Have you ever been subjected to Racial/ Cultural Abuse/ Discrimination?

I'm steaming mad!

Iv'e just read some shit that seriously has me thinking crazy, so i need to keep things simple instead of vetting my anger in an inappropriate manor. I won't elaborate now.

Instead, i thought i'd just conduct a simple survey of sorts.

Please excuse me/ my tone but how many of you actually have experienced some kind of discrimination or abuse with regards to your colour, religion, cultural background, accent etc...?

I'm just interested to know how it made you feel? How you reacted to it?

...well I usually just laugh it off as I'm white ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grinch

I'm steaming mad!

Iv'e just read some shit that seriously has me thinking crazy, so i need to keep things simple instead of vetting my anger in an inappropriate manor. I won't elaborate now.

Instead, i thought i'd just conduct a simple survey of sorts.

Please excuse me/ my tone but how many of you actually have experienced some kind of discrimination or abuse with regards to your colour, religion, cultural background, accent etc...?

I'm just interested to know how it made you feel? How you reacted to it?

---

I've been called a Dirty Manc before. :cool:

Pommy b@stards as a general thing in Australia was well known as I was growing up even though I got here when I was three and spoke only with an aussie accent still copped it throughout school.

Once it came from my own father inlaw, who has a distant German backgorund! :cooldevil:

I said "Oh well you guys didnt do too bad I suppose, you came second in two world wars". That nipped that one in the bud.

It wasnt good out here though. The british new settlers and soldiers of the queen who stood by and did nothing while whites buried black aboriginal kids up to their necks on the beach and played soccer with them takes along time to get over.The rape of their peacful women,erradication of their species over land. Stealing of their children etc.

The only English men who were against the mass slaughters were the English and Irish prisoners of her majesty and some of the clergy etc so its a circle of mistrust that has only just subsided.

In the outer country areas these racial harborings take more time to dispell.

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Originally Posted by Lyle

...well I usually just laugh it off as I'm white ;)

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Not just racial Lyle.

If i remember not so long ago, you were lambasting me for calling you a yank.

I mean really? Who gives a fuck ???












;) Yourself.

At the age of two the family moved with my Dad to Canada my Father being Canadian. I was there Five years then returned to Sheffield, England where I was born.Trouble was I spoke as a Canadian,at school I was Battered from Pillar to Post every Day. Couldnt work it out a first, ;D.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grinch

I'm steaming mad!

Iv'e just read some shit that seriously has me thinking crazy, so i need to keep things simple instead of vetting my anger in an inappropriate manor. I won't elaborate now.

Instead, i thought i'd just conduct a simple survey of sorts.

Please excuse me/ my tone but how many of you actually have experienced some kind of discrimination or abuse with regards to your colour, religion, cultural background, accent etc...?

I'm just interested to know how it made you feel? How you reacted to it?

---

Everyone gets discriminated against, it's just a matter of how subtle it is or overt abuse.
How does it feel? One of two, either want to smack them in the mouth or laugh in their face for being so ignorant.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grinch

Not just racial Lyle.

If i remember not so long ago, you were lambasting me for calling you a yank.

I mean really? Who gives a fuck ???












;) Yourself.

---

Oh if you're going to call me a Yankee, then I may get angry enough to work up a spit.

I am an American, we are good.....Yankees are loud, obnoxious, and lacking social couth...say what you will about Southerners and the slackjawed toothless morons Hollywood portrays us as but go to New Jersey/Philadelphia and tell me they are better.

I got mocked by some americans once who didn't like that I was coming from the french part of Canada, they were accusing me of being a shithead communists and a few other strange accusations turning around that. As I kind of have a huge punk cultural background, I got called hobos, trash garbage or glue sniffer, especially in my home town because one of my friend was living close to the forbidden triangle (I.E a zone where 3 posh pubs with a huge summer terraso filled with alpha males with testosterone) and I was often insulted when I was walking by there. BEside, quite ok I would say.

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and rasied than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definetly made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and rasied than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definetly made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

---

you should work where I do. It's like Grace Brothers. Women make tea and answer phones get paid less than the men....

big difference in public/private business.

don't forget class/regional difference as well, that still has an effect.

