I've worked in various parts of Africa for years and while i don't class myself as a racist, i suppose in the true sence of the word, i am. I have nothing whatsoever against skin colour, whether it be green, black, white, yellow, ****ing sky blue pink, there are certain races that i do not like. Was going to say 'hate' but that's a bit strong. I have encountered racism towards myself and colleagues on a daily basis, to the point where it becomes the norm and even accepted. It's not nice, it's not nice to be in a minority and made to feel like you are the minority so i can empathise with some of the immigrants in the UK. In certain parts of Africa it is instilled into young childern to hate not just white men, but other races as well. They don't know why, they are just brought up with certain beliefs that have been passed down through generations, if you stop them and ask them 'why', they can't give you an answer. I've seen people who i've thought were trusted friends, turn against me when the **** hits the fan, the racism has been there all the time but never raised it's ugly head. To be honest, i try not to think about it too much, i turn a blind eye so to speak cos if io didn't, i wouldn't be able to do my job and there's **** all for me back home in the UK, our government saw to that.
Been there, done that, still doing that, got the t-shirt and then the ****s knicked it. Know where you're coming from.
Being Irish, I have suffered a form of racism, it's not a nice thing to go through, no it's not a British problem, as we found with Suarez
welder, thank you, thats the one I have been waiting for and to me it gives a new slant to the whole thing. I suppose the idea of the thread, well for me, was to possibly shoot down my sometimes high and mighty I am not racist stance. Likw I said in the OP its easy for me here in Coxhoe. PS, you have been in some strange places judging by the skin colours mentioned
It's not the places Syd, probably the drink TBH, i'm now sat in the BA lounge in Lagos, Nigeria, drink is free Seriously though, it's rife out here and a lot more in your face as well, that's just the way it is though and it sort of becomes acceptible. But unlike say, a black guy back in the UK raising his arms and creating holy ****, if i did that here i'd get locked up without a shadow of doubt, that's if the police got to me first.
Racism occurs everywhere I would imagine. The difference in the UK is that many people act as professional victims and look for opportunities to be offended (quite often on someone elses behalf), just to so that they can hold the moral high ground. This occurs less in other countries, as I perceive it.
Sorry to bother , not an ex pat either , spent my whole life in Canada . Was raised much like the author of this article , racism nowhere to be seen . Raised on a navy base in Nova Scotia , just outside of Dartmouth , . In 1967 that quickly changed when I was bused to an area outside of Dartmouth to high school , as were all " navy brats " , to a community that most descendants of " The Underground Railway " were taken that were snuck out of the Southern States around the time of the American Civil War . 10% White & 90% Black was quite a eye opener & a bit scary at first . As the few years went on it was great , made some great black friends & overall gave me a good structure for the rest of my life . Now I'm not saying that being made to go to that high school was proper , but sometimes rights do come out of wrongs . Cheers & good luck all .
I currently live and work in South Africa, on one occasion I had to put up with being a victim of racial abuse simply for being white and English. Quite a shock to the system, considering I've never experienced anything like that for all the years spent living in the UK. Did think long and hard as to whether it worth continuing living here, or packing it all in to come back for good, still undecided.
