Friday 23 March 2012

Yes, the British are fair and tolerant, aren't they?


I had one of the most incredible heated discussions with a woman who lives in this town today.
All she told me was some black people overcrowding a few houses in the neighbourhood, and she said that they all came from the south (Republic of Ireland) illegally. Then, she says that it’s not fair that black people were allocated to the newly refurbished Housing Association houses in the neighbourhood. Then, she went on to tell me that some of the foreigners who live next doors to her daughter’s house use a caravan in the garden for sleeping. Then, she started talking extremely suspiciously about a white van which my next-door neighbour had brought a couple of weeks ago, just because she doesn’t know he got the van. Yes, this neighbour is a foreigner.

She did nothing but badmouthing foreigners, so I felt sick in the stomach. 

When I asked her where she heard all the stories, she didn’t tell me any answer.

When I asked who said such stories, she said “councillor”. (Well, those right wing fascists, I’m sure.)

When I asked her if she had spoken to those foreign people, she didn’t give any answer.

When I asked her why she thought foreigners should live in shacks, she started saying that she didn’t discriminate anyone for the colours of their skins.

When I asked where those foreign people originally come from, she did not have a clue.

When I asked what kinds of visa status those foreign people have, she did not have a clue.

When I asked why she talked ill of black people all the time, she denied it. (But every time she mentions black people, it’s all about negative stuff. I heard that she once looked horrified to see my big girl walking with her black friend.)

Anyway, I kept telling her that not all foreigners were bad and it was very unfair of her to judge people on the colours of their skins. Also, I told her more than a dozen times that she was very unfair and accusing people without any proof.

Yes, I told her all those to her face.

No wonder quite many local kids are xenophobic.

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