Racism Question.

[ranirottie]

Can I just add that Alfie did not just refer to his friend as "the Paki". He was trying to describe who Ahmish was to another boy. He had done the hair,height,name etc and then got to his other reference. He didn't think to mention the colour of his skin because it wasn't relevent to him. I have since spoken to Ahmish's mother and aunt and neither are offended by being called a Paki (no they were not just being polite)and refer to other Pakistanis as Pakis themselves. But they do say that they are offended by being called Indians.They say that Paki is a common shortening of the name and is only offensive if said in hatred or derogatory form. Ahmish's dad is another race (not sure what) and they refer to the Paki side and the other side of the family in conversation.Perhaps we do see it differently here because we do have a multi race village with no (or very little) racism. Of course you get the odd name calling ,including fatty,spotty,skinny,ginger,four eyes etc, from teenagers which is as bad as calling someone for their race but it happens with kids. Can I also add that we are a multi race family. My dad was half South African and half Yugoslavian,my mum is half English/cockney and half German , two of my cousins are married to black Americans (shinies as they call themselves,is that racism against themselves?) and we have various other races in our large extended family including Canadian,Australian and Irish so we simply cannot be racist or we would not speak to half of our family. I think more white peple make a fuss about colour/race than the the other races themselves. I would be furious with Alfie (or any of my family) if the remark had been meant as an insult but the fact is that it wasn't and it wasn't taken as such by the the person (Ahmish) or his family,only by the teachers who made the situation far worse by over reacting. Alfie has been told that the term Paki could be taken as racist and that we do not want him to use it again but i dare say that Ahmish can use the term Brit to describe Alfie. A strange world we live in !! x

[mum24dog]

it was relevant to attempt to show you i come from a multi racial family, yet describe people by there names, my race was mentioned when i said i was british born and both my parents are from Eire

 

My father had a cousin who was quite a successful boxer in the 1920s. I'd heard about him when I was growing up but had no idea that he was black until I saw his photo in a press cutting. His father was from Jamaica - the rest of the family from Tipperary.

It wasn't a shameful secret brushed under the carpet - just not worthy of mention. I'm not even sure my father appreciated how unusual it was for the time.

I've read some letters from my father's aunt to my grandmother (her sister) and nowhere is there any mention of getting a hard time because of marrying a black man.

My other grandmother was often called "the Jewess" when she was young because of her appearance. She was actually brought up as a Methodist and found it amusing.

 

Pam

[blackmagic]

I expect that what you witnessed, blackmagic, was the beginning of the same idea...that it isn't ok to group people into convenient little bundles and give them dinky little names which suit our notion of "otherness".[/color]

 

 

 

But is that not exactly what the term 'Brit' does?

[scotslass]

I expect that what you witnessed, blackmagic, was the beginning of the same idea...that it isn't ok to group people into convenient little bundles and give them dinky little names which suit our notion of "otherness".[/color]

 

 

 

But is that not exactly what the term 'Brit' does?

 

I can only say that the word "Paki" seems to have more racial/insulting overtones than "Brit" but you obviously don't agree. It is not the word "Paki" itself; it's the way the word has been used - and it is the word we've been discussing, after all. We could always have another thread about the word "Brit", I suppose.

 

There may well be happy multicultural villages in parts of England, but where I live, the word "Paki" is an insult, pure and simple - and children might as well learn to avoid it while they're young.

 

I repeat - I'd be the last person to suggest a child should be humiliated or punished for using such a word; and if that's the tactic employed by school teachers, I'd be having a word with them about their methods. He or she should be told gently that it isn't appropriate, that's all - as this family has sensibly done.

 

Is it such a big deal to avoid using the word? What makes us so keen to defend our right to use it?

 

I think, blackmagic, I may have misunderstood your post. I thought you meant that your friend was called by a generic sort of name - "Abdul" - which signified a kind of Arab heritage (a bit like calling a Scot Jock, because Lachlan was too difficult to say) - and that later, his friends realised that he had a perfectly good name of his own, which they started to use. I thought it implied a growing awareness and respect for others, that's all. I thought we were agreeing, in other words.