Have you ever experienced racism from a minority?

Sliver said:
It was the 70's. Strikes were rampant in the UK and economy was in tatters. Millions were out of work. My Dad took a chance, he saw this very well paid job in South Africa which came with a house supplied and he went for it.

We can all be wise with hind sight. :rolleyes:
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It's trade offs though, it's like moving to a hick town and sporting your "I am Satan and NASCAR is rubbish" Tshirt
 
Sliver said:
I have not experienced racism personally as far as I know (I'm white) but when I was a kid, my Dad landed a job at coal mine in South Africa. He endured 2 years of racism from the Voortrekkers ( White Dutch descendants) who ran the mine. It started on his first day. After arriving he was taken by his boss to a bike shed. His boss explained to him that the blacks were there to do everything they were told without question. He then called over this poor black guy who just happened to be within shouting distance. The boss told this man to remove his helmet. He then urinated into the helmet and handed it back to the black guy, telling him to wear it, which the black guy did.

My Dad was shocked at this but he'd just moved his family from the UK to South Africa to start a new life so he figured he would persevere. It soon became known that my Dad got on well with the black guys at the mine. He'd chat and crack jokes with them and help them where possible. The Voortrekkers saw this and simply ignored my Dad when he sort help, calling him a kaffir lover. My Dads life was hell and after 2 years of being treated like scum, he finally gave up and we came back to the UK.

Ironically the racism my Dad suffered was white on white.
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Unbelievable, I experienced exactly the same thing but not as extreme. Summer placement at a coal mine in SA in 2006. All the white supervisors wouldn't help me on the project that I was given because I got on with the black workers. I didn't get called anything to my face but when I turned up they were friendly and then they just didn't want to help me at all once I started to fraternise with the 'enemy' :rolleyes:, apart from a fellow Brit.
 
robgmun said:
South Africa, bang in the middle of apartheid, being nice to black people in front of whites. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what was going to happen next.
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My sister was expelled from school during Matric (final year) for dating a black guy. This was during apartheid obviously. You had to conform or suffer the consequences :(
 
pitchfork said:
It's trade offs though, it's like moving to a hick town and sporting your "I am Satan and NASCAR is rubbish" Tshirt
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Well my Dad is not here to explain himself. All I can say is I was just a kid and my Dad thought he was doing the best thing for his family at the time.
 
robgmun said:
I would have just burst out laughing!

But nope, at least i don't think so, but being white-Latino i have that special skin tone that lets me easily mix with White, Indian and middle eastern. Most people that don't know me assume I'm either Italian or a very light skinned middle eastern.

Once in a Bangladesh airport the guard checking my passport asked me if i was a Bollywood star and kept going on about how handsome i was, to the point where it was starting to get a little creepy. My wife at the time was very amused and wouldn't let me forget it for a while!
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I'm kind of expecting some should this relocation work are planning go ahead. From what I understand though as long as I make an effort to learn the language (which I already am doing), try and get involved in the community then I'll be ok.
 
Sliver said:
Well my Dad is not here to explain himself. All I can say is I was just a kid and my Dad thought he was doing the best thing for his family at the time.
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I'm not saying he's got to explain himself, just that he had to expect a South African diamond mine to have a lot of racism.
 
Sliver said:
I can't believe you said that. My Dad is a good man. He was just being himself, treating people with dignity and respect, and for this the Voortrekkers treat him like scum. If he had to do it all again he wouldn't change a thing. My Dad was in the right and I have massive respect for him for that.
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As you should, and that is all that matters :).
 
platypus said:
I'm kind of expecting some should this relocation work are planning go ahead. From what I understand though as long as I make an effort to learn the language (which I already am doing), try and get involved in the community then I'll be ok.
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Where are you going? Learning the language should help. I hate it - just as others do - when people come to another country and don't bother to learn the tongue, even basically.

As Andrew Dice Clay said, "there should be a big sign at the airport - 'If You Don't Speak The Language, Get The **** Out Of The Country'."
 
pitchfork said:
I'm not saying he's got to explain himself, just that he had to expect a South African diamond mine to have a lot of racism.
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It was a Coal mine, but anyway that's beside the point. Speaking on behalf of my Dad, I'm sure he thought the racism would not be directed at him as he's white. It was only when he got there that he realised he would be on the end of it too. You've got to remember that back in the 70's we didn't have 24/7 rolling news or the internet. It was much harder to get a true perspective on things back then.
 
Had a bottle thrown at me from a car and was called a Racist white *errr... ladies front bottom* while I was walking back from the chippy shortly after moving here.

That was 10ish years ago now, nothing since then.
 
Lysander said:
Where are you going? Learning the language should help. I hate it - just as others do - when people come to another country and don't bother to learn the tongue, even basically.
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France, and not Paris so the locals will not be inclined to speak English at all.
 
I was called a "fat, white ****" by a black person, I laughed at him, if you aren't offended then people get bored of doing it, maybe others should stop being offended by idiots
 
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