Blatant Racism Alive And Well In London

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24516762

I noticed the irony of an obviously foreign letting agent, discriminating against a black under-cover reporter. We don't seem to have come very far from the days when signs saying " No Black, No Dogs and No Irish" were common place in Britain.

[FredPuli43]

Baz, what's your opinion of 'No dogs' as a bar ?

[FredPuli43]

Must say that I've been a landlord and my only concerns were whether the tenant was good for the rent; credit checks on the tenant or guarantor; and whether he or she was likely to damage the property; answer was to take a deposit. I never knew that I was to refuse the likes of sp, who I believe is non-white, or black law students, simply because that was bad business practice; I should have refused anybody and everybody who was black.

Baz, what was I doing wrong ? I was a landlord in West London,as well as in Cambridge and Newmarket. Have you been a landlord?

[bazwillrun]

"You can memorise that, it will save you having to do anything more complicated when sizing up prospective tenents. "

thanks a lot for that...dont know how i'd survive without such insider nous

[Svejk]

That's discrimination against poor people,Fred.And people who don't pay their bills.

[pixie373]

Wow, baz. I really thought that attitude had died out with Alf Garnet!

[bazwillrun]

"Have you been a landlord?"

oh yes indeedydoody... !

why ? you gonna offer me some little gems of info on how to run my business, always open to ways to increase my income

[jim360]

Ultimately you are bound by the laws that protect people against racial discrimination, so it isn't your choice anyway. Well, it is: you can choose to remember that the actions of people have nothing to do with what they look like, and everything to do with who they are -- or you can choose to break the law.

[bazwillrun]

pixie

you also going to tell me who i should or shouldnt rent properties to ?

Turned down a white person a few weeks back, didnt like the look of them...is that allowed or do i have to get it my decisions vetted by the "do as i say" mob on here

[andy-hughes]

baz - "... always open to ways to increase my income ..." - try being a nice human being not a nasty bigot, that will work wonders!

[bazwillrun]

"Ultimately you are bound by the laws that protect people against racial discrimination"

true but those laws still cant force me or anybody to let a proeprty to persons or people they dont want in their properties

[bazwillrun]

"baz - "... always open to ways to increase my income ..." - try being a nice human being not a nasty bigot, that will work wonders! "

the "b" word, you gotta love it on here. Brilliant

havent had the "k" word yet today (give it time) mikey must be feeling off colour

[FredPuli43]

I don't want racists in my property. Might have to make it an exclusion clause for it in leases, to replace the ones about informing the landlord of notifiable diseases and not harbouring lunatics (it's a very old precedent I'm using but still valid)

[pixie373]

I'm not telling you anything. Just shocked at your black person /white person views. If you really need to discriminate against a group of people, i would suggest men. Most criminals are male, so clearly men can never be trusted. Just deal with women and your business is safe;-)

[jim360]

But what other way is there of describing someone who reaches snap judgements about a person based on their skin colour than "bigot"? There is no point pretending it's rational -- there are of course Black people who are nasty pieces of work, but equally there are White people who are the same. In fact the only division should be between good tenants and bad tenants. Skin colour has nothing whatsoever to do with determining whether or not a tenant is good -- and anyone who thinks otherwise is being bigoted. I don't particularly derive any pleasure for saying that, in fact I think it's sad that there are still people in this world who think it's acceptable or correct to judge people by skin colour (or sexuality, gender, creed, race, etc.).

[FredPuli43]

But I am still puzzled, baz.

What do black tenants do that white tenants don't ? Obviously I was, and will be in the future (once I've paid the electricity bill here, I may have the capital), doing this landlord business in West London all wrong. You are a landlord and experienced, no doubt, beyond me, so please explain your blanket policy.

[Svejk]

You can legislate till you're blue in the face, people will still use their own discretion/criteria when dealing with others. Fred, presumably, had a bad experience renting to poor people so he discriminates against them. Baz is exercising the same Judgement and gets called rude names. Tut tut tut.

[FredPuli43]

Svejk, you presume too much. I have never had a bad experience letting to poor people. If someone pays the rent, that's fine. Even if I ran a hostel for the poorest, I would expect someone or some body to be paying. That's natural ; if I put the capital in, I expect some return, otherwise I would leave it in the bank or buy shares or some other investment, which won't help anyone who wants somewhere to live.

But what still puzzles me is what black tenants do, or don't do, which white tenants don't do or do? What is the practical difference ?

[sp1814]

Baz

Actually, the 'k' word starts with a 'c'.

It's just that phonetically it sound like a 'k'.

[sp1814]

Svejk

Absolutely - no government and no law will ever eradicate racism, but what anti-discrimination laws do, is provide a framework to penalise those people who discriminate on the grounds of race, sex, sexuality, physical handicap etc.

I know that there are those who would like to turn the clock back to the 70s, but it simply isn't going to happen. As these people die out, they are replaced by more liberal thinkers.

That is not a bad thing.

Also - with less 'racially motivated' people around, there will be fewer opportunities to implement anti-discriminatory laws.

Winning all around.

[andy-hughes]

Thanks sp - I thought he was referring to the Ku Klux Klan!!!