Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

vivatifosi

Tahlullah wrote: »

Having said that, the type of bullying on this forum doesn't appear to be related to the protected characteristics under the Equalities Act, but just down to pack mentality related to perceived intelligence and free speech. And I don't think this will end, because people will always wish to be in one team or another, be that football, political groups or just that innate feeling that I am superior to you because of my job or education.

Agree, though on the few occasions that I have been trolled I tend to think of people as inadequates with poor social skills and probably low self esteem that make up an internet ID. I may be wrong, but as they have taken the time to be rude to me, I'm not minded to waste my time to find out. I just ignore them and move on. There's only one way that getting into a cyclical debate with them is going to go, and it is not up.

Tahlullah wrote: »

Anyone watching Big Brother? Not that this is something I do, just that there is an interesting combination of people in the house. Two especially. I am certain nothing will come of it, but no doubt, the non white section of the population will be watching to see if Jim Davison does his Chalky character in front of Evander Holyfield. Let us hope that he realises that this may not be a good idea.

I don't watch Big Brother, but you raise an interesting point re Holyfield vs Davison. I will watch the news for snippets on that, so thanks for pointing it out.

Tahlullah wrote: »

As a generalisation, I have found that most non whites do not mind being asked where they are from, born, or where their parents were from, depending on the tone and the questions leading up to it.

I agree most people don't mind being asked, whether white, black or asian. I've been an immigrant myself as a kid and that's how my friends and I got to know each other. I had Aussie friends, Italian friends, Greek friends (this was Melbourne late 60s, early 70s.. all except the aussies had recently moved there like me). My two best friends, one was from Lebanon, the other from Canada.

SingleSue

vivatifosi wrote: »

How long back are we talking Sue? Records for this are not too bad if relatively recent history and you may be able to find out where they were from, if not much else.

Your local library may have free Find My Past and/or Ancestry subscriptions that you can have a pootle around if you have time.

It would be well over 100 years ago, not sure of the exact year but I could probably work it back.

vivatifosi

SingleSue wrote: »

It would be well over 100 years ago, not sure of the exact year but I could probably work it back.

This might help for starters:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/immigrants.htm

A lot of the suggestions are for Ancestry. I'm not sure whether the information is available on the library version, but I'd certainly give it a shot.

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

I agree most people don't mind being asked, whether white, black or asian. I've been an immigrant myself as a kid and that's how my friends and I got to know each other. I had Aussie friends, Italian friends, Greek friends (this was Melbourne late 60s, early 70s.. all except the aussies had recently moved there like me). My two best friends, one was from Lebanon, the other from Canada.

Hmmm. I have eperience rascism first hand at school when I was a minority, Combined with my dad's job being unpopular with some other kids' dads. Its difficult t know which was the greater and i cannot recall if all came at the same time or if the colour thing came first or if that was an excuse.... Ignorance and nastiness and fear and stupidity come in every shade of human skin.

I'm a mongrel and it just gets a bit boring and confusing going through maternal family in particular. In tht family the lines are held quite dear and 'mean' a lot to people. In different ways.


iwas chucked of a first floor once ( second floor there.....:rotfl:) and had an arm broken , and they used to d an odd thing of hold me down and hold open my eyes and luck them. :eek: I never understood what the lick your eye thing was about tbh.

Edit...most of the time I would fit in better tbh, that was just a tricky one I think.

vivatifosi

lostinrates wrote: »

Hmmm. I have eperience rascism first hand at school when I was a minority, Combined with my dad's job being unpopular with some other kids' dads. Its difficult t know which was the greater and i cannot recall if all came at the same time or if the colour thing came first or if that was an excuse.... Ignorance and nastiness and fear and stupidity come in every shade of human skin.


iwas chucked of a first floor once ( second floor there.....:rotfl:) and had an arm broken , and they used to d an odd thing of hold me down and hold open my eyes and luck them. :eek: I never understood what the lick your eye thing was about tbh.

