The moment you realise…

someone might be is possibly a racist.

Was chatting to nice gentleman the other day about work stuff (i’m a supply teacher and we were from the same agency). He noticed that I wasn’t from this area and tried to guess my place of origin. He was pretty close with St Helens: i’m from Blackburn. I’ve had some wild guesses from the kids I teach about where I’m from ranging from Ireland, Sweden and even Australia…anyway. As soon as I said I was from Blackburn, out of nowhere, he exclaimed

“there’s a very large population of Pakistanis there, isn’t there?”

Well, I didn’t know how to respond. he caught me off guard, I just nodded and switched off.

He then started asking me if the schools up there were quite mixed or if the cultural divide was well defined? I didn’t know how to respond to this question either so I told him I was actually from Darwen, went to school in Darwen and haven’t been living in Darwen for at least 8 years, hence my presence in North Wales.

How do you think I should have responded? Is he actually a racist or am I jumping to conclusions? I mean, who brings up the quantity of a particular nationality as an opening question about a town?

Not sure that’s automatically racist. If he said something like….”loads of p****s up there” it may have been different.

Perhaps he wanted a discussion about the challenge of teaching mixed cultures?

Nothing racist from you have stated there. Just sounds like an interest in the population make up. My girlfriend is a teacher in London and the different ethnic mixes in different schools across the city can be a point of conversation. Both amongst the adult and between teacher and student. The ethnic make up can effect points of school management, strong divides if the school has two very distinct ethnic groups can be important also inturms of management, integration e.t.c.

In what way did he demonstrate prejudice? Seems like he merely expressed observations and curiosity, then you assumed his motivation.

How do you think I should have responded?

How do you think you should have responded?

Agreed- nothing racist there.

probably assumed you were BNP, given the region you’re from 😀

(nothing you’ve reported in the OP is racist – could be, but then maybe he’s interested in integration and worried about tensions in the region. You know, rayguns/swans etc)

I had a similar experience with someone new in work out of nowhere starting a eastern european based discussion(not a accurate or friendly one i might add) recently didn’t want to be involved with the conversion so just tried to avoid it until they got the message.

My job involves sensitive immigration data so conversations like that mean they no longer work with us…

Ok, maybe not racist but It did strike me as odd to bring up the racial divide of a town as an opener. Maybe I was being a bit prejudiced myself – he was middle aged!

Yeah, don’t really think that he was being racist.

Not inherently racist. Possibly just nervous small talk compounded by embarrassment at having begun a conversation on the wrong foot (and so ‘re-raising’ by not acknowledging this and keeping going)?

Hope so.

That’s not racist. I live in the BNP heartland that is Ilkeston, and I know racist….. 🙁

OP amended.

someone might be is possibly a racist.

In areas where “there’s a very large population of Pakistanis there, isn’t there?” , a different approach may be required in teaching methods.

Perhaps he was merely asking about this, i.e. the language/cultural barrier may be an issue?

Hmm.. Blackburn. I believe that there *is* quite a large Pakistani population there. However I’m not sure how this can be construed as a racist statement.

highclimber, perhaps youre looking for racism, where it doesnt exist, a common problem with racists.

How do you think I should have responded?

You could have answered his questions and seen where the conversation went.

Then you maybe would have found out if he was racist or not.

perhaps youre looking for racism, where it doesnt exist, a common problem with racists.

I’m not racist, I have a black dog.

Blackburn. I believe that there *is* quite a large Pakistani population there. However I’m not sure how this can be construed as a racist statement.

Did none of you see this admission from me?

Ok, maybe not racist but It did strike me as odd to bring up the racial divide of a town as an opener.

That’s not racist. I live in the BNP heartland that is Ilkeston, and I know racist…..

I used to work in Eastwood, I think I know him too!

project – Member
highclimber, perhaps youre looking for racism, where it doesnt exist, a common problem with racists

Lol, op is a racist…I’ve seen it all.

