Racism is Prevalent - I experienced it indirectly!

[rozia]

Had a meeting, which was held by chief of the NHS Trust i work in. There were 3 tables set for people to come and sit down at. I was first in so i sat at a table, an English lady came in after me, she didn't say hello to me, but said hello to the other 3 that were in the room before me (chief and his team) and sat at a different table. Another English lady came in and sat at her table and it carried on with several more English ladies sitting at that table, i was still sat alone :-( then an English bloke came in and he said'oh dear you sat here all alone, i'll come and join you, he sat at my table and another bloke did the same, and also a English lady sat at my table, only because the 2 blokes were sat there. I was the only Pakistani/Asain in the room, then a Jamaican lady came in, but sat with the others on the other table,i suppose she saw the bigger group and wanted in....The obvious reason as to why they didn't sit at my table was because i was asain, and they were being indirectly racist, i felt the atmosphere in there and the chiefs face said it all, he looked a bit annoyed. The guy that initially sat at my table, made a comment about how people are so obviously full of nastiness, i didn't react to that, i was just shocked myself!! i wasn't imaging it, because he saw it aswell.

It made me sick, i was born in Britain, and brought up here, and i am much more educated and can speak so fluently in English than some of the English people, but the colour of my skin will always be an obstacle....which is very sad :-( Hope i don't offend anyone on here.

[boxtops]

Rozia, I am sorry that you feel that way - but how do you know that they didn't sit with you, because of racism? I think that's a huge assumption - how can you and the chap who commented feel that there was nastiness due to racism? If the others knew each other, they'd naturally sit together, I would - it wouldn't matter who was sitting at the other tables. Why should the Jamaican lady sit with you - you make it sounds as if you expected her (as another minority person) to sit with you. How do you know all the others were English, not Welsh or Irish? You're not offending me with your assumption, but you sound as if you are looking for a racist slight when none might have been intended.

[mike11111]

"i am much more educated and can speak so fluently in English than some of the English people, "

If you were truly fluent you would not have written that.

[craft1948]

It would certainly be my natural tendency to sit with other people I knew, regardless of race or colour.

[boxtops]

There is no obvious reason to me at all (and some our best friends are of Asian extraction, so I am unbiased about this). What prompted that man to say that people are full of nastiness? it seems a very odd thing to say, IMO.

[rozia]

they didn't know each other, and i didn't expect the Jamaican lady to sit with me. The comment the bloke made was as if he felt pity for me. i wrote this because its the way i felt, fluent or not.

[craft1948]

Why wouldn't you expect the Jamaican lady to sit with you?

[rozia]

Also if you were in that room in that situation, you would know what i mean, its really hard to get it into writing, can sometimes be misinterpreted. Yu have to be in the situation to feel it.

[rozia]

craft; because she can sit where she likes, just like the rest of them did, that was an answer to boxtops first question.

[NOX]

Why would you think the 'English' lady sat at your table only because two other 'English' men did? Whilst I appreciate that you can sometimes get a 'vibe' from people if people come in and have a choice of 2 tables, you have a 50% chance that they won't choose yours, so it could simply be maths rather than anything more sinister. Equally three people DID choose to sit with you.

[rozia]

yeah, but only because they were not racist. And it looked pretty bad for me, when that table was full and mine was empty, it just kinda makes sense to sit on one that is already occupied, we were expected to work in groups, that's what i would do, go to one that someone is already at. I guess we are all different.

[boxtops]

People always tend to fill up one table first - where would you have sat if you'd come in when others were already there at one of the tables, but the other one was empty? why should the chief be annoyed on your behalf? - if this is the CE of your NHS Trust, it should like quite a small meeting anyway.

[rozia]

And im not saying every English person is racist, it exists in all cultures etc, we cannot deny that. I treat everyone the same.

[rozia]

i would have sat at the one someone was already at. And chief was annoyed that people were trying to overcrowd the 2nd table, when there was quite clearly room at the one i was at, he said to them, that there's plenty of chairs here guys.

[NOX]

So anyone who chooses to sit at an empty table in a room in which a black or Asian person is occupying another is automatically a racist? That's not fair to be honest. When you travel on public transport you pick a seat based on frankly whether you like the look of the person or not, many things can figure on this as well as race, such as sex, age, style of person etc, even whether the person looks ' interesting' or not. You honestly can't know that they are racist unless something was said to be honest.

[boxtops]

"Three people sat with me because they were not racist." That's a ridiculous assumption. If you really feel this hard done by,anad you can prove your point, you should raise a complaint with your E&D manager in the Trust - you know that the NHS takes E&D very seriously and your Trust has a policy about discrimination.
It could be nothing to do with racism, perhaps they thought (rightly or not) that you were looking at them in a hostile manner as they entered the room (you sound as if you were suspecting them to act in a racist manner) so they sat elsewhere.

[Sqad]

rozia.....you are quite correct.....in my opinion racism and antisemitism is still prevalent in Europe, but probably more so in the UK.

Yes, you are also correct.......it is very sad.

[venator]

Sorry, I'd go with boxtops here - if you were looking upset or hostile, and watching people, I myself would choose not to risk sitting with you.

That's not a racist thing, it's a social problem.

Come to that, your avatar is carrying a threatening weapon - what's that all about?

[venator]

I think I understand now - the urban Dictionary has the answer -

ASAIN
Something that is exclusively cool. Asain is a word that only the uber cool can relate to/understand.
Most people will simply not understand this word and be utterly dismissive of it, mocking those that are in the know.
Hey Jel, I am loving the "asain" vibe of your party man.

This is a joke - please don't see anything nasty, apart from mild criticism of your spelling!

[emmie]

I assume that asain was a misspelling on your part, made i might add any number of times, which seems odd seeing how you are Asian and made a point that you speak English well.
Perhaps that is missing the points you have made, that those in the meeting sat elsewhere because of the colour of your skin. Wouldn't that be true of the Jamaican woman who i assume is black, if so doesn't that make her as racist as some of the others in your view.

If you had felt slighted perhaps you could have had a word with the ones doing it, at another time, and cleared the air. Maybe there was another reason for their actions.

sqad i find your post puzzling, that your really think this.
" you are quite correct.....in my opinion racism and antisemitism is still prevalent in Europe, but probably more so in the UK"

I do not believe this at all, not for a moment

[Sqad]

em 10

///sqad i find your post puzzling, that your really think this.
" you are quite correct.....in my opinion racism and antisemitism is still prevalent in Europe, but probably more so in the UK"

I do not believe this at all, not for a moment///

Probably because you are white Caucasian......

Just my opinion based on 50 some odd years of human observation.