Re: Racial Discrimination
Pelican: I agree with what you are saying to an extent as that is also my experience. There are however different ways of dealing with it. I was in the RAF for many years and in the early years racism was common place simply because the arrival of a black navigator, oriental pilot etc was something of a novelty. In the best tradition of the armed services there was merciless banter and I look back on some of the jokes that were made with considerable embarrassment and awkwardness. Nonetheless we have moved on and I would be staggered if some of the shameful things I heard would happen now.
Similarly when I went to a UK freight operator on my first commercial job I can remember my fleet manager, who knew I had some friends who were black, asking me, "Did you see your nigger friends over the weekend?" The odd thing is that he would not have seen what he was saying as offensive. He, and others, would make countless comments of that nature. I took the view then, as I do now, that the best way of dealing with that is to let it pass. I would often discuss with him his views and we agreed to disagree but I saw no merit in calling the police or making some huge deal about it. The truth is that this particular individual would now be hounded out of his job but I have never felt comfortable with that approach. What is interesting about him is that although he held very extreme views, he was actually a very fair man and would never, for example, have failed someone because they were black or not recruited them in the first place. Such a statement seems contradictory but that is the way it was. This guy had worked in Africa for many years and consequently held very entrenched views. The way you win over such people is not to vilify them but to have rational discussion on the issue. I understand that some people need a bit of a rant every now and again and frankly I have no problem listening to anyone's point of view even if it is totally contradictory to my own. People have very strong views on issues like immigration and so on but because they do does not mean that every Asian, black, oriental or whoever will be actively discriminated against.
If we are honest, we in the UK have been on a journey and we are not fully there yet. My own experience is that Britain is one of the most fair countries around - in stark contrast to what is common place in the Middle East, Far East or Africa. Does that mean that we never have problems with racism? Of course not. It does mean there is a huge willingness to offer fair deals to anyone based on their ability to do their job and not on the colour of their skin. As virtually every contributor here has said, racism is by and large only an issue if you choose to make it one. I live and work among every race and creed and it is a great experience. No one really cares what you are - they do care if you bleat and whine all the time. Be the best you can be, show tolerance and respect to those around you even if you not naturally agree with them and you will go far. That does not mean you sell out on the things which are important to you - it does mean that you are not abusive or unpleasant.