Friend racially abused on the bus :(

kitschkitty

As a regular bus user this thread is actually making both very sad & angry!

A bus drivers job is to get passengers from A to B safely. That means a bus drivers job does require them to deal with situations where someone on board is not behaving properly (and it is impacting on other passengers).

That doesn't mean the driver or anyone else should be instigating an altercation with a (potentially) volatile drunk (in this case) but it does mean making sure the passengers affected are OK, and calling for the right help (i.e. police) to get the drunk off the bus asap.

If I saw this happening to someone else on the bus I would have a word with the driver and expect him/her to do something. I would not face up to the perpetrator as it's more likely to cause a bigger issue not sort it out (in my opinion).

If I was the one being harassed by the (drunks) behaviour I would speak to the driver if I felt it was safe to do so (and otherwise ignoring the person is the safest & a sensible choice).

After the event I would contact the bus company.
If I had seen this happening repeatedly and the bus company fobbed me off I would speak to my local council too, as in my area the bus companies are subsidised (for some routes) so the council also has an interest in the buses being a safe service for all passengers.

As for the time of day I don't see the relevance, drunks you may see on a bus can be found at any time of day or night in my experience, not that I see the relevance of the time anyway. A 15yo should be able to safely travel on a bus at any time the service runs (whether they should be out and about & whereabouts/doing what late at night is a different issue for each family to decide upon).

Lastly, since so many people feel like concentrating on what the girl was wearing - what if she had been wearing a vest top & shorts or a dress, or skirt... (as the summer weather has been so nice recently) and he'd made sexually inappropriate remarks instead of racist ones - would people still think she should just "get over it"???

dktreesea

gwhizz75 wrote: »

Your posts scream of "I'm not racist but...."

What's it got to do with race? From what the OP said, her companion was singled out for abuse because she was covered, not because of her race.

Tiglath

dktreesea wrote: »

If you are in a country where women don't cover and you don't want to be abused because of your religion, then don't cover.

I guess that pesky Rosa Parks should've just given up her seat on the bus as well. No point challenging abusive behaviour enshrined in the status quo.

ess0two

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

In my experience people will challenge those being abusive to strangers on public transport, whether it's racially motivated or not.

The difficulty comes when the perpetrators are drunk/drugged as they are very, very unpredictable. Who knows whether they will kick off and start with physical abuse? None of us. In such circumstances discretion really is the better part of valour.

Far comment,but many good samaritans get a kicking of some sort when intervening in these situations.

geoffky

dktreesea wrote: »

Wrong. I'm from England. I live in Scotland. I certainly wouldn't fly the St Georges flag from my window. Nor the Union Jack. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" comes to mind.

There's plenty if instances being reported in Britain at the moment, of women wearing the veil being spat on or verbally harassed. They have a solution. If you don't want to run the risk of being harassed, don't wear the veil in Britain. Religion is meant to be a private matter. If you are in a country where women don't cover and you don't want to be abused because of your religion, then don't cover. It's not a requirement in the Koran, to wear a hijab - just to dress modestly.

Can i ask what planet you really are from...You really are a nasty piece of work....Why all the hate?..What happened to make you hate so much?
In real life i bet you would not have the balls to say this to someones face..
Grow up..

gettingbackontrack

dktreesea wrote: »

Wrong. I'm from England. I live in Scotland. I certainly wouldn't fly the St Georges flag from my window. Nor the Union Jack. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" comes to mind.

There's plenty if instances being reported in Britain at the moment, of women wearing the veil being spat on or verbally harassed. They have a solution. If you don't want to run the risk of being harassed, don't wear the veil in Britain. Religion is meant to be a private matter. If you are in a country where women don't cover and you don't want to be abused because of your religion, then don't cover. It's not a requirement in the Koran, to wear a hijab - just to dress modestly.

Your posts appall me - and disgust me, frankly. Women are spat in the street and in your view it's their fault for dressing in a certain way. How about it being the abuser's fault for being an ignorant bigot?

You say the 15-year-old's dress associates her with people who killed a soldier in Woolwich? Well, what about the British soldier who admitted sexually abusing an Afghan child the other day? By your reckoning anyone who wears a soldier's uniform is identifying themselves with a sexual abuser and is fair game for an ignorant drunk. Or worse.

The bigotry of some Britons makes me ashamed of my nationality sometimes....

OP, you are right to feel upset and your friend is to be commended for her dignified response to the abuse. The bus driver and fellow passengers should be ashamed of themselves for allowing two young ladies to be treated in such a way. You are both better than the lot of them.

gwhizz75

dktreesea wrote: »

What's it got to do with race? From what the OP said, her companion was singled out for abuse because she was covered, not because of her race.

Pinkbubbles wrote: »

Followed by a lot of obscenities, the p word (start of a country), black this and that.
All of these comments aren't made directly to S, but just loud enough for us to hear, and know he's referring to her.

Sounds like it has a fair bit to do with race...

balletshoes

dktreesea wrote: »

Wrong. I'm from England. I live in Scotland. I certainly wouldn't fly the St Georges flag from my window. Nor the Union Jack. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" comes to mind.

There's plenty if instances being reported in Britain at the moment, of women wearing the veil being spat on or verbally harassed.
They have a solution. If you don't want to run the risk of being harassed, don't wear the veil in Britain. Religion is meant to be a private matter. If you are in a country where women don't cover and you don't want to be abused because of your religion, then don't cover. It's not a requirement in the Koran, to wear a hijab - just to dress modestly.

a headscarf doesn't necessarily mean you are one particular religion - and it can also be worn for traditional/cultural or even health reasons.

And as to this -

"There's plenty if instances being reported in Britain at the moment, of women wearing the veil being spat on or verbally harassed."

thats just appalling, and tells far more about the mentality of the people who think thats anything like acceptable, than it does about the female who chooses to cover her head, for whatever reason.

kitschkitty

Pinkbubbles wrote: »

I can see I've definitely been unreasonable, to think that someone would put themselves In danger for someone they don't know. And in the instance that they'd been heavily injured due to defending S from a few racist remarks, she'd probably feel unbelievable amounts of deserved guilt.

You've not been unreasonable, you've been hopeful, and I hope you don't end up feeling like a down trodden, cynical, pessimist by the age of 16 - life can suck, but keep on believing in the good people that are out there.

Oh and in the situation you describe it would NOT be deserved guilt. The only guilty party would be the person who perpetrated the violence. If someone chose to get involved it's not down to you or your friend. If you needed to ask for help then you need to ask the person in charge of the situation - in this case the bus driver, and they should handle the situation carefully and properly to avoid that (violence etc) ever happening, so please do not feel bad about (considering) needing help in such a situation - the driver allowed that person on the bus, and allowed them to stay on board whilst acting as they were - they allowed the situation that you found yourself in and they are the one who shouldn't have.

ILW

sharnad wrote: »

No you weren't over reacting the bus driver should have got him off the bus

Not his job. He is paid to drive the thing.