Background, I live in an area where there is a fairly average mix of ethnicities. I am white and am aware that over my lifetime I will have made remarks that now would be considered insulting but then were mainstream. I now hope I know better especially as I have a number of relatives that weren't born in the UK.
Yesterday as I was leaving the Hairdressers in our Town Centre a young girl in her late teens early twenties came straight to me and asked for directions to a Western Union office. She had her phone and the map seemed to show it should have been visible from where she was standing. It wasn't and I agreed to help her for which I could see she was very relieved. Long story short, we went for a walk and I think she found where she wanted to go or at least a currency exchange place that could help her. I struggled to understand all she said as she had a strong accent which sounded French. We both tried to talk to each other but she said she was sorry her English wasn't good. Until a couple of weeks ago I would have asked her where was she from? However I felt I was prevented from doing so as she was black. I was able to understand she was from France and was staying in England for a month. How weird that two weeks ago I could have asked her, presumably caused no offence and spoken to her in French but as now that question is somehow insulting, I felt constrained from socially interacting with this charming, originally scared young French girl.
