Buckingham Palace Aide resigns

But but but ……. Even if she was wearing a wire, that would have zero to do with Hussey behaving the way she did.

Even touching the woman’s hair was highly unacceptable behaviour.

Bad manners from start to finish compounded by racism.

So the conversation could have been...:

Where are you from

"SistahSpace"

No where are YOU from?

"Hackney"

Oh, what work does your organisation do?

Do you focus on African and Caribbean women?

Why is that important?

What help do you give?

Is it a real big problem for women in that culture and from that background?

But what she got was, how long have you been here and what nationality are you?

There's no excuse, really there's not, it's not Fulani who did the wrong thing here or who is responsible for avoiding stick situation.

Whitewavemark2

DaisyAnne

Whitewavemark2

Woke simply means empathy and emotional intelligence.

So it is very odd to use the term in a derogatory and accusatory way.

It is also very odd to be derogatory and accusatory about how others express empathy and emotional intelligence. We are not all the same.

I like to learn. I don't want to hurt people's feelings because I don't understand how they would interpret what I say. I see language as a tool.

I do not like to be "told" how to behave and talk by people who seem to think they know everything and are always right. I also believe we all have to learn to be resilient against the slings and arrows of modern life. That is all of us, not just the those selected by a minority as unworthy.

😄 you sound very miffed today?

I'm actually not. I wonder why that is what you are hearing. I am feeling very happy with my centrist views and trying to understand all sides of the many arguments in our country.

Mind you, I do feel the extremes get too much airtime (and GN space). Then I sound a little more fervent than I feel in trying to balance the argument.

But many on here don't like balanced arguments, do they? They know they, and only they are right

Aveline

Curiouser and curiouser. Fulani was wearing a wire apparently and has a mission to find and call out racism.

Did she put racist? words into Husseys mouth too? if there was no racism there would have been nothing to report

volver

So the conversation could have been...:

Where are you from

"SistahSpace"

No where are YOU from?

"Hackney"

Oh, what work does your organisation do?

Do you focus on African and Caribbean women?

Why is that important?

What help do you give?

Is it a real big problem for women in that culture and from that background?

But what she got was, how long have you been here and what nationality are you?

There's no excuse, really there's not, it's not Fulani who did the wrong thing here or who is responsible for avoiding stick situation.

Sticky situations, obviously!

When Lady Hussey asked her where are you from Ms. Fulani could have had an interesting conversation regarding her ancestors origin which in turn could have led to a conversation promoting the charity she was there to represent, @sistaspace a domestic violence charity for Afro/Caribbean women.

But she didn't ask her about her ethnic origins She asked her where she was from, and was told where Ms Fulani was from. Why didn't SH reframe the question if she wanted to know her ethnic origin rather than repeating it.

Did you watch the video satire posted much earlier in this thread?

GrannyGravy13

Just a thought,

Ms Fulani is obviously proud of her Afro/Caribbean routes and rightly so which is why she dressed in traditional Afro/Caribbean style

When Lady Hussey asked her where are you from Ms. Fulani could have had an interesting conversation regarding her ancestors origin which in turn could have led to a conversation promoting the charity she was there to represent, @sistaspace a domestic violence charity for Afro/Caribbean women.

Instead we are in an increasingly unpleasant situation.

GranyGravy I agree with you entirely now that more has been revealed. The chancellor of Manchester University who is black has tweeted SH asked him where he was from and when he answered Manchester she accepted it. He was not wearing ceremonial robes of course.

Ms Fulani has made remarks about suffering racism all her life and comes across as resenting white people as a consequence. I am now very suspicious about the way this incident has been reported. I also wonder if it was all blown up to sabotage William and Kate’s visit to the USA. She is also very pro Meghan Markle’s assertion of racism from the RF and has long the monarchy as institutionally racist.

Good point GG13
I was brought up to believe it was polite to show an interest in people, usually asking politely about themselves (fair enough, not interrogate them) and see this as a sadly clumsy and awkward version of what is generally called “taking an interest”.
Lady Hussey was born an aristocrat and has spent the last 60 years in the rarefied time warp of the Royal Household. It is not surprising if she is out of touch with modern attitudes, especially among the young. You might argue that she should be but I also see this as a communication failure on both sides. While I think SH was clumsy and at best forthright, not to say rude I also think it is overegging the pudding to cry “violation”
Tolerance works both ways.
I am also guessing, but the language used by the urban young can sometimes go over one’s head- some of the black kids I taught in a large comprehensive spoke a sort of “street” language, almost a patois, which takes a bit of getting used to. “Sistah”, “bro”, or “wicked” for instance, the “hood” (= neighbourhood) are almost a foreign language to ladies of her background of a certain age, the debs and “aristocratic gels” of her generation.

Quite and as a half Irish woman, I demand that we get apology and recompense for the slavery/indenture forced upon us before they looked to Africa to top up the work force after they had completely exhausted all supplies from Ireland.facts

Oh dear.
Really a lot of to do about nothing. I am not sure the lady meant to be insulting and surely the lady receiving the question could have come up with some smart assed reply and dealt with the situation there and then. It’s what I have always done in tricky situations.

volver

volver

So the conversation could have been...:

Where are you from

"SistahSpace"

No where are YOU from?

"Hackney"

Oh, what work does your organisation do?

