"America"
When it's used interchangeably with USA for the country name, or "American" when it's used to describe people in the US. America comprises two continents and lots more people than live in the fifty states.

So when people use either of those words inappropriately (to me) I tend to think of them as a bit stupid, much like I imagine residents of the UK would if someone called them "European".
(Ejaculantern was caught desecrating pumpkins on, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 15:52, 17 replies)

The whole B3ta "Daily Mail" thing
OK - apologies for lack of humour (this has to be one of the least funny QOTWs ever) - but I feel the need to write about this.

Before I start, let me establish some facts:

1) I am not in any way racist (meaning, I do not give a damn about the colour of someone's skin, or their ethnic origin)
2) I do not consider myself a Daily Mail reader - although I will happily read it if it's lying around and I have nothing else to do

I am a born and bred British citizen. I happen to be white - but I consider that totally irrelevant: there are many non-white British citizens who agree with what I am about to say.

In the United Kingdom we have a massive immigration problem. That's a fact: it's not just some "Daily Fail" (oh har har, that's so funny) hate-mongering. Now I'm not talking about all immigrants - no way. I'm talking about the vast numbers of people who come to this country with the intention to take, and not to contribute. The Somali families with ten children, who come here in order to be given free housing and benefits - at the expense of you and me. The so-called "students" from Bangladesh who are supposedly enrolled on an engineering degree, but who can't speak a word of English - and who will be found working cash-in-hand in a restaurant kitchen. The pregnant women from Nigeria, who come to the UK in order to have their babies delivered for free on the National Health Service. The Algerian men who entered the country in the back of a lorry, lived here for several years working illegally, got into fights in nightclubs causing GBH - leading them to be picked up by the police and marked for deportation - but then who magically conjure up a French bride, so that as a family member of a European national, we have to allow them to stay.

It's not exaggerated: it's all true. I myself used to be on a housing waiting list, but I was told that as a single, childless male, I was "lowest priority" because all the asylum seekers came before me. Fact.

There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country who live here, but who do not care one bit for British society. Their purpose is to take as much as they possibly can from the taxpayers' pockets, while taking advantage of our lax laws.

And I - as a British citizen, who has a sizable chunk of his salary taken every month in order to help fund these people - am sick of it. The problem is, however, people in my position feel a great deal of prejudice from the so-called liberal left in this country. And I see quite a bit of evidence of that right here on B3ta. People who do not understand what a big immigration problem this country has, and who think that if anyone speaks out against it, they must be a Daily Heil-reading, BNP nazi.

In fact I have never voted for the BNP, and I do not support them. The reason I do not support them is because their membership is largely made up of racists - and I despise racism. It's a shame that this is the case, however, because they are one of the few parties whose policies actually put British citizens first.

Let me make something else quite clear. I have no problem whatsoever with people who immigrate to this country, and work hard; pay their taxes; contribute to British society; and obey our laws. And to anyone who may have been reading this, and thinking about those lazy and feckless British people who see benefit scrounging as a way of life: yes, I am not saying that all our problems are caused by immigration. I freely admit that there are many immigrants here who do indeed contribute a lot more to society than those British people who scrounge. However, while we may be stuck with the British scroungers - we should not have to be stuck with the non-British scroungers.

So please, people - can we have some common sense here, when writing about Daily Mail readers. It's perfectly possible for someone to be genuinely concerned about the state of our country, but NOT be a racist.
(EuroSong I love horse meat: best of all the animals, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 14:30, 179 replies)

I tend to get uncomfortable when people say "White kids who pretend to be black"...
When people claim that white people should not wear baggy jeans or kiss their teeth or the like, part of me can't help wondering: Why the hell does the colour of these young fellows' skin preclude them from doing what they want? Surely the real reason they shouldn't wear their jeans so low is because it makes them look like twats, not because they are forbidden from "acting black".

