'Is Britain racist'?

And falling into I think posts 6 and 7, no, there was no intention to derail.
I simply answered the question you posed, " Are you watching now on BBC 1" and gave my reason

Granjura
1) I am not a young man
2) I am not Right wing
3) I have no interest in Wayne Rooney, either, but I am fascinated by history and Neil Oliver's programme about the Ancient Celts and their victories over Rome was fascinating and very educational.
4) I fear I hit a nerve when I said "living" in the UK and I am aware that you spent many years here, but also know that I spent 22 years in Scotland and visit regularly, but would not necessarily feel qualified to comment on areas other than those I know well, and even then. Things have changed and are constantly changing as circumstances change. I would not hazard an opinion on Bristol or Newcastle and while I might have one on parts of London I know well and /or used to live in for 15 years, again I am basing much on past experience. So you are entitled to express your opinion of course, but so am I. However both of us should be aware that our experience may not chime with others'. The truth, but not necessarily the whole truth? Expats can have a different view of life in the country they left, depending on the time lapse and conversely, they can have a more objective view as they no longer play an active part in that society. I too speak from some experience.
Finally
5) Whenever you have real experience or knowledge of an issue, the shortcomings of the media become apparent. I have frequently noticed inaccuracy, bias, sketchy reporting, and false assumptions in areas I do know about and it has made me wary of taking anything at face value. So I do inform myself from a variety of (as far as I know) reliable sources.
That good enough?

Just looked back at the start of the thread, apart from first response, the next 7 were clearly meant to deride and derail, rather than discuss. What was the point of that? Don't want to discuss- just don't- simple as that.

jingl. as I DO NOT LIVE IN THE UK CURRENTLY (as was discreetly pointed out) I can't use catch up, lol ...

Kitty, this was meant to be a healthy discussion, and not an argument. But some chose to immediately attack and deride- sadly, rather than discuss.
Which is a great shame as it happens so often here- and is very much a trait of GN. I am active on one other forum where I live- with mostly younger and very mixed age and sex audience- and it just does not happen in this way.

Totally agree about Leicester, and said it many times. Overall, people in Leicester have shown huge tolerance- and also the immigration groups into Leicester have overall made a huge effort to integrate and contribute in so many ways, which maybe not the case for other groups in other UK towns like Bradford and Luton, for instance. Leicester can be help as a true example of excellent and positive co-habitiation overall.

Alea:

but anybody living in the UK is free to comment on their own observations.

Are you saying that people not currently living in the UK are not allowed to comment on the UK then? That is quite a few of us on GN really. I do believe that having lived all my adult life in the UK, in possibly the most tolerant and successful mutlicultural town, until recently- and with regualr visit to the UK and our children, grandchildren and so many family and friends in the UK, I am very much entitled to discuss the issues. Same for the issues in France and Germany with which I have very close ties.

Otherwise your comment begins to sound a bit like those of the young man from that Right Wing group in the programme.

Of course anyone is free to comment on the subject, even if they choose not to watch the programme. The OP was not clear, but the first post clealy related the title to that particular programme. But some of the comments were just shooting from the hip- about Rooney and not wanting to watch the programme- what is the point? Discuss the issues related indeed- but those comments like 'I prefer to watch Rooney' etc- what did they contribute?

One thing I was always taught about making an informed decision about any issue- is to INFORM yourself, and get as many facts together as possible. And as such, I do believe watching the programme, even to criticise it with counter-arguments, is imho very valuable. If I am trying to make up my mind on nuclear power, or the use of disposable nappies, etc, etc, etc- I do try not to rubbish or trash comments, but find out from as many sources as possible, about the realities, to, as said above, make an informed judgement. This is even more important here where I live, where we do have to vote on such issues all the time.

DJ you are just missing the point if you think anybody felt that that programme was going to be anything other than political. Whether, given the title and its scheduling on BBC3 rather than BBC 2 , for instance, anybody felt it was likely to be balanced and give an educated view of both possible outcomes, is another matter. I think there is a fundamental misapprehension that not watching a TV programme automatically denotes lack of interest. There are other ways of being informed and just because one has not watched a particular TV programme should not debar anyone from commenting on the topic granjura, if indeed that IS the topic, and not the TV programme.
So without watching (and some people must have a lot of time to watch TV love/on catch up/recorded) it would not be possible to make an informed comment as to the quality of the reporting or the accuracy of how the makers reach their conclusion, but anybody living in the UK is free to comment on their own observations.

Do we not expect political discussions on 'News and Politics' ?

I watched Wayne and completely changed my view of him and Colleen though their children did seem to have an inordinate number of toys!

I still live in Leicestershire and I'm pleased to report that, certainly, this bit of Britain is not racist. I am sure there are pockets of racism all over the country, some bigger than others. I am not naive enough to think that all is sweetness and light but Brits are a tolerant bunch on the whole.

And, I agree with Merlot ^ ^ ^ ^ - pot, kettle, etc! It does get very boring that very nearly every thread becomes political and partisan.

