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

[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

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

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
My Mother would of smacked the shit out of me (no pun intended ) for that

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?

[JazMerkin]

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
My Mother would of smacked the shit out of me (no pun intended ) for that

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?

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.

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.

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.

[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 ).

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.

[JazMerkin]

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 ).

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.

[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 ).

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.

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.

[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.

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

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

[Andre]

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

Cool, you must have an accent like Peter Griffin then?

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

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

Cool, you must have an accent like Peter Griffin then?

Actually Quahog is based off of the town I grew up in It's Warwick RI

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

I think it's great the way you guys say 'Car'
You all sound half Irish

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

I think it's great the way you guys say 'Car'
You all sound half Irish

I sometimes pahk the cah neah hahvahd yahd so I can grab some brews at the bah.

That's really how we sound...

[X]

My dad is Tanzanian and my mum is Welsh ..... I had 5 years as a kid in Tanzania with no problems, then we moved to South Africa. This was in the Apartheid years, so legal segregation was in force - We werent allowed to eat in the same restaurants, drink in the same bars, go to the same shops, use the same water fountains or even park benches. Their crazy system of race classification made us all totally different and mistreated. All legal and encouraged by redneck Dutch inbreds.

Left there and went to America ...... where it was just as bad. 'All men are created equal' my arse! Racism wasnt legal of course, but it wasnt even kept hidden and it was a common undercurrent in everything (even today, you dont see a lot of mixing - you get your white, black, asian grounps in shopping malls, but always separately. Wierd)

Left there and came to the UK ....... more integrated and racism was definitely the exception. Still, copped my unfair share at a pretty tough boarding school until I captained the boxing team in my very first year and fucked up anyone who looked at me funnny. Sad to say that the current recession and job/immigration fears mean that racism is on the rise here now.

So ... yes, I have experienced lots of racism.

[X]

I told my fiancee and friends I wanted to racially segregate our wedding.

They didn't really warm to it.

I was met with a mixed reception.

[Andre]

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

Cool, you must have an accent like Peter Griffin then?

Actually Quahog is based off of the town I grew up in It's Warwick RI

Youre sounding cooler by the moment.

You have Peters voice,

You have Quagmires lifestyle.

And now your town is part of it all as well.