If that logic held I (as one of the brown persuasion) guess I would be obliged to stop wearing tweed and would have to start listening to Bhangra. Ugh.
(I grew it myself, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 13:29, 6 replies)

lot of stories about race and gender but not seen many about age
when i started my part time job, aged 16, apparently two of the other supervisors tracked down my supervisor and said 'you can't hire her. she's too young. she'll never turn up.'

i dutifully turned up to every shift in the entire time i was working there.

in spite of this, one of those two supervisors never warmed to me. grouchy old bat! in her eyes, i could do no right. once, because my concession was in the basement and the stockroom unhelpfully positioned below the actual street, we developed a leak... which developed into more of an indoor waterfall. directly over a group of shelves. what made things worse was that the stockroom was sloping so there was a small trickle of water, getting bigger and bigger, heading towards another group of shelves with boxes on the floor.

i did what i could which was dragging all of the stock out from underneath the new waterfall and putting it on the shop floor on trollies. eventually, other people volunteered and we formed an exciting chain from shelves to stockroom door to trollies, shipping out the stock.

once this was done, i ripped up a load of bubble wrap, folded it up and taped over it to make a bizarre wall to protect the other side of the stockroom.

bearing in mind id just saved a lot of stock (not single-handed but i had) i was not expected to find linda waiting outside with a face like a smacked badger saying 'you cant leave this stock outside'

im sorry i'll put it back underneath the waterfall, shall i?
(ladyintheradiator, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 11:54, Reply)

A bit too obsessed
I do the weekly family shop, and will often take my two very young children with me. Having a brother in law who is a farmer, I am very conscious of buying British (even local where I can find it), especially vegetables. So I will double the time it takes for me to get round Morrisons, by obsessively reading the labels to see where my food has been grown, manufactured or flown in from.
This has led to a particular kind of racism, but one which I try to defend to my less enlightened friends and family. I even have a mental list that puts provenance in wishlist order, and goes something like this...

Local - anything grown/made in Yorkshire or Lincolnshire (where my brother in law has his farm). Yorkshire Crisps being a favourite snack.

England - So if I can't get my Yorkshire Crisps I will go for Tyrells, as they are made in Herefordshire, home of some excellent Cider as well.

UK - Our family will have holdays in the UK, because I do not want tovspend my hard earned cash in a country which is basically an economic competitor. If I have to go abroad for work, I spend as little as possible, and try to get the hosts to fork out on expenses.

Europe - If I have to buy goods from outside the UK, then I try to avoid the following countries.

France - Older people will remember the French screwing us when it comes to Apples, Lamb and Beef (even though we produce some of the best Beef in the world, so much so that French restauranteers not able to buy our beef, were up in arms during the Foot and Mouth crisis).

Germany - 60 years later I still cannot forgive them for their expansionist policies. You wait, it will happen again, its in their nature. I won't buy a German car, even if its 2nd hand.

Japan - See above. The trouble is they are so very clever with electronics, although the Koreans are catching up. They have never apologised for the atrocities they committed during WW2, if you need extra convincing, read 'The Rape of Nanking'. Also hunt whales.

Isreal - I cannot support their 'Foreign Policy'. They seem to supply a lot of celery to Morrisons, none of which makes its way into my basket.

Iceland - Whale hunters, enough said. During the North Sea fish wars there was a very unsavoury Captain Kirk (yes, really, look it up) who rammed British fishing vessels.

Australia - I don't like their arrogance, and proficiency at sports.

Turkey - Seem to have more violent football hooligans than us.

I can provide a more detailed list with product breakdowns if anyone is interested, maybe I should write one of those ethical guides. I like to think that my children will grow up to be well educated, tolerant citizens. However, with a father like me, I doubt it.
(leancranker, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 10:23, 22 replies)

I'm not prejudice.
Prejudice is a crime, and crime is for black people.*

*heard elsewhere and thought I should quote it.
(SkoaL, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 9:32, Reply)

Affluent white kids purporting to be of black ghetto stock.
Pastier than the Pilsbury dough-boy and talking patois. "Ya know wha' I mean, bro, innit?"

