not have been aware of this as a term of abuse.

I fail to see what's wrong in describing someone who looks like Sabu

I as surprised at the reaction too EllanVannin. It's exactly the same as saying one of my friends looks like Judy Dench.

It seems your detractors want to make an issue of skin colour and see offence where none is intended.

I also have a mixed race friend who looks very like the actor Sanjeev Bhaskar and it's been discussed with him. Should I be ashamed to compare him to a famous Indian?

It's getting very silly.

PECS what a ridiculous comment. EllanVannin was hardly likely to call her own GS a racist name. She was merely describing him as 'beautiful' by comparing him to that actor.

And I'm sorry if my not knowing everything means I'm ignorant. I assume you know and have heard everything.

I grew up on a council estate where there were a lot of words used for people of different races. So no, I'm not ignorant. I just hadn't heard Sabu used in that way before.

That sort of hostility causes racism where there was none. Because people are accused of it when they're not. So then they feel annoyed, so then they can feel racist.

Stop accusing people of racism when it's not intended. It acerbates the problem.

It is not unusual for a little girl to want to look like mummy. I think she just needs to be told that she is beautiful and has beauty from her daddy and mummy. Both being so precious to have. X

I would say ignorant rather than innocent in that case.

Not at all. Simply that I could've used it innocently because 'I' had not heard it used before in a racist way. As EllanVannin innocently used it then got jumped on.

Breeze a person, of Indian heritage, has said she did hear it being used as a racist and abusive term. Are you suggesting she is wrong because you did not hear it?