“there’s a very large population of Pakistanis there, isn’t there?”

2011 Census says 12.1% of Blackburn w. Darwen population identified themselves as being of Pakistani origin, with 1.9% as a national comparator

So, well, I suppose said bloke was right really, wasn’t he?

Is the black dog called N#**er?

So, well, I suppose said bloke was right really, wasn’t he?

Yes, I know he was right, but that’s not what I was getting at – it was the fact that this was the first thing he mentioned to me when he found out I was from there. I’m not saying he IS a racist but that it did make me think that he brought it up for a reason other than a professional inquisition about possible teaching differences among schools there.

Ok, maybe not racist but It did strike me as odd to bring up the racial divide of a town as an opener. Maybe I was being a bit prejudiced myself – he was middle aged!

Alternatively, he could be using that as an opening gambit to find out if *you* were racist..

He’s probably on a forum for middle aged people at the moment talking about 650b and how some youngster gave a very evasive answer to his racist test 🙂

given that thats about 17k people, which means there’s 5k more people identifying themselves as ‘Asian/British Asian of Pakistani origin’ in Blackburn w. Darwen area than the census records in the whole of Wales – then it sounds to mike like a very interesting question about how different education is between the two areas.

As in ‘wow, is it very different teaching in an area with so many asians?’

Does anyone actually fill in those census forms though?

As in ‘wow, is it very different teaching in an area with so many asians?’

Yeah, he wasn’t asking me about teaching there. I’d already discussed my teaching experience before my outrageous accent was brought up.

Alternatively, he could be using that as an opening gambit to find out if *you* were racist..

interesting [strokes chin in preponderance]…

Sounds like he was just trying to show an interest in where you’re from. I suppose he could have asked about the 10,000 holes or your opinion of Jack Straw instead.
I’d be more concerned about the ones who thought you were a wooly back – I guess you’ve lost the Somereset-esque rolling of Rs as in carrrrrr parrrrrk that is peculiar to that bit of east Lancashire.

Strange how so much can be seen and written about one simple comment by one person to another.

Innocent or loaded comment who cares.

Oh FFS. And what a surprise you’re a Teacher.

Oh FFS. And what a surprise you’re a Teacher.

…and your point is?

You could have answered his questions and seen where the conversation went.

Then you maybe would have found out if he was racist or not.
THIS

nothing racist there and not discussing it means you dont know

I would have answered personally – used to work there

OMG he mentioned Pakistanis.

Burn him,

It sounds like the sort of thing I’d say and I’m not! I still find it weird how white Brighton is, having grown up in the midlands and lived in Bristol and London before I ended up on the south coast, though it has improved (in diversity at least) in the decade I’ve been here.

Guy sounds like a proper racist to me, he mentioned Pakistanis and said there were lots of them in a place. It’s quite obvious that he was a fully paid up member of the BNP. I told someone I grew up in Brixton in the 70’s and they said, and you won’t believe this, that they thought there were lots of black people there then. Luckily my firm take this sort of thing very seriously and so we planted some of my coke in his desk, he is facing some serious charges and I expect he wont work again..

He mentioned the P word 😯

He’s merely stating a fact

I remember having a massive argument in a pub one lunchtime with a woman who’d been earwigging on me and 2 friends

She accused us of being racist and to this day I have no idea what she was talking about

Firstly, my conversation is none of her bloody business, secondly, no one was being racist. I still to this day have no idea what she misheard

She was threatening to inform the landlord and have us kicked out 🙄

The chef at work has started to make casually rascist remarks; “Why I should I be doing all this work? Do I look black?”.
It’s of no surprise as he’s a dirty stinking Jew and we all know they’re a right rascist bunch.

Ok, so we’ve established he wasn’t being racist, I just thought it was a rather strange subject to bring up while talking about my home town. It’s certainly not something I would bring up to kick off a conversation.