I had very limited experience of racism. There was some, from older children which scared me, but generally things were peaceful. There were too many of us newbies. Only about 40% of my school class was Aussie and the rest were recent migrants. A lot didn't speak English, so they were allocated an English speaker to sit next to. As someone who was both an immigrant and an English speaker, for whatever reason I got to sit next to another English speaker.

My brother on the other hand was bullied by his teachers. That was not nice at all. I don't know whether it was rooted in racism or they were just horrid people (or both).

Sorry to hear you had such a crap time.

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

I had very limited experience of racism. There were too many of us newbies. Only about 40% of my school class was Aussie and the rest were recent migrants. A lot didn't speak English, so they were allocated an English speaker to sit next to. As someone who was both an immigrant and an English speaker, for whatever reason I got to sit next to another English speaker.

My brother on the other hand was bullied by his teachers. That was not nice at all. I don't know whether it was rooted in racism or they were just horrid people (or both).

Sorry to hear you had such a crap time.

It was ok. I was probably a bit of a brat. I was younger than my class mates.

There was a horrid teacher there too, actually who was really the pits. She was worse. She used to say she had been a nurse and if any one told what was going on in her class/school at home she'd cut our tongues out and then sew them back on.


Of course, I was too old to believe it really.....but then I was also too old to think people could get away with physical violence in schools! So I wasn't quite sure......so kept schtum just in case. :eek:


Edit, cannot have been that's bad, because it was at about the time I think my 'ideal type ' of male beauty was cemented and it was probably the colour of people I was surrounded by at the time. So really cannot have traumatised me!

vivatifosi

Zag, as you are around, what do you think of the genetic testing kits that lir and I mentioned a page or so back? The ones that you can use as indicators of your ethnic make up and determining family history, rather than the ones that say "this is your child" or testing for a specific illness.

Would appreciate your opinion as someone who has a lot of knowledge in that area.

SingleSue

That sounds awful LIR!

I was one of the weird ones at school but luckily, my weirdness allowed me to float from group to group without any stresses or bullying. I was accepted by all groups because no-one could put me in any defined group, I neither didn't or did fit!

Quite weird really but James found the same thing, he could float from clique to clique without the usual boundaries.

lostinrates

SingleSue wrote: »

That sounds awful LIR!

I was one of the weird ones at school but luckily, my weirdness allowed me to float from group to group without any stresses or bullying. I was accepted by all groups because no-one could put me in any defined group, I neither didn't or did fit!

Quite weird really but James found the same thing, he could float from clique to clique without the usual boundaries.

It really wasn't as bad as it sounds I think, apart from teacher who was worse. There were a lot of drugs in that (primary) school too. I think its good to have experienced, as freaky as tha sounds. In the position I am in now it might otherwise be hard to empathise with the emotions and practicality of minority.

PasturesNew

I was generally an outcast at school, joining them late, however I had a "lucky break" in the summer lead up to school. In the holidays I was walking along the road, minding my own business, when the then school bully and her side-kick bloke stopped me and asked me a stupid question "where are you going?" ... so, being an aspie, I said "along the road in this direction" or something equally bizarre as I'd answered the unexpected question literally.

Big bully bird didn't like this answer, so whacked me round the head with her big leather handbag.... which I later found out always contained a brick. And she said something sarcy to me ... and I'll have given some equally aspie-like answer.... and a strange thing happened. She laughed, her side kick laughed, and I was allowed to continue on my way.

I can't remember what was said at all ...

Anyway, I then started the new school - and she was the chief bully from the 5th form, I was in the 3rd form. Seeing a "new kid" it was up to the 5th formers to pick on them - and a few tried, but she instantly spoke out "Leave her alone, she's all right she is", so I escaped.

And, I guess, when other kids saw this response they didn't dare to start either as they didn't know why I was seemingly "protected".

... it didn't stop the teachers picking on me though, physically too. There was one big fight between me and two big teachers (PE and an ex copper) and me when they tried to ambush me ... but that's another story. Er, I won, of course