Do you focus on African and Caribbean women?

Why is that important?

What help do you give?

Is it a real big problem for women in that culture and from that background?

But what she got was, how long have you been here and what nationality are you?

There's no excuse, really there's not, it's not Fulani who did the wrong thing here or who is responsible for avoiding stick situation.

Sticky situations, obviously!

How do you know that what she got was, ... Where you there?

This really is you making it up, isn't it? But all's fair if it puts your side of the argument forward - even concocting a conversation for which there is no proof except the report from the person complaining.

Her word has been accepted and someone has lost their job. What more do you actually want?

Well said MawtheMerrier

I'm suspicious too Avalon and I agree with you over the use of the word "violation".

Sorry I agree with you Maw over the use of the word "violation". A good post.

A very dear friend and neighbour and family hailed from Nigeria and at every party /event she and her family and some friends would dress in spectacular traditional Nigerian dress, simply stunning! All lived in UK apart from Grandma and grandparents visiting. Mum in law was white with interesting accent, I asked her where she was from? She laughed and said she was polish and married husband when he was student in Poland! She was not offended, didn't say she came from Nigeria (which she had two days previously!) And we had a really good gossip about her early life in Africa! No offence given and none taken.no need to look for insults when there are so many on full view already!?

It is right that lady Susan has resigned, but does she really deserve the level of vitriol she's now receiving, and if so for how long? Days, weeks, months or until her dying day?

With reference to the misspelling of names it's William and Catherine not Katherine or Kate. I'm surprised volver isn't pointing this out.

No she doesn't Rosie but it suits those who can't resist having a pop at anything to do with the RF.

I have in the past. You must have missed it.

And I never call her Kate.

MawtheMerrier

Good point GG13
I was brought up to believe it was polite to show an interest in people, usually asking politely about themselves (fair enough, not interrogate them) and see this as a sadly clumsy and awkward version of what is generally called “taking an interest”.
Lady Hussey was born an aristocrat and has spent the last 60 years in the rarefied time warp of the Royal Household. It is not surprising if she is out of touch with modern attitudes, especially among the young. You might argue that she should be but I also see this as a communication failure on both sides. While I think SH was clumsy and at best forthright, not to say rude I also think it is overegging the pudding to cry “violation”
Tolerance works both ways.
I am also guessing, but the language used by the urban young can sometimes go over one’s head- some of the black kids I taught in a large comprehensive spoke a sort of “street” language, almost a patois, which takes a bit of getting used to. “Sistah”, “bro”, or “wicked” for instance, the “hood” (= neighbourhood) are almost a foreign language to ladies of her background of a certain age, the debs and “aristocratic gels” of her generation.

Agreed. The persistent questioning was rude and intrusive. But I think that Lady H was trying to get at the reason for the tribal dress. Out of interest. I'd have been interested.

I live in the Black Country. I don't have the local accent/dialect. People fairly regularly ask me 'You're not from round here, are you?'

Actually, I was born here but have travelled in the course of my father's job.

If I were black, would this be racist? I don't think so.

I had never heard of ‘Sistah Space’ until yesterday, and I assume SH hadn’t either.

So when she asked ‘Where are you from?’, and was told ‘SS’, the next question ought to have been, “And what do they do? What does your work with them entail?”

And so on.

Then all this could have been avoided.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Hussey is rude arrogant and unsurprisingly vulgar. Her spouse was head of BBC for years and they considered themselves akin to royalty, and I cannot believe that this old relic is still in royal household?!?! What possible benefits could she possibly bring to modern royal household.i applaud Queen Camillafor ditching the ridiculous ladies in waiting rubbish too! What are we ? Medieval?! Sack all the old bags i say , let's have some bright young lasses and lads getting a look in and NOT the offspring of inbred aristos either! Good hard working modern young people to breathe life into the gasping royal household. Treated as a paid internship with qualifications earned and open to all gender and nationalities of UK. About time we got serious about how we manage this cash sucking white elephant ( sorry elephants!)

Yammy

I'm going to take another stance here after reading the transcript and watching T.V. Why did the coloured lady who was born in England and is 61 feel she had to dress like the people of the country where her parents were from. Provocative? making a point? We are all taking her side but did she not realise that dressing the way she did brings questions?
I know freedom of dress, freedom of speech and I agree with them but surely a well-chosen outfit to catch attention.

She didn't. Where in the world is that traditional dress?

I suspect her outfit was well-chosen. Maybe she's a flamboyant dresser and I thought she looked lovely.

volver

I have in the past. You must have missed it.

And I never call her Kate.

I was surprised because you've posted on this thread after two posters have misnamed her but you didn't point it out, whereas you've pointed out the s for z substitution several times.

I obviously have missed you pointing it out in the past, sorry.

Rosie51

It is right that lady Susan has resigned, but does she really deserve the level of vitriol she's now receiving, and if so for how long? Days, weeks, months or until her dying day?

With reference to the misspelling of names it's William and Catherine not Katherine or Kate. I'm surprised volver isn't pointing this out.

I agree with your first paragraph Rosie. But the witch-hunt will continue and those, who currently think this is just, will continue to think they are doing a good thing, that they are the "good people" in all this.

I hope the poor lady has people around her to support her just as we can see all the support for what the other woman involved. The one who has been the only source so far of what was actually said.