Listening to Gangsta Rap and throwing complicated hand gestures at the other white residents in yo 'hood whilst wearing a baseball cap incorrectly and a hooded top that your Mum bought for you.

Pretending to like Ice T and secretly listening to Katy Perry.

Lurking around outside McDonalds with some other nice white middle class boys dressed as Crips desperately wishing to impress equally nice middle class white girls dressed as prostitutes.

Pissing away the most crucial, formative years of your life in your all-out quest to appear dangerous and non-conformist, just like all those other dangerous, non-conformists sitting around you eating their McBurgers and dropping the wrappers to show their dangerous, non-conformist attitude.

Dreaming of the day your parents will buy you that Vauxhall Corsa so that you can add a huge stereo to play with the windows wound down, a ridiculous skirting and body-kit, and the undersill neon strip-lighting which will let you pretend you're Vin Diesel as you hit the redline at forty-seven miles an hour down the Purley Way.

You are the future of this nation and I despise you all.
(Billy The Fish wants to gargle with Lucy Pinder's bath water, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 8:43, 3 replies)

People who pack in smoking but have a 'spare' cigarette
just in case.

Fuck off - Really...
(mr-lizard Hell's teeth man!, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 8:25, Reply)

C*nts on Harley motorcycles
I know, I know.
You're all a bunch of long haired, gimp-leather wearing, "look at me, I'm hard cos I'm packing and refuse to shave" twats.
However, every time I see one of you in my rear view mirror, I always slow down so you can pass, while mentally locking on to your f*cking illegally noisy arse of a motorbike with my "pretend" rocket launcher, and shooting a guided missile straight up your arse.

Believe me, if owning said rocket launcher was as legal as that noise-polluting heap of American shite you call a bike, you'd all be riding around on scooters, you inconsiderate pricks...


/rant
(DougQuaid Get ya azz to moars..., Mon 5 Apr 2010, 7:45, Reply)

You what?
I once dated a girl of West Indian descent and all went well but after about six months we broke up as it really wasn't going anywhere. I then get confronted by her very large older brother who pins me up against a wall and accuses me of being "a racist white c***" for breaking up with his sister.
Go figure...
(emadex thinks the world will end on, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 6:53, Reply)

I have another prejudice, I don't like wind-pissers.
From this article: www.pressherald.com/news/Women-march-topless-in-Portland-without-incident.html

Ty McDowell, who organized the march, said she was "enraged" by the turnout of men attracted to the demonstration. The purpose, she said, was for society to have the same reaction to a woman walking around topless as it does to men without shirts on.

However, McDowell said she plans to organize similar demonstrations in the future and said she would be more "aggressive" in discouraging oglers.

I'm interested to know what this woman had in mind when she organized a topless women march. As I understand it, a march is to draw attention to yourself and your cause. If that cause is women going without clothing in public and they do so, how could she not expect loads of guys coming to check out the boobies for free?

I'm also interested to know how she plans to stop oglers. Will she recruit the ugliest hags and munters she can find for the next march? Maybe get Rosie O'Donnell and Beth Ditto out in front?

When I hear about someone so cluelessly idealistic that they don't consider the consequences of pissing into the wind, it gives me the urge to administer a full and proper Dope Slap.

(In case you didn't know, a Dope Slap is defined as a corrective action in three parts:

1. Take open palm.
2. Apply directly to the back of the skull.
3. Optional: Ask some variant of "What are you, stupid or something?"

