skin colour & racism

[MINTED187]

When will people actually accept people of different skin colours? i mean for gods sake its the year 2005 and the world cannot live in peace with others who are different to them?

how can you possibly hate somebody because of their skin colour? somebody please explain!!

im sick and tired of hearing about race crimes and racial hatred in the uk and it seems that it is growing amongst the youth. i can see the view by when immigration took place decades ago in this country and it was the fear of the unknown, but when youve been brought up amongst different cultures and races where does the hatred come from?

we have to resolve this issue bring on peace!!!

[MINTED187]

Octavius i know what you mean there have been advances but deep down there are still those prejudices its a real shame that people are still like this its sad really, as in sad pathetic.

stereotypes about the Irish,Indian,asian,gypsies, black,elderly, disabled etc etc will always remain there. people who are not willing to overcome these are merely just missing out on enriching their lives witha whole host of new cultures and celebrations and ways of life etc etc...

[MINTED187]

celtigra3 my parents were educated in nairobi kenya and they speak fondly of having mixed groups of friends and neighbours. there seemed a better form of acceptance there. they all wanted an educationa and a better happier life and what other way of achieving this then by just accepting people for who they are

its only here that theres seeems to be issues and befor eanyone has another go at me, i mean that there are some not all of the people in the uk that have this view!! even growing up in the playgrounds and taunts in kenya my parents never mentioned anything like this to me

[MINTED187]

derekpara i too think that there has to be more integration efforts from minorities and allegience to the country that they choose to live in.

unwillingness to integrate and reject the host countrys culture can be a negative affect on them, but also i think that if in the firstplace you are greeted with hostility by the country i can see why minorities are unwilling to integrate as mucha s they should.

there has to be an even balance. no body is saying that you must not wear traditional dress or celebrate your own traditions and customs as with saying that just beacuse you live in this country as a minority you have to reject your own beliefs and values and be english!!

it really does take both sides for peace to evolve but there needs to be more eduaction on the matter

[MINTED187]

Ward-minter hello! good post!

i see what you mean when a question is posted or answered and somebody doesnt like it they get defensive and start calling people racist or thinking that the question is over the top or out of order!

i have not read any of your posts in regards to you being branded a racist but this is a discussion forum and people are forgetting that, we are talking about issues here and people seem to want to have a personal go at people and not really have anything to say on the issue.

also very quick to judge! nobody knows anyones background here or circumstances. yet because of the type of question or answer that somebody puts in they are tagged with being a racist or in my case agrrevating the situation!

i could be an asian or white or black or married to a person of a different race or indeed be a racist myself! i could even be yeallo giraffe! the point is that its not relavant. the relevance of the dissusions on here are for people to put their points across and thats all!

[vehelpfulguy]

Although your question does not imply it, often people think that being racist is whites hating blacks or asians. But it is not only whites.

I heard a program on Radio 4 a few months ago where some white jewish students in Leeds, who lived in an Asain area, were forever calling police because the Asians were always calling them y*ds and throwing things at their house.

I also heard part of an Asian radio station here in the Midlands. It was a phone in, and I was staggered at how critical and negative the Asains were to black people.

I also heard another phone in where a policeman who worked in an area with a lot of black people said the African blacks were always fighting with the West Indian blacks.

So I am afraid we are stuck with it. People have ALWAYS disliked people who are different. I bet in cave man times people complained about the Neandertals moving in the cave nearby.

The differeance now is that we live in a more violent society. So instead of just shouting abuse you get a knife out.

If I think of the last few weeks we have had the 2 white thugs who killed the black boy in Liverpool, we also had the 3 asians who kicked the white boy to death for no reason, and here in the midlands we have trial of a young black boy who is accused of stabbing a white man during a mugging.

It is not just blacks and asians, nobody is safe, of any colour.

[MINTED187]

vehelpfulguy yes i think that is what makes it worse that fact that it is a more violent society which amkes the crimes all the more worse.

i do agree that there is also hatred within different types of race too like jamaicans against west indians or pakistanis against indians and not even relating to colour the fact that england, scotland, wales and ireland have tensions and stereo types attached which breed insecurity and fear

maybe its just an inbuilt protective reaction to others different in general

[MINTED187]

and before people think that i am implying that i mean whites against blacks i am not. my question does ask why cannot people tolerate others of different skin colours so it gos both ways.

there are answers on here which have jumped too soon by saying that i am talking about whites against blacks and that i think the uk population is all racist, (see previous answers)

that is untrue i am talking about racism in relation to judging people by their skin tone whether white on black or brown on white or yellow on black etc..etc..

maybe i should rephrase my question!

thanks everyonre for the answers its been very interesting to hear different view points!.

[Gef]

Thanks for the reply MINTED. It was more the tone of your question that I was objecting to. I too wish that racism did not exist.

Ward-Minter does not help by confusing racism with religion.

[Ward-Minter]

Gef It seems you are easily confused as my thread makes a clean diistinction.

However since Sept 11th the law on many issues changed to encompass religion in most race-hate crimes. Therefore, ergo methinks to the untrained eye they are the same.

Further apart from Christianity I would safely say that the vast majority of religion can be colour orientated. Maybe I am wrong?

[Gef]

Sorry Ward I am not easily confused and you are deinitely wrong. The original question did not mention religion you were the one that brought it up.

[Chessman]

I've read some of the posts, but not all, so I apologise if i'm repeating anything.

[Chessman]

Pressed the wrong button, to continue, I don't think you'll ever get rid of racism, purely and simp;y, because people are different, and you can't get rid of peoples feelings. What you can do, which I think has already been said,

[Chessman]

Sorry, got a lot of disturbances at home at the moment, i'm giving up.

[Booldawg]

Some people hate others who look different to them. Some people wish to promote and see their own culture flourish amongst others. Some wish, and even demand to see their offspring marry into and breed their 'own kind'. Some people use their culture or appearance to gain advantage over others. All of the above are racist and from all cultures/walks of life. We are all racist.

[loudickson71]

i don't think racism is rooted in fear or ignorance. It's about belonging to a group and a culture. Sometimes the "content" of racism is not colour but the cultural difference that it is supposed to represent. People who value their country's culture and perceive an external culture as a threat will tend to stigmatise those who appear to represent the foreign culture.

It's nice to talk 'fear' and 'ignorance' as being the roots of racism, and I'm sure it appears a great deal in police-trainging literature and the Daily Mirror, but sadly it is just not supported by the evidence.

[diana.m]

Do you think its got something to do with rights of ownership and that people who are intolerant of others, do not want to share what they have. They seem afraid that the 'ethnics' will take over and they will some how lose out. I also think its a problem of understanding, as each others cultures /mannerisms and interactions differ and can sometimes appear rude to those that do not understand them. For instance, isnt thumbs up rude in Greece but means ok in England and there are those who are easily offended or become affraid of what they dont understand.

It is obviously a complex issue and prejudices stem from many reasons not just about colour and race; as many have already pointed out. I was the only ethnic looking child at primary school and was called n1gger because I am darker skinned than most English (native) people. I have been asked by Asian men whether I am half cast! What does that mean? I have a Mother and a Father which I suppose makes me half cast and everyone else doesnt it? But I was insulted by that remark should I have been?

I hope this opens the debate further.

[loudickson71]

Yes. Important to the Ingroup/outgroup effect is competition over scarce resources (Tajfel).