Consensus and detente on racism

It really makes no odds whether we've all got our ethnic origins entrenched in Africa.

As thatbags has said on another thread, a lot of so-called racism is simply survivalism, and sometimes to my mind 'We were here first and don't really want to share, now that times are hard'-ism.

That can apply to anyone of any race or ethnic background who has lived for a period of time in the same place.

nell Yes I have seen those and also read Sapiens which at the beginning of the book deals with the same subject.

Go on then what are you thinking?

To enhance the debate on the thread see the program.

Have any of you seen this.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00klf6j
Alice Roberts TV program has made an excellent case to suggest that all of us have our ethnic origins deeply entrenched in Africa.

What a strange world we live in.How does one look British? Reference to one comment that her daughters boyfriend looks? british wears british clothes but has a surname name that is not of British origin.
I have a Scottish surname and was born in the UK and I do not wear a kilt.

Oh racism -sorry!

Do you actually mean racialism (the acknowledgement of biological and cultural differences between the races) whitewave, or racism?

yes cultural differences cause a great deal of confusion and resentment. The American Army had an exercise for their troops where this was a lesson to be learned. They were separated into groups and each group given some very simple rules to "live" by. One group then "visited" the other and was told to try to integrate and learn the rules by which this group lived. This was brought forcefully home just how incredibly difficult if not downright impossible it is to understand different cultures.

However this would be true for all different societies regardless of skin colour.

So yes I do agree cultural misunderstanding can be a real problem, but that does not explain the racialism rampant in some states in America and undoubtedly n the U.K.

Eloethan wrote "there's a difference between racism and prejudice". That's something that confuses me, so how are they different? Is it the difference between feeling something and expressing it?
Our son who lives in India teaches in an international school with pupils from all over the world.I asked him if there was any ill-feeling between the various groups. He had to think hard about it and eventually said "the lightskinned Indians look down on the darkskinned Indians, otherwise none."

I believe there are very few people who hate/ dislike black, brown whatever colour skin. In my experience it's always been about culture.
I spoke earlier about a pub I use where a lot of Africans drink. In the early days of them using this pub there was a big problem with them going to the bar, putting their money down and just saying: beer. No please/ thank you. You can understand the resentment this caused.
My friend, the barmaid asked why they never said please or thank you. They were completely bemused. They said: why should we thank you, your just doing your job: culture, again. Once it was explained that we always say please and thank you, peace and harmony resumed.
Would you believe that I have an Eastern European friend who can't watch black people kissing on the screen!! Bear in mind she never saw a black person until the 90s after the wall came down and she was able to go to America. It was a huge cultural shock for her.

Perhaps, rightly or wrongly, it's something to do with a feeling of acceptance and 'belonging'.

On chat sites for Over 50s for a start ~lol~

Errrmmm...I'm interested in 1930s ageism. Please give more details.

Try this for starters...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27599401

Why should a person who is mixed race regard themselves as black?

They just do. It's as though they'd rather be associated with their black roots than their white roots. Haven't you ever noticed this before, daphnenill? I'm surprised.

Daphnedill.
Concerning your comment on rascism I am interested in knowing what 'age group' you place those you refer to as 'a considerable number of people ''especially older ones'' that hold racist views.'
Ageism like rascism was prevalent in certain areas of 1930s' Europe.Look where that ended.

@thatbags

Why should a person who is mixed race regard themselves as black?

Are you saying that anybody whose white DNA is 'tainted' by genes from another race, however distantly, are black? It's not as though people are pots of pure white paint, into which somebody has dropped a few spoons of something non-white, but that's how it appears to be seen.

Obama was brought up by his white mother and I believe has white half-siblings. Why should the colour of his skin make any difference at all to his self-identity?

Yes, he's been President for eight years, but he's had to put up with racist abuse from the alt-right media for most of that time.

@Elegran

My point in posting about my daughter's boyfriend is that he's British, looks British, has a British life...he is British, but he has a Yemeni surname. I make no assumptions about how Yemeni men behave, but others assume he's a Muslim and see him as some kind of potential threat and he seems to bring the racists out of the woodwork.

Having lived in the USA for nearly 5 years there is definatly an understanding as to who "belongs on what side the tracks"
This is apparent even in Orlando but even more so in Atlanta which sees itself as being as important as being the same as NYC of tge south...it is here where there is a county in which you have to go to "present" yourself to the utility companies just to make sure you're white. Only in NJ where we lived blacks & whites are trwated the same.
The USA will always have rasism...it be never ever be fully wiped out

Anya. What part don't you understand?

I have a West Indian girlfriend who told me that there are sections within West Indian communities in Britain who don't get on with Africans. She said that there is a perception from some Africans that West Indians are the descendants of people who were taken and enslaved and as such some Africans look down on them, seems a weird rationale but am just repeating her words. My friend was originally from Jamaica came here as a baby, she said that she didn't feel that just because she was black she would necessarily have anything in common with a newly arrived person from Africa (again her words).

I have also heard that Somalians do not get on with West Indians and turf warfare has sometimes broken out between the two factions. Possibly this was the type of thing Petra was alluding to.

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

petra I didn't understand your first post at all

Re your point that racism isn't just confined to (some) white people but in fact it cuts across all nationalities, races and cultures, that is true, but it's not to be used as an excuse or a justification of racism.

I wouldn't regard "Eurasian" as a derogatory term although I guess it's how it's said though. One of my sons had a girlfriend, half Indian half Welsh, absolutely gorgeous. She referred to herself as Eurasian, simply a blend of the two races. Great results.

So true missdeke

Racism and prejudice against ethnic groups, different sexual attitudes, religions etc will continue until everyone, regardless of their background, gives others the respect they expect towards themselves.

This link goes to a short video (about 6 minutes) and an article that give different views about why Trump won the presidential election. I think it encapsulates the basic contrasting general views on the subject of the win and racism. The guy ranting in the video blames "the Left" (of which he is a member) and the article blames endemic racism and white privilege.