I have been subjected to racial abuse a number of times. One christmas me and my wife decided to go to Seoul with another married couple who are friends of ours. Immediately after getting into the streets from the train station a woman walked up to me and started to abuse me for having the audacity to hold hands with a pure blooded Korean. Forget the fact that this was my wife, but apparently I was white and so was a perfect target for her ire. I got quite pissed off and grabbed her hand which was pointing into my chest a little too much for my liking. My wife and my friend pulled me back, telling me to walk away because she was obviously not worth the argument. I saw their point and let it go, but it soured my day somewhat. That's just one of my little stories, there are others though.

I have come to the conclusion that Koreans are a very insecure bunch and nothing fills them with fright more than a white male married to one of 'their' women. The racism is institutionalised here and it feeds from the politics and media through to the public who have been fed a very negative image of 'the white menace'. In no other country are white middle class university educated males held in such fear. Currently a group called the anti English spectrum has come to prominence in Korea. They cloak their agenda in saying they are about improving education and protecting the children. Pull the other one! Im the teacher with an MA in education...I care about education. These muppets are on the whole concerned with white/black foreign males who date Korean women. They even stalk English teachers and post pictures of their apartments on their website. They even went through a female teachers trash and reported on their site that they had found a used condom. These are obviously classy people. Unfortunately the ministry of justice has invited their leader to government meetings and the media has been quoting from him quite freely. The police have also given him an award for his vigilante behaviour. It's almost like the British government taking the BNP under its wing and asking them for advice! Just a few weeks ago the leader of ATEK (a small foreign teachers union out here) recieved an email from a member of Anti English spectrum threatening to kill him and throw acid into the faces of English teachers starting this christmas. Police are currently investigating.

Currently they are trying to stimatize foreigners as AIDS carrying, drug abusing, pedophiles. Of course, when the media is going along with this without verifying any facts and creating a climate of fear it makes the public somewhat uneasy. Foreign teachers are now being forced to provide incountry AIDS tests. Even the sex workers (entertainment...ahem) and the 3D workers are able to supply AIDS tests from their home countries and yet educated English teachers must do it in country. It's all about trying to stimgmatise the English teacher.

I don't have to bother with all that crap because I have permanent residency status, but for any new people wanting to come here. I would tell them not to bother. I wouldn't have come with all the extra paper work required these days, it's just not worth it.

We used to get bused into some hell hole once a week from Jr high back in Cali,Remember it being in Stockton (??) and "SM" being everywhere...Sherman Barrio ?? Needless to say 15-20 little white dudes climbing off the bus from the suburbs surrounded by cholos clad in hair nets,tanks and broken english sneers who were old enough to be their classmates uncle put the fear of fooking god in us.Not to mention the Chicks were as nasty and tough as some of the dudes.You learned to walk back to back real quick...either that or take the failing grades and ditch that place constantly.The extent of my spanish went Pinchi Gringo, Puta and vato and carry a huge brick........It lingered through parts of our regular schools.Always a separation of herd mentality and tension.We had a saying...If you fight one bean,you fight the whole damn bur......awww never mind.We came to co exist after a few scuffles.Just stayed the hell away and leave em the fook alone.Never turned tail but you get wise to conducting and carrying yourself when out numbered in a hurry.

English bastard, White bastard, Nazi Bastard was pretty regular when I lived in Bradford and I responded by beating the fuck out of them. I ain't lived there for 6 years though and moved away to get away from it all because I always reacted to any kind of insult with violence. Was years ago though when I was still a kid really.

Most recent was a Scottish fella that called me an 'English cunt' when I was up in Oban in Scotland (stunning place) at a friends party. I won't go into what happened but we were drinking together and having a good time about 10 minutes later and we speak on the phone a few times a year.

Anyway what's the problem Grinch?

Yes...

But I brush it off and move on with my life.

The most reason time was when I was in Thousand Oaks pumping gas and I was in my car and 2 Caucasian (White American) men that appeared to be in their 40s we're pumping gas on the other side I had Spanish music playing loud enough for me to hear while I pumped gas and I walked inside to buy a Gatorade and walked back and as I walked back past them I heared one of them say "Even if he's well dressed and in a Mercedes he's still a wet back" I stopped turned around and said "Just think that this wet back dresses better then you and drives a better car then you" and went about my business...

shit heads come in all colours and nationalities.