The Dope Slap is a lighthearted slap (or knuckle tap) to the back of the skull that is intended as a disciplinary move by one character when another character does, says, or even thinks something that is uniformly stupid. The slap is almost always in some way played for laughs; think of it as an attempt at Percussive Maintenance on somebody's brain.)
( Wanderer, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 4:13, 3 replies)

White men with Dredlocks
White geezers with dredlocks are a pet hate of mine, I mean I know everybodies culturaly different an stuff but unless one of your parents married into an afro carribean family while you were young or something I just don't get it.
(Sneak Thief, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 4:08, 1 reply)

Men with long hair.
This is the last acceptable prejudice. People do not hesitate to believe that a man with long hair must be unemployed or unemployable.

A man with long hair cannot be an executive or any higher management position unless he owns the company.

I've known women to accept this situation and believe it is morally acceptable, while they complain about the glass ceiling.

If a man grows his hair longer than usual, he loses 1 IQ point for every cm.
(stuntsmile, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 3:38, 11 replies)

To leave racism aside for a moment
I'm actually quite prejudiced against female comedians. Especially comediennes. They're just not funny.

Now, of course there are a few exceptions to that rule. Shappi Khorsandi, Sarah Millican, Isy Suttie… I'm sure there are more that don't come to mind immediately. The worst example is Jo Brand. How many times do you need to be told, mentioning your period isn't funny. I'm not being squeamish here, it's just not a joke.

I go to a lot of comedy nights and seeing a female name I don't recognise on the lineup is grounds to reconsider going that night.

EDIT: Put some links in for the forrins around here. Beware, Jo Brand's is crude and unfunny.
( Ungersven would support SpankyHanky's patreon, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 3:20, 10 replies)

Australia
If its first class Racism your after, you shouldnt look past Australia. I was working with (white) Australians in Kalgoorlie WA and most of them thought nothing of referring to Aboriginal local people as 'Black C****', 'Niggers', 'Rock Apes' and the like. I never got used to it, made me sad actually. I don't think they liked us Kiwi's much either, and a sheep shagging joke was a daily occurance.
Racism and Prejudice is alive and well down under...
(Dinny Dog, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 2:40, 5 replies)

Standup comedy
I`ve written and performed a few bits that deal with race in the media, pointing out why the advert was racist ect... Each time some twat in the crowd called me racist for pointing something out?!?! If you`re white the you my as well stay clear of the subject for a 5min set.
(waxdart hello., Mon 5 Apr 2010, 1:28, Reply)

Okay, I know I used it in the previous story...
But I find the term African-American insipid, as apparently many others do. I know when I taught college, the working-class blacks prefered to be called "black." The blacks in my family prefer to be called "black."

In college, I described a computer lab user who'd just left as "black." A woman went off on me for my insensitivity and insisted I use the term "African-American."

I replied that he's not American: he was a Nigerian exchange student.

I'm surprised I wasn't taken to task for calling him a "Nigerian" as it sounds close to "nigger."

Also, if white Afrikaners become U.S. citizens, does that make them African-American?
(ChiTown Guy Dating when 35+: sane, single, attractive - pick 2, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 1:14, 9 replies)

Not my story
Worked with a African-American woman who was what they call a "high yeller": her skin was so light, it was more the color of an oriental than an African.

She hung out with an Indian boy in college, and his mother liked her -- until mother found out they'd begun to date. She didn;t want her son to be dating a black woman.

My co-worker's assessment of the situation? "I don't know what she was so upset about. My skin color is lighter than theirs."
(ChiTown Guy Dating when 35+: sane, single, attractive - pick 2, Mon 5 Apr 2010, 1:03, Reply)

I freely admit to prejudices...
Against the French, creationists and gypsies/travellers


reason... almost every time I have knowingly come in to contact with these groups it has been a bad experience, either to my wallet, my possessions or simply an insult to human intelligence (creationists)
(essexfriend, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 23:51, 2 replies)

Joan Rivers
Does anyone remember when Joan Rivers was accused on air of having a problem with the term "black" by Darcus ? Whoa.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4360054.stm
( Ennui loves you, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 23:16, Reply)

Amir Khan
A certain non-blood relation of mine was complaining (during a boxing match on TV) that Amir Khan shouldn't really be so high profile and be receiving so much support seeing as he's not from this part of the world. We pointed out that he's British, but this was countered with "But he talks funny!" or something along those lines. Er, yeah, that's because he's from Bolton.

