» Racist grandparents

My dear old nan…
Punched me in the face and called me a paki for getting my nose pierced at 16

Referred to my (blonde haired and blue eyed) partner of mixed heritage as a 'stealth paki'

Refuses to eat pizza or pasta because it is 'wog food'. Though one Christmas she got drunk on sweet sherry and ate a whole bowl of prawn toast, gagging and spitting them out once we told her they were 'foreign'.

Insists that 'wog' is a polite term because it stands for 'Western Oriental Gentleman'

Told us that if any of her great-grandchildren had 'curly hair and were good at running' she would cheer for another child at sports day

Used to tell us (largely made up?) stories of how before my granddad she was married to a black man called Ram Jam Sammy, with whom she had a son called Sambo who was eventually sold into the slave trade.


Weirdly, her casual racism didn't stop her from translating her Indian next door neighbours bank and legal correspondants which they couldn't read due to their poor English, not did it stop her from helping their kids with their homework most nights.

Apparently being a 'paki' is something you can opt in or out of.
(Mon 31st Oct 2011, 8:52, More)