Was in Dublin a few years back and had an altercation with a guy from Cork who told me to 'F**k off back to where you came from' (Im irish by the way but i know it was because i was from Belfast, the North as opposed to his South). I aked him where he was from, knowing the answer but hoping he might see the irony, and then pointed out that he lived farther from dublin than i and why didnt HE f**k off where HE came from. Got a bit of a laugh from his stupidity and pure ignorance

Im a white male aged between 18-49

we practically run the world ;D;D;D

I moved out of London for a year when i was about 13. All the kids ripped the piss out of my accent and for generally looking a bit poor. I used one these kids head to destroy a locker. Stopped after that.

I got called an "English cunt" in Wales. Thought it was funny.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howlin Mad Missy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and raised than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definitely made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

---

don't forget class/regional difference as well, that still has an effect.

---

That's what probably has the biggest effect on me, if we go away from apply to certain companies that have to fill certain quotas (I love how it's politically correct to segregate people... :rolleyes: bit of a conflict of intentions going on).

My dad used to work predominantly as a plumber but he'd do anything else on the sites if it was paying. During the 80s and Thatcher-ism this wasn't easy, so we didn't have a lot of money, but we managed to find a house in a pretty nice area, it was falling to pieces, which made it cheap and we didn't have to pay for virtually any labour to do it up because obviously my dad did it all.

Living there we obviously got places in all of the local schools etc, coming up through school, I started to feel in middle school that I wasn't 'posh' enough for some people and especially in high school (which was a mix of people from loads of areas, not mostly local, like middle school was) that I was too 'posh' (despite being POOR! ;)) for some people (most of them dirty little Charvers anyway).

I always used to find it funny that the so called 'poor kids' (simply because they lived in worse areas) came into school with new mobile phones, went abroad all the time on holiday, got games consoles when (not 5 years after) they came out that weren't hand me downs from their uncles etc, were given money everyday to buy lunch and most likely 10 lambert and butlers and would have CD players etc (fuck me, I couldn't even afford to buy stuff to play on my tape player I got for Christmas) saw me as posh and rich etc... I never had any of that (not that I would say I was 'deprived' or anything... I was always happy... never wanted for anything)

Not that I'm really complaining, I had a good circle of friends and could get on with anybody, I just noticed that people who saw themselves as being at one end of a scale of the other never truly accepted me... I could mix with anybody though... I was just aware that a lot of people made assumptions about me based on certain things they saw at face value.

Over the 6-7 years I've been out of school now, though I've always felt happy with myself I've realised that I can't and shouldn't try to be something to everybody... they can take me or leave me for what I am.

if they don't want to accept me then fuck'em... ;D

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Originally Posted by Kel

English bastard, White bastard, Nazi Bastard was pretty regular when I lived in Bradford and I responded by beating the fuck out of them. I ain't lived there for 6 years though and moved away to get away from it all because I always reacted to any kind of insult with violence. Was years ago though when I was still a kid really.

Most recent was a Scottish fella that called me an 'English cunt' when I was up in Oban in Scotland (stunning place) at a friends party. I won't go into what happened but we were drinking together and having a good time about 10 minutes later and we speak on the phone a few times a year.

Anyway what's the problem Grinch?

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I remember my dad being in glasgow, pretty rough pub...
this drunk glaswegian starts asking him where he's from

"Geordie eh? ay they're alright... just Scotsmen with no brains"
"you must be a geordie too then :)"

The bloke could of gotten pissed but luckily saw the funny side... from what I've heard people from the north east of england are pretty much the only englishmen rampant scottish nationalists will evel tolerate... :-\;D

Not sure if it was discrimination or racism but it is somewhat related. I was in Morocco 2 months ago and the waiter took my friend's order just fine but didn't want to take mine. It was the month of Muslim fasting and told my friend I should follow Muslim faith just like anybody in Morocco. The waiter thought I was Moroccan. I don't blame him, being Mexican and that day I didn't shave, I could blend in as one of them. My friend translated what he said and holded herself from laughing so I told the waiter "No no no, yo soy Mexicano, en serio. No se preocupe" (No no no, I am Mexican, really. Don't worry). I knew he wouldn't understand me but I wanted to make it clear that I AM MEXICAN and not Moroccan. The guy apologized and took my order.

A few days later, this girl and I were just playing around as we walked near a plaza. We were just being flirty and playful and then police came up to us and asked her if everything was fine and then the guy started speaking arabic to me. Once again, I replied in Spanish (not in English, somehow, I feel english-speaking nationalities are not seen positively in muslim countries) and the guy apologized and told me he thought I was harrassing a poor turist (my friend) and just wanted to protect tourism. No problem.

