Quote Originally Posted by gogobongopop View Post
I don't know how to respond to this, other than to say your assumptions about me couldn't be further from the truth.

You know nothing about me or my upbringing. I grew up in Leicester. I'm sure one as educated as you will know that it is fantastically multicultural city; where the proportion of "BAME" people outweigh the proportion of British White people. At and during primary school, secondary school, college and university - I was always an ethic minority. Generally speaking everyone got on well together, but I witnessed racism, and was subject to racism myself regularly and it was particularly bad during secondary school. I was the only white person in my tutor group and was bullied for 5 years consistently. Beyond the consistent name calling (normally "whitey" "white boy" or "little white bitch") and general day to day bullying, my nose was broken, a tooth was knocked out, a finger was broken, possessions and money were regularly stolen from me, I was egged several times and teased whenever I applied myself at my work. The bullies also had a passion for poking me firmly in the adam's apple and taking great amusement in watching me struggle for breath. It was a deeply upsetting and difficult time and we were in no doubt that the colour of my skin was the primary influence on the attacks on me. Things got better during college and university, as one might expect as we grow up, but the issue didn't go away completely.

Thankfully the racism I was subjected to, and the racism I witnessed against Indian, Pakistani and black people was consistently unleashed by a small minority of people. By and large for most people colour was never an issue and I still think to this day Leicester is a great example of multiculturalism working brilliantly. Something I'm a big advocate of.

You've assumed that I had an advantage of race and class. I didn't. Due to the bullying I suffered for years you will never persuade me that my skin colour has been an advantage for me. I grew up in a council estate. I had one working parent and we were poor. Compared to many of the successful and wealthy Indian and Pakistani families in the the area that I mixed with, I was the lower class and often looked down upon.

I am not trying to belittle the struggle that some BAME people might have by telling you this. Neither am I downplaying your own circumstances. I'm doing so to explain why your assumptions about me are so wrong.

The question I asked is perfectly valid and legitimate and it's absolutely nothing like the analogy you tried to use. And my second point was about getting to the specifics about systematic and institutional racism. I'm willing to admit that I don't fully understand what these terms mean or what needs to change; but because of my history it's something of interest to me. This is something that we should be able to discuss as adults without making wild assumptions about people and attacking them.

It may come as surprise to you but not everyone on this forum has the answer to everything. Not everyone is fully educated on the subject. Not everyone has spent years researching the facts and evidence. Some people have doubts about things and not everyone is cocksure about what they believe. If there's no room for people like that on this forum then I'm happy to go and leave you superior intellects to it.
It is regrettable that you were bullied when you were younger.

However, even in your personal story the bigger reality is shining through; there was an end to it in the end. For minorities there is no such end, not when they are young and not when they are old. What is done to them also isn't done by small groups of 'ill-willed' individuals, but by society at large. For them there is a reservoir without end of people who think just that little bit less of them, no matter how hard they try. And try they must, because otherwise there's the ever ready stereotype waiting for them. We are vulnerable not for who we are, but for what we are. All it takes is being a little bit too insisting and regardless of anything we achieved in life, there's someone willing to put us down with the all too familiar abusive faggot or nigger.

And that makes your question offensive, because it can only be asked by someone who denies our live's reality.