[Marc]

Yes everyone is

[King Gizzard]

If you were born without media/papers/general outside influence etc etc on a remote island with different coloured people and races you wouldn't know any better and thought it normal. So people aren't born racist

[King Gizzard]

same with any prejudice really, it is learned

[Braden]

I watched a C4 show not that long ago, which covered this topic. It was a very interesting watch, I was surprised with how much it exposed.

It's on YouTube, I'd recommend anyone to watch it:

Youtube video

[Mystic Mock]

I love my Black and Asian girls a little too much to even try to be racist.

But I've got tbh until I was in year 3 of Primary School I was a little racist because I actually never bothered to speak to any of the ethnic students (which I know was my own fault) but in the end once I got to know some of them I had an Asian best friend and I used to play a lot of Sport with the Black students but I was never as close with them though as they loved smoking Cigarettes at my School so it took me until Secondry School to get black friends that didn't want me to smoke Cigarettes and had more in common with.

[Me. I Am Salman]

no. even being remotely racist makes you a horrible person

when I say that though I mean people who see other races as inferior/view them with disgust etc. not necessarily someone who's anti-immigration for example

[Kizzy]

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, 1910:

''Why, even 'ere in Mugsborough,' chimed in Sawkins,`We're overrun with 'em! Nearly all the waiters and the cook at the Grand Hotel where we was working last month is foreigners.'

'Yes,' said old Joe Philpot, tragically, 'and then thers all them Hitalian horgin grinders, an' the blokes wot sells 'ot chestnuts; an' wen I was goin' 'ome last night I see a lot of them Frenchies sellin' hunions, an' a little wile afterwards I met two more of 'em comin' up the street with a bear.'

And so the talk continued, principally carried on by Crass and those who agreed with him. None of them really understood the subject: not one of them had ever devoted fifteen consecutive minutes to the earnest investigation of it. The papers they read were filled with vague and alarming accounts of the quantities of foreign merchandise imported into this country, the enormous number of aliens constantly arriving, and their destitute conditions, how they lived, the crimes they committed, and the injury they did to British trade. These were the seeds which, cunningly sown in their minds, caused to grow up within them a bitter undiscriminating hatred of foreigners... The country was in a hell of a state, poverty, hunger and misery in a hundred forms had already invaded thousands of homes and stood upon the thresholds of thousands more. How came these things to be? It was the bloody foreigner! Therefore, down with the foreigners and all their works. Out with them. Drive them b--s into the bloody sea! The country would be ruined if not protected in some way...It was all quite plain - quite simple. One did not need to think twice about it. It was scarcely necessary to think about it at all.''

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Salman!

no. even being remotely racist makes you a horrible person

when I say that though I mean people who see other races as inferior/view them with disgust etc. not necessarily someone who's anti-immigration for example

That's a great post Salman, and an important distinction to make. I think the fact that people haven't been allowed to express their worries about immigration for fear of being labelled a racist has made some people feel a little oppressed and to an extent fuelled UKIP's success.

[Nedusa]

This is a very difficult subject to discuss because many prejudices are grouped together under the banner of racism.

In my opinion as has been said earlier nobody is born racist it is a learned prejudice. however fear of strangers or xenophobia or religious ignorance or aversion to other cultures have all to a certain extent been grouped into this common racism banner.

Nobody should view other races or religions as inferior but they do perhaps through the prism of modernity whereby some of the practices are a little outdated in a modern world.

To an extent we all have a fear of change and are unsettled by rapid mass immigration as opposed to the normal age-old migration of peoples and cultures. Does this make us racist if we voice these perceived fears ?

My concern is that we have not be allowed to debate any of this for decades not since the first large influxes from the West Indies or Kenya, no real debate has been allowed and the stifling of this debate coupled with the rise of Nationalist parties like the National Front and the BNP have not helped either.

Only now with more moderate parties like UKIP highlighting immigration as part of a wider European agenda are we at last able to talk about this subject without the immediate label of racist being levied.

[bananarama]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

This is a very difficult subject to discuss because many prejudices are grouped together under the banner of racism.