Interesting how people think I am one of them when I visit Egypt or Morocco. I don't blame them. If I saw them in Mexico, I would think they were Mexican.

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

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Originally Posted by Howlin Mad Missy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and raised than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definitely made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

---

don't forget class/regional difference as well, that still has an effect.

---

That's what probably has the biggest effect on me, if we go away from apply to certain companies that have to fill certain quotas (I love how it's politically correct to segregate people... :rolleyes: bit of a conflict of intentions going on).

My dad used to work predominantly as a plumber but he'd do anything else on the sites if it was paying. During the 80s and Thatcher-ism this wasn't easy, so we didn't have a lot of money, but we managed to find a house in a pretty nice area, it was falling to pieces, which made it cheap and we didn't have to pay for virtually any labour to do it up because obviously my dad did it all.

Living there we obviously got places in all of the local schools etc, coming up through school, I started to feel in middle school that I wasn't 'posh' enough for some people and especially in high school (which was a mix of people from loads of areas, not mostly local, like middle school was) that I was too 'posh' (despite being POOR! ;)) for some people (most of them dirty little Charvers anyway).

I always used to find it funny that the so called 'poor kids' (simply because they lived in worse areas) came into school with new mobile phones, went abroad all the time on holiday, got games consoles when (not 5 years after) they came out that weren't hand me downs from their uncles etc, were given money everyday to buy lunch and most likely 10 lambert and butlers and would have CD players etc (fuck me, I couldn't even afford to buy stuff to play on my tape player I got for Christmas) saw me as posh and rich etc... I never had any of that (not that I would say I was 'deprived' or anything... I was always happy... never wanted for anything)

Not that I'm really complaining, I had a good circle of friends and could get on with anybody, I just noticed that people who saw themselves as being at one end of a scale of the other never truly accepted me... I could mix with anybody though... I was just aware that a lot of people made assumptions about me based on certain things they saw at face value.

Over the 6-7 years I've been out of school now, though I've always felt happy with myself I've realised that I can't and shouldn't try to be something to everybody... they can take me or leave me for what I am.

if they don't want to accept me then fuck'em... ;D

---

thats the right attitude to have my friend

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grinch

I'm steaming mad!

Iv'e just read some shit that seriously has me thinking crazy, so i need to keep things simple instead of vetting my anger in an inappropriate manor. I won't elaborate now.

Instead, i thought i'd just conduct a simple survey of sorts.

Please excuse me/ my tone but how many of you actually have experienced some kind of discrimination or abuse with regards to your colour, religion, cultural background, accent etc...?

I'm just interested to know how it made you feel? How you reacted to it?

---

Been called racist names at school a few times, i ignored it though. And sometimes round my area where i used to live, but you get it everywhere no matter what colour you are.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howlin Mad Missy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and rasied than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definetly made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

---

you should work where I do. It's like Grace Brothers. Women make tea and answer phones get paid less than the men....

big difference in public/private business.

don't forget class/regional difference as well, that still has an effect.

---

Do you work in 1960?

I've been called spick, chink, beaner, rice monkey, wet back etc. What are you going to do? Fight for race? There is no gain for me there except maybe temporary pride, it's not as if beating their ass is going to make them less racist. I will not fight unless me or my loved ones are in danger. For those that don't know I am mixed race (hispanic/caucasian) apparently I look chinese though.

More often than not I am ostresized for my political leanings and called commie pinko and shit like that. I just laugh about that though.

http://gamesand.me/wp-content/upload...me-canada1.jpg




http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.c...sp_1204_02.jpg

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Originally Posted by ono

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howlin Mad Missy

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

Being half Scottish/Geordie and a bit better educated and rasied than 9/10 of the people I used to work with on the building sites... I wouldn't call it abuse but I was definetly made to feel different then the other lads.

I wasn't treat like an outsider, but I was treat like an outsider who was allowed inside... if that makes any sense?... ;)

This may prove unpopular with a few of you here but I'm gonna get on my soap box anyway -

In this country you have two things going either for or against you: your skills/qualitys and your ethnic background/gender etc... the country is now full of so much positive disrimination that I am pretty certain being a white male hasn't helped me at all...

In other jobs it won't be the case, but when it's goverment/council ran gyms/the fire service etc as is my experience, then being a young, white male doesn't exactly give you a helping hand.

---

you should work where I do. It's like Grace Brothers. Women make tea and answer phones get paid less than the men....

big difference in public/private business.

don't forget class/regional difference as well, that still has an effect.

