Other kind of racism

Notjustaprettyface, I think you might have been meeting the wrong sort of people.

There is nothing you can do or say that will make ignorant people wiser. I know there are people like you describe and, lucky for me ,I have never had to live beside them.

I cried when I read your post Peardrop. I am so sorry for the horrible abuse your lovely daughter-in-law and granddaughter have suffered.

What a cruel world.

Peardrop, thanks for your post.

EllenVannin- have a biscuit for what must be one of the rudest and most ill-informed posts on this thread.

I was at school in the 60’s and I wish both school and society really had been abuse-free. I remember to this day when another girl and I tied in a vote to be class captain. The teacher told me the other girl would be chosen because her father had his own business (he was a barber) and was therefore more prestigious than my father. I think I was eight or maybe nine years old.

I recall the boys in particular being caned at school, other children being hit regularly. I was friends with a couple of girls who were in a children’s home and they told stories of being beaten with hair brushes. A little 7yo friend died hideously as an indirect result of domestic violence while other children suffered neglect.

All this sounds as though I went to school in some terrible area but no, it was a fairly standard town, not particulate rich, or poor.

Maybe read Alan Johnson’s book, This Boy to read about what some society was like the 50’s/60’s. It’s not pretty.

Sparklefizz and Iam64, thank you. It is a nasty cruel world indeed and we close our hearts and minds at our peril.

My dil gets annoyed when people presume she is a cleaner.

Notjustaprettyface, I'm sorry I didn't answer your post. You asked how others deal with it. I can only suggest that racism stems from ignorance and fear of the unknown. We all need to get to know each other better, we all need to be more open so that others can see who we are. We are not English, Polish, South African, Indian, etc., we are human beings with diverse and interesting differences that we should teach each other and respect of each other. My son and daughter-in-law in Australia dealt with the horrible problem their daughter experienced by going in to the school in lesson time and each teaching the class about some of their history and culture. My son talked about the folklore of Wales, the Mabinogion and the story of Beddgelert. My daughter-in-law cooked an Indian meal and talked about customs in her mother's family. Apparently the class were fascinated with both and the school has asked them to return.
I suppose what I am saying is be proactive and not passive, not just you but all of us.

Ellan Vannin is right it depends on who you associate with. As a school child I was never subjected to racism by any teachers, peers, or other adults and so as an adult I regard racists as abnormal, ignorant and fearful persons.

There are many kinds of prejudice. I was illegitimate and although it means nothing these days it certainly did when I was young. I had the B word shouted at me long before I even knew what it meant, or knew that I was.

henetha, thanks for reminding us that it's possible for progress to be made. Your post shows that bigotry and prejudice are directed at children as well as adults. I live in hope that the dreadful racism we live with will continue to be challenged and eventually be much less part of how we live.

It's worth remembering that one of the men given a job by Dominic Cummings is Andrew Sabisky. He claimed black Americans have lower than average IQ than white people. This was earlier in 2020, not in the 1950's.

Peardrop wrote;
"I can only suggest that racism stems from ignorance and fear of the unknown."
That's my view too, and it can only be changed by learning more about other ethnic groups. A part of human nature is attraction to those similar to ourselves, so mistrust of those who are different. So as a result everyone has the potential to be prejudiced about others.

I have lived in Denmark since I was sixteen and still meet people who tell me they can hear I have a British accent.

An accent is nothing to be ashamed of, but the real issue is anyone being told to "Go home where you came from".

I would not ignore such a remark, but tell the person who made it, that I cannot go home where I came from, as it is no longer home, that I am married to a citizen of the country I am living in and paying taxes, and that their remark is rude and hurtful.

I realise that answering in this way may well lead to a mouthful of abuse, but I personally am willing to take that risk in order to show people how rude they are being.