Viewing Thread:
"Do you speak up?"

A topic arose on The Wright Stuff this morning about speaking up to people who make bigot/racist/homophobic remarks. I decided to post this here as it's quite an interesting topic which has affected me in the past.

Say if you was in the pub and you over hear someone making racist remarks, do you speak up and say something? Or do you just keep in quiet?

It's quite a hard dilemma seeing as you'd be concerned on the outcome. I remember Goatboy saying he punched someone in a bar for making some joke/remark about 9/11.

I've heard my Grandma say racist things in the past, but I've never said anything against it because of the fact that my parents have been there, making it very awkward to speak up. My friends have said the same about their elders, I guess it's just the way they were brought up compared to us.

So yeah - Speak up or keep quiet?

Your Honour wrote:
> They can say that. Why is that comment racist?
>
> EDIT: Would it not have been racist for him to have said "This
> nurse came over and she was as white as milk you know, and she
> actually did a good job!"

The difference in the two statements was "but"

"She was black as the night but she actaully did a good job" is as if trying to say you thought she'd do a bad job because she's black.

But by saying "and" you could just be trying to say that you don't expect nurses in general to do a good job.

Not at all. I just asked a question.

Why the abuse Sheepy?

You're not being a knob are you?

Trying to suggest that only white people can be racist?

Ok, just checking.

Of course that is racist Your Honour.

Unless he was saying she looked pale, suggesting she was ill and not up to the job.

Indeed.

So this would be equally racist:
"This nurse came over and she was as white as milk you know, and she actually did a good job!"
Would it?

It implied they thought she'd be bad at her job because she was black.

They can say that. Why is that comment racist?

EDIT: Would it not have been racist for him to have said "This nurse came over and she was as white as milk you know, and she actually did a good job!"

My grandparents are racist too. I can't understand why elderly people become so racist. For example, my grandfather will come out with something like:

"well the nurse came over, and she was as black as the night you know, but she actually did a good job!"

And I just sit there quietly thinking "uhh you can't say that"

I'd never put myself in the role of the politically correct thought police, but if somebody in my presence was saying stuff I thought was seriously unwholesome or stupid then yeah I'd speak up.