---

Do you work in 1960?

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;D yes. But it is true. People associate accents with sounding thick (yammers) or arrogant (cockney), scoucers are all thieves etc.

Being mixed-race, I tend to get it from everybody. I've been called pretty much every racial insult pertaining to mixed-race, black, Asian & Arab people & had racial abuse for the white side of me. So I'm kind of used to it. Truthfully, most of the time people come out with stuff, it's generally because they're ignorant, e.g. use of the term 'half-caste' which is very racist, but many people think is the normal term for mixed-race people, hell I did when I was little.

I used to have no problem beating on people for racist abuse, whether they were black, asian or white, but that was mainly when I was in my teens. Nowadays I get very little of it, mainly because being a bit older & bigger, I'm not perceived as an easy target. It's more general stereotypes that piss me off, like people always asking to buy drugs off me when I'm out in a club or when I had a job interview & the interviewer kept calling me 'man' & doing weird shit with his hands, as if I was a some ghetto stereotype in a string vest with a 40 oz rather than a double graduate in a suit.

Oh & for the record Adam, being a white male isn't what's holding you back. It's no easier being a non-white male, although I'm not saying it's harder. I think it generally boils down to class & who you know. A guy I did my Masters with, who was a considerably weaker candidate than me was able to get a job straight off the course. He didn't get jobs ahead of me because he's white, he got it because he's middle-class & his dad has a production company, cue connections. My old man has a small company that takes care of sewage maintenance. Sadly won't get me a job at the BBC :-\

I didn't know you was mixed race jazz? ;)

I used to hate ticking the ''Other'' box in the ethic background section on application forms. Mixed race wasn't an option till about 2001 :-\



I worry about the state of things in the U.S. Mixed Race isn't an option there to this day... I truly HATE that Barrack Obama gets called black by 95% of the world.

He probably calls himself Black :rolleyes:
My Mother would of smacked the shit out of me (no pun intended :-X ) for that ;D

Halle Berry, Thierry Henry, Lewis Hamilton, Alicia Keys etc.. all mixed race, all get called black/ call them selves black... I understand the hangup but it's nonsense.

What would you rather be? A Genetic hybrid or an Genetic Inbred? ;D

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

Being mixed-race, I tend to get it from everybody. I've been called pretty much every racial insult pertaining to mixed-race, black, Asian & Arab people & had racial abuse for the white side of me. So I'm kind of used to it. Truthfully, most of the time people come out with stuff, it's generally because they're ignorant, e.g. use of the term 'half-caste' which is very racist, but many people think is the normal term for mixed-race people, hell I did when I was little.

I used to have no problem beating on people for racist abuse, whether they were black, asian or white, but that was mainly when I was in my teens. Nowadays I get very little of it, mainly because being a bit older & bigger, I'm not perceived as an easy target. It's more general stereotypes that piss me off, like people always asking to buy drugs off me when I'm out in a club or when I had a job interview & the interviewer kept calling me 'man' & doing weird shit with his hands, as if I was a some ghetto stereotype in a string vest with a 40 oz rather than a double graduate in a suit.

Oh & for the record Adam, being a white male isn't what's holding you back. It's no easier being a non-white male, although I'm not saying it's harder. I think it generally boils down to class & who you know. A guy I did my Masters with, who was a considerably weaker candidate than me was able to get a job straight off the course. He didn't get jobs ahead of me because he's white, he got it because he's middle-class & his dad has a production company, cue connections. My old man has a small company that takes care of sewage maintenance. Sadly won't get me a job at the BBC :-\

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In most jobs that's the case, the areas I've found it in have been goverment jobs... there's strictly no canvasing.

The last one I went for before going self employed was in a Newcastle City Council Gym.

I had more qualifications than they wanted, I had experience and knowledge of everything on the person specification for the job and displayed this on my application form... I even had experience in working in newcastle city council (one of the specifications was 'able to work within and represent a local body). Ticked and exceeded every box... everything they wanted.

Like I said I live in a pretty nice area at the moment, so in terms of 'class' that's all they've got to go off on an application form.

They also wanted to know my ethnic background, maritial status, disabilitys and sexuality....








The application closed about 6 weeks ago and I've yet to hear a thing... I met literally every part of the person specification and my qualifications exceeded the minimum. Experience preferred but not necessary... I've got a shit load.

Not even an interview.

