How Can It Be Wrong To Openly Say You Do Not Like Certain People?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321362/I-stand-Jewish-people-Lawyer-loses-career-office-rant-queue-jumping-man-medical-centre.html

/// Trouble began after she attended the Bardoc medical centre in Bury with her baby. The hearing was told a man dressed in Orthodox Jewish attire 'caused a scene' at the surgery and as a result was seen first by a doctor. ///

/// Back at the law firm Mrs Morris relayed the incident to a receptionist she shared her office with and said: 'I cannot stand Jewish people.' ///

Would she had been so treated if she had said "I cannot stand old people"?

[jomifl]

mikey, try reading what I said, not what you thought I said. The woman expressed an opinon, people are allowed to have opinions even as you are. Her opinion may have been based on her experiences and she was obviously angry and letting off steam. Saying she was ignorant and stupid is an ignorant and stupid thing to say since you haven't met her and are judging her based on little knowledge of her, just like her 'racism'. I had a neighbour now sadly dead who hated Japanese, all Japanese. Having been torpedoed twice and eventually ended up in a Japanese POW camp where two thirds of his fellow prisoners died of maltreatment I can understand his attitude. Whilst I can understand it I don't have any feelings of like or dislike of Japanese because I have no reason to have anything other than neutral feelings. Dislike is an emotion, it is not something arrived at intellectually, so should not be punished. I expect if she had said she loved Jews that would be OK, not at all racist but why not. It is strange how racism only works one way.

[jomifl]

Incidentally I have a Polish friend ( who is half Jewish), a couple of weeks ago she said she can't stand Poles because they are so rude. Sort that one out, racist or not?

[dave50]

If I was to say in public "I don't like the French and I also don't like Pakistanis" in the same sentence, what then?

[Zeuhl]

/ if she had said she loved Jews that would be OK/

Equally as stupid as 'i can't stand Jews'

Neither hold water when challenged with 'What? All Jews? Why?'

They may be 'opinions', but like any nonsense generalisation, they are best avoided unless one wants to seem stupid

[New Judge]

So best to keep your mouth shut and let others think you are stupid rather than open it and confirm their suspicions, eh Zeuhl ! :-)

Everybody has the right to behave stupidly now and then.

[Zeuhl]

Quite right NJ - a 'Dennis' is always a safer option

I think doing a particular stupid thing the one time is normal and perfectly OK

Repeating it without the sense to understand why it is a stupid thing is tedious; sadly it appears to be a career-choice for some who post on here ;-)