When you have to explain to someone that prejudice against someone based upon their skin colour is racism, you really are working from the bare metal.
( Ennui loves you, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 22:34, 1 reply)

Prejudice is everywhere.. and worse out of the UK..
Long time lurker, so first post so be easy on me.

I have been with my current girlfriend for more than 3 years now and we are an odd pairing by conventional standards.

Me: White Her: Indian born and bred

In the UK the worst prejudice we get is the odd idiotic chav calling her a Paki (when she is not) or the odd sneer in the street from people. In social situations, people can let their guard down and reveal their perceptions of cultures and race and all which is mostly amusing more than anything. Explaining that no, not all Indians are muslims, not all worship cows and no, people do earn more than one penny a day in India. The UK, despite our self determination to bash it for what it is, is a reasonably tolerant place and I often think people have no clue of how severe racism is elsewhere.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, in India, her parents hate me as I am not of the same culture and have different values to them, but they have admitted that it is, basically not right for me to be with their daughter as I am white. Her parents disowned her a year or so ago over this, she has lost friends over this is well as being the subject of isolation and rumours in her home town as she is in their view a whore for being with a white man, despite our long term commitment to the relationship. Prejudice has its place in every corner of society in India. From someone at the airport angry at me and my girlfriend for messing “their culture” and the guy who told us that its not possible for Indians and white people to have children.. as if we are a different species!

And with this in mind, in India, you are judged by the fairness of your skin. Constant streams of Nivea “whitening formula” to make your skin two tones lighter run throughout the day on tv, on kids tv I should say. People virtually bow down to me in ‘respect’ in India, they will do anything for me, want my opinion on anything and everything and aspire to be ‘as successful as me’ when I am little more than a two bit solicitor. But with this perverse superior treatment I receive from normal customers (more wealthy than me I might add) you have this hideous system which judges everyone by the shade of their skin, and predetermines whether you are to be a cleaner, or a somebody. My girlfriend by her own admission got her job as a television presenter in a larger city on the basis that she is fair skinned and nothing more. They even said with glee "fantastic! you are the lightest with have interviewed all day!"

So its a bizarre mixture of prejudice that works for and against you at different intervals in India.

As much as I love it in India, working here, living here, prejudice is ingrained in every aspect of society.
(DisKo, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 22:11, 3 replies)

against bigots, definitely
For a short while, I lived near the Rangers football grounds. My neighbours were friendly, but the neighbourhood was not.

I once absent-mindedly put on my green jacket and went to the shops. I was kind of surprised to hear muttered threats against me from fellow shoppers. When I got back home, I took off my jacket to find that someone had spat a huge foamy greener down my back.

Match days we pure evil. The coaches from out of town would park on our street, and the fans would pour out on to the waste land next to us. They'd fight, set fire to things, and piss and shit in our stairwell.
( scruss, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 22:05, 2 replies)

too young?? probably . . . . . . but no need!!
OK, let me paint you a picture . . . . . . .

Long long long ago, as a teenager, I was extremely rebellious and never felt I had enough attention being the youngest of 5. I felt unattractive and overlooked by boys and I certainly wasn't popular!!

When I was paid some attention, of course that was it, I soaked it up like a sponge and I certainly wasn't letting go of it. I held on to it the only way I knew how with teenage boys . . . . sex!

And I loved it!! Wow, the feeling of doing something soooo wrong felt so good. Getting all hot and sweaty and trying something new every single day was unbelievably sexy and hot. Climbing on top and rocking back and forth, grinding pelvises together was just the start of it . . . . . . . .

But then it happened, the inevitable. When you play with fire you get burnt and this was definitely the case. When stupid little teenagers do things that are meant for adults. . . . . . . I became pregnant at the tender of age of 15 and not late 15 about to turn 16 but apparently on my 15th birthday!!