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Originally Posted by Grinch

I didn't know you was mixed race jazz? ;)

I used to hate ticking the ''Other'' box in the ethic background section on application forms. Mixed race wasn't an option till about 2001 :-\



I worry about the state of things in the U.S. Mixed Race isn't an option there to this day... I truly HATE that Barrack Obama gets called black by 95% of the world.

He probably calls himself Black :rolleyes:
My Mother would of smacked the shit out of me (no pun intended :-X ) for that ;D

Halle Berry, Thierry Henry, Lewis Hamilton, Alicia Keys etc.. all mixed race, all get called black/ call them selves black... I understand the hangup but it's nonsense.

What would you rather be? A Genetic hybrid or an Genetic Inbred? ;D

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The US is very different though because of the one drop rule. Someone who is say 1/16th black over there, is still considered black. Because of the attitude to mixed-races over there all those people have probably been defined as black their whole lives, so that's how they'll feel themselves.

Even in the UK a lot of people still tend to see mixed-race people as black, it's just the way of the world, it can be a bit irritating at times but it doesn't really bother me. Oddly, it's only really on here that I ever find myself reacting as a 'black' person because I always consider myself mixed, I mean I look more Arab or North African than anything else.

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In most jobs that's the case, the areas I've found it in have been goverment jobs... there's strictly no canvasing.

The last one I went for before going self employed was in a Newcastle City Council Gym.

I had more qualifications than they wanted, I had experience and knowledge of everything on the person specification for the job and displayed this on my application form... I even had experience in working in newcastle city council (one of the specifications was 'able to work within and represent a local body). Ticked and exceeded every box... everything they wanted.

Like I said I live in a pretty nice area at the moment, so in terms of 'class' that's all they've got to go off on an application form.

They also wanted to know my ethnic background, maritial status, disabilitys and sexuality....



The application closed about 6 weeks ago and I've yet to hear a thing... I met literally every part of the person specification and my qualifications exceeded the minimum. Experience preferred but not necessary... I've got a shit load.

Not even an interview.

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It's the same for me mate. They ask all those things (race, gender, sexuality, disability), but it honestly doesn't benefit you to be a minority. I'm an ethnic minority with learning difficulties, I've found it no easier to get a job than you & I'm similarly over-qualified for pretty much every position I apply to.

I've had so many interviews where I sit there & think I more than meet all the criteria, only for me to end up not even getting an interview. It's the recession, the new positions go to those who've got someone to vouch for them. I ended up taking unpaid employment for the TV station in the European Parliament. I was the only one who was unpaid of all the interns, but I was the most qualified & the only one who'd had any work experience in the TV industry (in my case working as part of the production team on the Beijing Olympics).

It's all about connections. You can have all the experience & talent in the world, but if you've got no connections you're fucked.

It depends on the job too.

A local solicitor's, builder's merchant etc etc won't have these in place but The Fire Service/City Councils have to fill certain quotas of 'backgrounds' to receive full funding from the government.

Obviously they don't want this to be mass public knowledge but anybody else who has worked in these places will tell you the same.

Of course there are also loads of advantages to being a white male, but we're talking about our personal experiences of discrimination etc.

You can go on tyne and wear's fire and rescue service recruitment site and see if in plain English "The Fire Services of the North East are looking for Wholetime Firefighters, particularly ethnic minorities and females.'

Imagine the UPROAR if it had said particularly white males.

I'm having to miss the most recent recruitment drive for the fire service, despite the fact that I passed the whole process last time there wasn't a job at the end of it and after 18 months you have to be retested.

- They knocked me back at the application stage this time. The carry out 'positive action' days leading up to recruitment... basically anybody can come to them except white males... you get to speak to the people running the recruitment process about what it entails etc.

My recruitment application gets knocked back because I put down 'self employed' under current employer (this was 'incorrect' so they didn't even read the rest of my application :rolleyes:).

A friend of mine... we'll call him paul... is mixed race and has been to several of these positive action days, like me he didn't recieve a letter telling him to do the written tests which take place during the period of a week.

Paul rings up... we'll call her sue, she runs the whole show... same as I did (confused as to how I could pass EVERYTHING with a high score last time yet not even have my application accepted this time) and asks "I haven't had a letter, has there been a problem". The differences is I don't know the women, having went to several of these 'positive action' days he's met and spoke to her several times.