If not interested in a thread topic why post saying so and continue to post on something one finds to be of no interest , most strange, there has to be a reason to continue posting on a thread one has no interest in. What could it be

I watched Wayne I agree he seems a rather nice chap. I have always thought that he has been overshadowed by Beckham because of Beckham's looks and style.

Granjura, I am glad you said these sort of problems are everywhere,all over Europe , I understand that Austria is particularly bad, as are France and Germany and Italy.In fact, I bet they are a lot worse than any racism here in Britain.
These tv programmes are designed to provoke comments at best and inflame feelings at worst.They need to be talked about the next day, and they will feel it's a job well done.Careful editing, and finding the kind of people they want ,all add to it.It's a waste of time watching them.
So, I watched Doc Martin instead, much more relaxing, and I now want a dog exactly like Buddy.
Perhaps it's a British trait to look for the very worst about our country instead of celebrating the good things, or perhaps some people just have that kind of pessimistic mind sets.

As this discussion is about a TV programme, surely it should be discussed on the TV, Radio, Films, Arts thread?! Just thought I'd say!!! As a lover of history, 'The Celts' won the day for me, but there is always catchup, if the mood takes me!

gj - watch Wayne on catch-up! Go on! you know you want to I think you would be pleasantly surprised.

Political threads are allowed on GN. And there is no limit to how many.

It seems to me there are a few people at the ready to jump on certain people who start a thread that they are not interested in. The answer is, surely, for them to start threads themselves that they are interested in.

Just saying.

"aggressive and vitriolic"

Ha! You lot know nothing. GN is sweetness and light compared to how it used to be.

I shall definitely watch the second programme tonight- and perhaps discuss it with those who will watch. Perhaps, and again people are free to choose- those who will choose NOT to watch, could perhaps also choose NOT to comment? No point in commenting on something you are not interested in enough to watch is there? I won't comment on the Rooney programme or any programme with JC- as I won't be watching. Fair enough, no?

Ana! "Yes, jingl, you're ripe for the picking at the moment, apparently!!"

What do you mean? Is someone after me?!!! Scary!

Quote from Anya:

there are a goodly number of people who have opinions, but are afraid of putting their necks on the line, to be shot down by narrow minded zealots who can be quite aggressive and vitriolic in defence of their extreme views.

This shuts down discussions and encourages arguments, which lead nowhere. So why bother.

Sadly, yes- derision and aggression are well-known traits of cyber 'bullying' on all internet Forum to stop any discussion. A huge shame.

Sunseeker- totally agree with your post. On the whole, GB is very tolerant- and living in Leicester for the long- it was evident on the whole. However, and this is political, no doubt at all about this- there is currently a rise of the far right which is of serious concern- and which will have serious polictical consequences for the next elections. Groups like the EDL and the National Front are easy to dismiss as fringe nutcases- but the new image of the far right, suited, well coiffed and spoken/educated, from new groups (can't remember just now which politcal group he belonged to) and the likes of Farage and others- give 'racism' a new 'respectable and acceptable' face- which is seriously concerning.

Just as, at the same time- the lack of integration and demands for shariah law, etc- is concerning too- and of course leads to the above.

Saying that there is no point in watching or thinking about the issues is of course your right (no-where have I said anyone must watch it- have I?- just pointed to the fact it was on (and as such would be of interest to some) ) - but if anyone thinks that the rise of the far right is not a problem- I do believe is in denial or very much mistaken.

This is of course also happening all over Europe and the USA- France has a huge problem, albeit different, with racism, so has Germany, Austria- all over Europe really- including my own country Switzerland, of course- again in a slightly different way.

I think the title of the programme is rather suggestive - perhaps inflammatory?

Like asking if Fred Bloggs beats his wife - no, he doesn't, he is the gentlest of men - but the suspicion is now in people's minds.

Anyway, I can't comment on the programme content as I watched a catch-up of the GBB, which could give you an answer if you watched it.

I am hoping to watch the programme later and hope that it will be informative, as many BBC programmes are. I am sure that there uis a lot of racism in Britain, and also that there are many people who di not fall into that category. It will be interesting to see what the findings of the programme might be. I recognise that, like all reporting, it should not be taken totally at face value, and that it is not a scientifically controlled experiment. But that does not mean that there might not be things to learn from it.

I think that Gransnet has a spectrum of political views and cannot understand what the problem is about that. The discussion above is lost on me. It is fine to have different views.

Exactly,Sunseeker.

The BBC in particular,will show you what they want you to know.In other words,brain washing.Every body can be called racist sometimes.Believe me black people can be very racist.
I watched Roony,I must admit,I quite liked Colleen.

To answer the OP, no I didn't watch the programme (had friends round). Is Britain racist? You can find racism in Britain but, on the whole, I think Britain is very tolerant - hence the number of people who want to come to live here.

As I didn't watch the programme I can't really comment on it, but I do remember a programme on local BBC TV which appeared to be trying to show Bristol as a racist city, but the programme makers carefully chose one area of the city to visit, ignoring the areas where people are accepted without any consideration of their colour, religion or ethnicity.

My point Jingl was simply are we meant to be discussing the TV programme or the question Is Britain Racist?
Not necessarily the same thing.

Is the clue in the words tv, programme and BBC3 perhaps?