In my opinion as has been said earlier nobody is born racist it is a learned prejudice. however fear of strangers or xenophobia or religious ignorance or aversion to other cultures have all to a certain extent been grouped into this common racism banner.

Nobody should view other races or religions as inferior but they do perhaps through the prism of modernity whereby some of the practices are a little outdated in a modern world.

To an extent we all have a fear of change and are unsettled by rapid mass immigration as opposed to the normal age-old migration of peoples and cultures. Does this make us racist if we voice these perceived fears ?

My concern is that we have not be allowed to debate any of this for decades not since the first large influxes from the West Indies or Kenya, no real debate has been allowed and the stifling of this debate coupled with the rise of Nationalist parties like the National Front and the BNP have not helped either.

Only now with more moderate parties like UKIP highlighting immigration as part of a wider European agenda are we at last able to talk about this subject without the immediate label of racist being levied.

At last a post that explains the reality of human thought. The word "racist" is used in a careless way as is the the word "love".

Being against another persons culture is not racism it is basically a personality clash of opposing beliefs. Being against another belief is not being "phobic" either its simply a fact people have different viewpoints.....Because people have different beliefs should not mean they should be labelled either with the word racist or phobics.......

To label people in such a way is ignorance by those using such labels and such people need to take off thier self installed halo and remove their goody goody two shoes from their feet.....

Racism is about disliking some one because of their colour or nationality and no other valid reason.......

For example would it be fair to call someone a racist if they are opposed the the genital mutilation of girls that some cultures practice. Or would you call such a person "phobic". Of course not .......

So people when you are using the word racist stop and think what it really is........If you do that you can safely assume that most people are not racist.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

This is a very difficult subject to discuss because many prejudices are grouped together under the banner of racism.

In my opinion as has been said earlier nobody is born racist it is a learned prejudice. however fear of strangers or xenophobia or religious ignorance or aversion to other cultures have all to a certain extent been grouped into this common racism banner.

Nobody should view other races or religions as inferior but they do perhaps through the prism of modernity whereby some of the practices are a little outdated in a modern world.

To an extent we all have a fear of change and are unsettled by rapid mass immigration as opposed to the normal age-old migration of peoples and cultures. Does this make us racist if we voice these perceived fears ?

My concern is that we have not be allowed to debate any of this for decades not since the first large influxes from the West Indies or Kenya, no real debate has been allowed and the stifling of this debate coupled with the rise of Nationalist parties like the National Front and the BNP have not helped either.

Only now with more moderate parties like UKIP highlighting immigration as part of a wider European agenda are we at last able to talk about this subject without the immediate label of racist being levied.

..I agree with the first part of your post Nedusa...people aren't born with prejudice, it's a learned thing and only education can unlearn it and begin to change views...I don't think it's anything to do with politics though, I don't think opinions are going to be altered at all there, I think it's something that has to be addressed at a very young age and through education but that can only happen if all influences are co-operative because it's often learned in the home and in the general environment etc of that person...I think to a certain extent, some older people's views will never change because they're so instilled in them from childhood and through life so in a way, they can't help it and don't often realise that they're saying racist things or being racist but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't always be pointed out to them because it should but their 'influences' are also their peers who are often like-minded to them so it's hard for them to actually see it...anyway, with children, I know some people feel that religion shouldn't be taught in schools/has no place in schools...but I think it's only through teaching/educating and understanding different religions/cultures etc that we can teach children to be tolerant and unprejudiced which will carry on into adulthood...religion in schools isn't about, oh let's learn about God today...it very much focuses on different faiths/beliefs/cultures etc and learning about them...