I'm not saying he's done anything on purpose or knowingly etc but all I get told is 'no letter, no pass'... he gets told that she'll look into it and gets phoned back and given a test on the very last day and time of testing (but never had a letter sent out). If the Fire Service don't fill the quotas they don't get full funding... he's not half Indian/Pakistani etc... he's from a minority minority... not easy to find.

Now I could be wrong... but that just reeks of bullshit to be honest.

Even if it's just my paranoid little mind (his kid's my godson, I want him to get in...) and there's nothing going on... the fact that they're holding days to teach people how to prepare properly for the tests (as long as you're not white) and have a message on their own website that basically equates to
"we're particularly interested in you if you're an ethnic minority or a female" (ie: if you're not an ethnic minority or female (a white male basically) then we're not particularly interested in you) is pretty shitty.

During the interview you have to demonstrate occasions were you have acted sensitively and fairly to those of a different background... yet this organisation is segregation everybody into little boxes and is putting off putting messages on their website and billboards insensitive and off putting to people of a white background... equality my arse.

Again there are loads of advantages to being a white male, I'm just talking about a personal experience of it being a disadvantage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

It depends on the job too.

A local solicitor's, builder's merchant etc etc won't have these in place but The Fire Service/City Councils have to fill certain quotas of 'backgrounds' to receive full funding from the government.

Obviously they don't want this to be mass public knowledge but anybody else who has worked in these places will tell you the same.

Of course there are also loads of advantages to being a white male, but we're talking about our personal experiences of discrimination etc.

You can go on tyne and wear's fire and rescue service recruitment site and see if in plain English "The Fire Services of the North East are looking for Wholetime Firefighters, particularly ethnic minorities and females.'

Imagine the UPROAR if it had said particularly white males.

I'm having to miss the most recent recruitment drive for the fire service, despite the fact that I passed the whole process last time there wasn't a job at the end of it and after 18 months you have to be retested.

- They knocked me back at the application stage this time. The carry out 'positive action' days leading up to recruitment... basically anybody can come to them except white males... you get to speak to the people running the recruitment process about what it entails etc.

My recruitment application gets knocked back because I put down 'self employed' under current employer (this was 'incorrect' so they didn't even read the rest of my application :rolleyes:).

A friend of mine... we'll call him paul... is mixed race and has been to several of these positive action days, like me he didn't recieve a letter telling him to do the written tests which take place during the period of a week.

Paul rings up... we'll call her sue, she runs the whole show... same as I did (confused as to how I could pass EVERYTHING with a high score last time yet not even have my application accepted this time) and asks "I haven't had a letter, has there been a problem". The differences is I don't know the women, having went to several of these 'positive action' days he's met and spoke to her several times.

I'm not saying he's done anything on purpose or knowingly etc but all I get told is 'no letter, no pass'... he gets told that she'll look into it and gets phoned back and given a test on the very last day and time of testing (but never had a letter sent out). If the Fire Service don't fill the quotas they don't get full funding... he's not half Indian/Pakistani etc... he's from a minority minority... not easy to find.

Now I could be wrong... but that just reeks of bullshit to be honest.

Even if it's just my paranoid little mind (his kid's my godson, I want him to get in...) and there's nothing going on... the fact that they're holding days to teach people how to prepare properly for the tests (as long as you're not white) and have a message on their own website that basically equates to
"we're particularly interested in you if you're an ethnic minority or a female" (ie: if you're not an ethnic minority or female (a white male basically) then we're not particularly interested in you) is pretty shitty.

During the interview you have to demonstrate occasions were you have acted sensitively and fairly to those of a different background... yet this organisation is segregation everybody into little boxes and is putting off putting messages on their website and billboards insensitive and off putting to people of a white background... equality my arse.

Again there are loads of advantages to being a white male, I'm just talking about a personal experience of it being a disadvantage.

---

I agree, that is pretty stupid. I guess in an area that's overwhelmingly white they probably try & fill quotas that are unrealistic of the wider area of something. Especially for the Fire Service, it should be the best person for the job. Affirmative action is a bullshit way of people getting out of hiring the best person for the job & usually doesn't help all those people are discriminated against when looking for work. It usually does little to curb employers of any racist beliefs anyway since they aren't hiring someone for their skills, but to be PC.

It has been rather tough... Growing up as a upper middle class white kid in New England. ;D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JazMerkin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AdamGB

It depends on the job too.

A local solicitor's, builder's merchant etc etc won't have these in place but The Fire Service/City Councils have to fill certain quotas of 'backgrounds' to receive full funding from the government.