Many many months later, after I had my little one, I was waiting in line like a little old age pensioner waiting for my pension. That's what I felt like too. I was actually waiting for my child benefit (which every single person in the UK is entitled to independent of income) when this old man turned to me . . . . . . .

Well this old man was like Victor Meldrew: on first appearance he was this little old sweet thing but then when he opened his mouth he spoke like a viper with a thousand knives on the end of his tongue, his words cut so sharply!!

He looked at me so sweetly and so innocently laughing, 'you certainly aren't old enough to be claiming a pension' and not being ashamed of my son I said 'no, I'm waiting for my child benefit'!! Well that was it, he gazed upon me and pierced me with his icy, evil old man glaze that could probably have killed a thousand little cute bunnies in mid hop!!

While looking me up and down with his nasty little old man look he spat 'you little filthy hussy, If I was your dad I would have thrown you down the stairs repeatedly until you lost that thing and then I would have kicked you out the house, you nasty little drain on society'

It didn't matter to him that I was going to college, getting my A-levels, it didn't matter that I wasn't in fact a drain on society, I wasn't living in a council house or claiming benefits. Now I am a full time employee supporting my family in my own paid for home.

When I explained to him that I in fact was not claiming benefits and that everyone was entitled to what money I was waiting for independent of income. He locked me with that gaze again and hissed 'even' pointing at his shoes. I looked at him baffled, what on earth did his shoes have to do with anything?? And then he said it . . . . 'what colour are my shoes'??

And then I knew not only was he a prejudiced little old Rottweiler but he was also a racist and prejudiced nasty beast of a Rottweiler disguised in this sweet little old man's disguise.

even now as a mature uni student my tutor even said . . . . . . .'or you can get pregnant at 15 and live of the coucil in a nice little council flat' . . . . . .. . what the hell is it with people being obsessed with teenage mothers and council houses??
(chickster, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 22:04, 1 reply)

One day...
Black and white may live together in harmony. Arab and Jew might dance into the sunset hand in hand. You might even be able to walk into a Rangers pub wearing green.
The day you can get four Metalheads into the same room without at least one thinking the others need to burn their entire Cd collection and stuff the ashes up their arse ... that day you will never see.
(Big D, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 21:56, 3 replies)

I'm prejudiced against anyone who's more obviously successful, comfortable with themselves, or generally less insecure than me.
How dare they be different to me. They're all conformist, shallow sheeple - not intelligent and free-thinking like I am. Now excuse me while I kiss my marginally tolerable, walrus-like partner goodnight (they're unconventional, not hideous - and I married them by my own free choice, not just because no-one else would put up with me) and stay up a bit longer so I can level accusations of trolling at someone who disagrees with me.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 20:04, 1 reply)

Holland, Netherlands, Dutch
Make up your minds what you want to be called you fucking bastards.
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 18:07, 7 replies)

Like Feanor
below, I grew up in rural backwater, first time I saw a hardcore image of porn it was a swedish/danish bird with a huge black cock up her ass, my first take was she was having a huge Guiness shite.
( The Scrunt Wants a Dozen Pints, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 17:43, Reply)

At 2 years old I made a terrible faux-pas, to say the least
I live in a little Irish village, and apart from this incident I probably didn't see a black person until age 10 (and that guy was a legend).

I broke my arm at age 2, and stunned and bawling I was brought into hospital. I remember nothing of having a broken arm at all, but my mam tells me that the first doctor to come in was black, one of the darkest complexions. Already scared by being in pain I started screaming and wouldn't let him touch me, and they had to send for another doctor.

In one way the innocence is cute, but not very comfortable for my parents at the time...
(AshTeamRacing, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 17:07, Reply)

What a question
Prejudice implies ignorance.

But I know what prejudice is.

My brain hurts.
(roysin, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 16:58, 2 replies)