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..I agree with the first part of your post Nedusa...people aren't born with prejudice, it's a learned thing and only education can unlearn it and begin to change views...I don't think it's anything to do with politics though, I don't think opinions are going to be altered at all there, I think it's something that has to be addressed at a very young age and through education but that can only happen if all influences are co-operative because it's often learned in the home and in the general environment etc of that person...I think to a certain extent, some older people's views will never change because they're so instilled in them from childhood and through life so in a way, they can't help it and don't often realise that they're saying racist things or being racist but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't always be pointed out to them because it should but their 'influences' are also their peers who are often like-minded to them so it's hard for them to actually see it...anyway, with children, I know some people feel that religion shouldn't be taught in schools/has no place in schools...but I think it's only through teaching/educating and understanding different religions/cultures etc that we can teach children to be tolerant and unprejudiced which will carry on into adulthood...religion in schools isn't about, oh let's learn about God today...it very much focuses on different faiths/beliefs/cultures etc and learning about them...

I agree with all you have said above,great post and a good post again from Nedusa too.

However,I do in part blame politicians too,for too long now the issue of immigration for example has become a tug of war and competition between the parties.

No moreso than these last few years with 2 main parties at it and then UKIP going on and on about it which all helps fuel suspicion and dislike of different races and cultures.
Until politicians 'grow up' and remove immigration from party politics and agree on a set plan as to the issue then you will always have our rotten media printing over the top stories on immigration,with the governing politicians and other parties handing the ammunition to the media.

This all then results on people of different races and culture being blamed for near all ills in the UK and fuels racism, it's time the politicians woke up to that fact.

I do agree with you Ammi that more needs to be done in schools to combat racism in any form and I also don't believe people are born racist, it is as many have said a learned thing.
That issue being dealt with in schools could help in the racism that is instilled in the home by racist people who likely near brainwash their children into thinking the way they do.
Will such a day come, I doubt it, not while we have these main parties looking for scapegoats to blame for all their mistakes and the ills in the UK.

At a stroke the parties at Westminster could do a great deal to help with racism of any kind by taking the issue of immigration 'out' of politics altogether.
Then start acting like decent grown ups by building concensus policies as to the issue of immigration particularly.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by bananarama

At last a post that explains the reality of human thought. The word "racist" is used in a careless way as is the the word "love".

Being against another persons culture is not racism it is basically a personality clash of opposing beliefs. Being against another belief is not being "phobic" either its simply a fact people have different viewpoints.....Because people have different beliefs should not mean they should be labelled either with the word racist or phobics.......

To label people in such a way is ignorance by those using such labels and such people need to take off thier self installed halo and remove their goody goody two shoes from their feet.....

Racism is about disliking some one because of their colour or nationality and no other valid reason.......

For example would it be fair to call someone a racist if they are opposed the the genital mutilation of girls that some cultures practice. Or would you call such a person "phobic". Of course not .......

So people when you are using the word racist stop and think what it really is........If you do that you can safely assume that most people are not racist.

No they are ignorant, and it doesn't excuse it for me to say they have always been ignorant or their friends/family are ignorant for me.
We live in a multicultural environment, there are many diverse communities I'm not accepting of any groups or individuals who can't or won't integrate due to inherent prejudice, or worse spread their message of fear and mistrust based on bigotry.

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

No they are ignorant, and it doesn't excuse it for me to say they have always been ignorant or their friends/family are ignorant for me.
We live in a multicultural environment, there are many diverse communities I'm not accepting of any groups or individuals who can't or won't integrate due to inherent prejudice, or worse spread their message of fear and mistrust based on bigotry.

You make a good point Kizzy and I agree fear, ignorance and mistrust all play their part in creating prejudice against people(s) who are different in race creed and/or colour.

However I still maintain that the forced rate of change in our Society which has been engineered by Politicians over the last 50 years has been far too quick and has resulted in stoking the fears of vast numbers of people who for generations had no multicultural exposure.

People generally do not like change and certainly not change that is perceived as rapid and life altering.

Mass immigration in my opinion in this Country has been uncontrolled and unplanned and badly executed and as a result we are now in the mess we are in.

[Glenn.]

On scale of Martin Luther King to Justin Bieber I'd say I was a Martin.

[Kizzy]

Globalisation allows people to move about, and they do.
Expecting differing cultures to assimilate is a long shot but it can be done I hope with mutual respect. From a sociological perspective it will take a long period of adjustment but the socio political message of UKIP et al is really counterproductive for any kind of integration.