Obviously they don't want this to be mass public knowledge but anybody else who has worked in these places will tell you the same.

Of course there are also loads of advantages to being a white male, but we're talking about our personal experiences of discrimination etc.

You can go on tyne and wear's fire and rescue service recruitment site and see if in plain English "The Fire Services of the North East are looking for Wholetime Firefighters, particularly ethnic minorities and females.'

Imagine the UPROAR if it had said particularly white males.

I'm having to miss the most recent recruitment drive for the fire service, despite the fact that I passed the whole process last time there wasn't a job at the end of it and after 18 months you have to be retested.

- They knocked me back at the application stage this time. The carry out 'positive action' days leading up to recruitment... basically anybody can come to them except white males... you get to speak to the people running the recruitment process about what it entails etc.

My recruitment application gets knocked back because I put down 'self employed' under current employer (this was 'incorrect' so they didn't even read the rest of my application :rolleyes:).

A friend of mine... we'll call him paul... is mixed race and has been to several of these positive action days, like me he didn't recieve a letter telling him to do the written tests which take place during the period of a week.

Paul rings up... we'll call her sue, she runs the whole show... same as I did (confused as to how I could pass EVERYTHING with a high score last time yet not even have my application accepted this time) and asks "I haven't had a letter, has there been a problem". The differences is I don't know the women, having went to several of these 'positive action' days he's met and spoke to her several times.

I'm not saying he's done anything on purpose or knowingly etc but all I get told is 'no letter, no pass'... he gets told that she'll look into it and gets phoned back and given a test on the very last day and time of testing (but never had a letter sent out). If the Fire Service don't fill the quotas they don't get full funding... he's not half Indian/Pakistani etc... he's from a minority minority... not easy to find.

Now I could be wrong... but that just reeks of bullshit to be honest.

Even if it's just my paranoid little mind (his kid's my godson, I want him to get in...) and there's nothing going on... the fact that they're holding days to teach people how to prepare properly for the tests (as long as you're not white) and have a message on their own website that basically equates to
"we're particularly interested in you if you're an ethnic minority or a female" (ie: if you're not an ethnic minority or female (a white male basically) then we're not particularly interested in you) is pretty shitty.

During the interview you have to demonstrate occasions were you have acted sensitively and fairly to those of a different background... yet this organisation is segregation everybody into little boxes and is putting off putting messages on their website and billboards insensitive and off putting to people of a white background... equality my arse.

Again there are loads of advantages to being a white male, I'm just talking about a personal experience of it being a disadvantage.

---

I agree, that is pretty stupid. I guess in an area that's overwhelmingly white they probably try & fill quotas that are unrealistic of the wider area of something. Especially for the Fire Service, it should be the best person for the job. Affirmative action is a bullshit way of people getting out of hiring the best person for the job & usually doesn't help all those people are discriminated against when looking for work. It usually does little to curb employers of any racist beliefs anyway since they aren't hiring someone for their skills, but to be PC.

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All it does is breed ill feeling and stigmas towards ethnic minorities who do get such jobs.

Recruit the best person for the job regardless of ethnic background etc.

Bingo - instant equality.

I worked supporting victims of racial attacks, harassment and discrimination in Birmingham. It happened at schools, work place, police and council estates. Also had to deal with some murders in prison and night clubs. All whites on Blacks.

If it happened to me I would ignore their ignorance and laugh it off. They have the problem, not me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Master

I worked supporting victims of racial attacks, harassment and discrimination in Birmingham. It happened at schools, work place, police and council estates. Also had to deal with some murders in prison and night clubs. All whites on Blacks.

If it happened to me I would ignore their ignorance and laugh it off. They have the problem, not me.

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Good thing to think in most circumstances.
If youre effected even within they get the friction they are seeking to continue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andre

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Master

I worked supporting victims of racial attacks, harassment and discrimination in Birmingham. It happened at schools, work place, police and council estates. Also had to deal with some murders in prison and night clubs. All whites on Blacks.

If it happened to me I would ignore their ignorance and laugh it off. They have the problem, not me.

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Good thing to think in most circumstances.
If youre effected even within they get the friction they are seeking to continue.

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Yes, younger days I would have reacted but now, it is not worth it and in fact they are looking for a reaction from you and when they do not get it, that annoys them even more. :)

Ewe must be married too. :sheep: :sheep: