[The Dude]

I recently changed careers. In my previous life I worked in various administration and customer services roles for fifteen years, before I realised it bored the p*ss out of me. I decided to become a driver for a living, as it's good honest work and I love to drive around. The money's crap, but easy come, easy go.

The company I work for supplies parts and spares to local garages and I deliver them. I work with seven people. Three drivers, a warehouse manager and the three office peeps. All of them on numerous occasions hold forth extremely racist and right wing views. There isn't a day goes by where I go to work and hear some negative comments about another ethnic group, be they blacks, asians, chinese or even scots and scousers.

These comments disturb me a great deal as I was brought up in a pretty liberal household. My colleagues are from all walks of life - (one of them used to be a university lecturer!) yet all of them are complete bigots. As it's such a small company, there's no-one really to complain to as the absent owner and MD is the biggest racist of them all.

Which really begs the question. Even though it's now morally unacceptable to express these views (and thank the Lord for that!), how many people express them in private?

Food for thought, and I just wanted y'all's take on it.

[MK Chris]

I think as a society, we are still very racist, even though we seem to get on the moral high horse when someone else is doing it. I don't think I am racist, but then I would imagine neither do the people you describe, however, I do not slag off ethnic groups.

[Yudster]

You can legislate all you like, but you can't proscribe inidivdual's opinions. And nor should you be able to. My first husband was half Indian, my two older children are mixed race (and unbelievably beautiful as a result). I'm not aware that we as a family experienced any obvious racism, but maybe I'm just not particularly sensitive about that stuff. Other people I have spoken to who have similar family circumstances tell me that they have been subject to abuse, discrimination, whatever. These are people who live in the same place as we did, go to the same places - why did they experience racism, when we didn't? I've often wondered that.

[Boboff]

Hmm, racism is prevalent still within the working classes of this country, and more so within the older generation.

My Father insists on sending me text jokes of varying degrees of Racism, sexism, and "takethe pissoutofatragedyism" I do find them offensive.

I have a number of "illegals" who work for me, and have seen them over the last 5 years imprve and grow as people, now ok a few have gone to prison or been deported, but the majority are good people. Those biggots who say they get all these benefits and hand outs are just wrong, they get 4 to a bedsit and vouchers. They work hard, are polite, and now pay allot of tax and National Insurance ! ( One complained the other day, and I jokingly said he paid so much tax because of all the bloody illegal immigrants, oh the irony!)

Hopefully 30 years from now Racism will be a thing of the past, but not liking people will be ok, in this ever so politically correct world, you have to be carefull, just because you don't like someone it can be seen as harrasment. So no to racism, but Viv is still annoying, and it should be ok to say that.

[foot-loose]

Racism is a nasty word and one which seems to categorise so much so quickly. I don't think its that straight forward.

On one hand, I think that people need to look at what they believe. If someone believes that they are a better person than someone else because of that persons colour, beliefs, sexuality or abilities then they need to address that - that is what I would see as racist.

If a group of friends take the piss out each other, thats different. Its a thin line I admit, but I do think that there are too many people out there who take life far too seriously.

Another point are those who contually demand to be accepted in society while at the same time fighting against what our society is actually like. I believe that everyone needs to live and let live but that has to work both ways. People cant say that they are being discriminated against if every time they get something they want, they start off on something else.

Thats what I think anyways

[Nicola_Red]

Yeah, this is an interesting Q. Reminds me of a story my former assistant manager here told a while back about how his dentists' practice had had a change of staff and his new dentist was a Turkish lady in a headscarf (a zhengda?) He said that he had thought to himself that he wasn't sure whether he wanted this lady as his dentist, and then, disturbed, wondered if he was in fact racist and hadn't realised it.

I think at heart we're all a bit wary of and curious about difference. I get stared at, and sometimes commented on, cos of my hair, piercings and tattoos. It's not polite, but I understand why people do it. I get the feeling a lot of nearly-racism is that same instinct. It can be equally harmful; when I lived in a rough area I used to get tin cans and eggs thrown at me by the local scallies, and an ex of mine got beaten up at a train station apparently cos he had purple hair. People are just scared of difference, and it can take a lot to get round that fear.

[Boboff]

you went out with Barnie ?

[Nicola_Red]

you went out with Barnie ?

you mean Barney the dinosaur? No. Just a bloke who dyed his hair purple once.

[S4B]

I agree lottie, sometime the race card gets played when it's actually a difference of opinion on a human level not race. That is more likely to make me racist although I'm not at all

[S4B]

I'm with you again. 60% of unacceptable terms are made up by dogooders who think they're protecting a minority whenthe minority actually had never thought about it. I say we should treat everyone as we would be like to be treated and differences of opinion should be treated as such. I'm all for a debate but the world has gone crazy!

[MK Chris]

That's not racist but you do protest a little too much about not listening to Radio 4.

[Nicola_Red]

this representative of some certain group against racism or something was saying how they want certain phrases to be banned such as you could no longer be able to say black night or anything with black in it. I don't know if I'm being racist now but thats ridiculous.

I remember hearing the same thing about the phrase "accident blackspot" on road signs. It would never have occured to me that that was problematic but when you think about it it is essentially using 'black' to mean 'a bad thing'. Hmm.

[Nicola_Red]

Should I be offended when people go on about how horrible pale white skin is in the summer?

Haha, I could easily take offence at that too! Many girls obviously do judging by the amount of bright orange women I see walking around. I was slapping on factor 50 before I came out this morning.

[S4B]

too right! Factor 50 is good

[MK Chris]

this representative of some certain group against racism or something was saying how they want certain phrases to be banned such as you could no longer be able to say black night or anything with black in it. I don't know if I'm being racist now but thats ridiculous.

I remember hearing the same thing about the phrase "accident blackspot" on road signs. It would never have occured to me that that was problematic but when you think about it it is essentially using 'black' to mean 'a bad thing'. Hmm.

Yeah, but that's a totally different context; black has long been used to describe different things and sometimes it gets used to describe bad or evil things. I think the reason for this is not racist, It's because the 'dark' is often thought of as a scary thing, and with it, black. Not black people, but black as a dark colour.

Should Star Wars be considered racist because of it's use of the phrase 'Dark Side'? I mean black people are sometimes referred to as 'dark skinned' or 'dark' people. It depends how extreme you want to take it and to some extent I agree with Charlalottie about whether you get offended or not, but clearly there are some words and phrases that blatantly are offensive and should not be used.

[S4B]

My god I agree with every word of that my little blue friend!

[SAV1OUR]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,1102 ... 47_SUN2311

Its racism time on BB again! The world is full of stupid girls, from Paris Hilton to Britney Spears to Jade Goody to err..Emily.
Lead Balloons just dont come more cutting than this:

She has been booted out for saying the word "nigger" while dancing

Below is the full transcript of the incident, which was not screened on the live feed.

Emily: (referring to Charley dancing/pushing her hips forward) You pushing it out you n****r.

Nicky: (shocked laughter) Em, I can't believe you said that.

Charley: You are in trouble.

Emily: Don't make a big thing out of it then. I was joking.

Charley: I know you were… but that's some serious sh**, sorry.

Emily: Why?

Charley: Oh my god. I'm not even saying it.

Nicky: Just don't talk about it anymore.

Emily: I was joking.

Charley: Do you know how many viewers would watch that?

Nicky: Okay, don't make a big deal out of it.

Charley: Fancy you saying that. I can't believe you said that.

Emily: Somebody has already used that word in this house.

Charley: No way. (Pause) Yeah, me. I'm a n****r.

Nicky laughs.

Charley: I am one. Fancy you saying it. I know maybe you see it in a rap song. Maybe you and your friends sit there saying it.

Emily: I'm friendly with plenty of black people.

Nicky: And you call them n****rs?

Emily: Yeah and they call me n****rs. They call me wiggers as well.

Nicky: I'm quite shocked.

Charley: I'm f***ing in shock.

Emily: It's not a big deal though is it?

Charley: Not for us it ain't. F*** me.

[Yudster]

At least if they are all in one place it will be easy to kill them all quickly.

[SAV1OUR]

There was a great moment before the first BBBM went out last week, Channel 4 has fancy graphics for its idents, and it showed Russel Brand being hit by an asteroid or something, massive big thing it was, looked real too. It would certainly wipe most the house out.

[Yudster]

Shame it was only a special effect. Perhaps they could put Russell Brand in there too, and we could get the real thing?

[pjordan2000]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,1102 ... 47_SUN2311

Its racism time on BB again! The world is full of stupid girls, from Paris Hilton to Britney Spears to Jade Goody to err..Emily.
Lead Balloons just dont come more cutting than this:

She has been booted out for saying the word "*" while dancing

Below is the full transcript of the incident, which was not screened on the live feed.

Emily: (referring to Charley dancing/pushing her hips forward) You pushing it out you n****r.

Nicky: (shocked laughter) Em, I can't believe you said that.

Charley: You are in trouble.

Emily: Don't make a big thing out of it then. I was joking.

Charley: I know you were… but that's some serious sh**, sorry.

Emily: Why?

Charley: Oh my god. I'm not even saying it.

Nicky: Just don't talk about it anymore.

Emily: I was joking.

Charley: Do you know how many viewers would watch that?

Nicky: Okay, don't make a big deal out of it.

Charley: Fancy you saying that. I can't believe you said that.

Emily: Somebody has already used that word in this house.

Charley: No way. (Pause) Yeah, me. I'm a n****r.

Nicky laughs.

Charley: I am one. Fancy you saying it. I know maybe you see it in a rap song. Maybe you and your friends sit there saying it.

Emily: I'm friendly with plenty of black people.

Nicky: And you call them n****rs?

Emily: Yeah and they call me n****rs. They call me wiggers as well.

Nicky: I'm quite shocked.

Charley: I'm f***ing in shock.

Emily: It's not a big deal though is it?

Charley: Not for us it ain't. F*** me.

I agree that she has been kicked out for it but why hasn't Charley? She said it too?

[SAV1OUR]

More chance of getting HEMORRHOIDS with him though. The 'Lunar Crime Wave' may be a well founded notion afterall. Now we just need the aforemntioned rock to hit the house and end this sorry long drawn-out show for good. Its cursed.

[Nicola_Red]

Is Charley black? (I've never seen BB but that's what I insinuate from that transcript.) Cos black people are "allowed" to say it.

[pjordan2000]

Yeah she is. Can't see how its accepted with Charley saying it when Emily can't, if that makes sense?

[Nicola_Red]

It does make sense to me, but somehow it's been deemed okay for black people to say it cos they are referring to themselves and so it can't be being used as an insult. Like how gay people have reclaimed the word 'queer'.