Racial comments at school - how to handle it

susancs

I would report it to the school and explain to your son in advance that you are doing so. Your son knows that what the other pupil did was unacceptable and I always tell pupils and my own children to get an adult to help if they see bullying of any kind. By an adult doing nothing I feel it may send an unspoken message that the behaviour is somehow Ok or not too bad. Although your primary duty is to your own child, I also think that as adults we have to consider other children's welfare and other children may not be as emotionally resilient as your soon seems to be, if bullied.

I would advise ringing the school and speaking to the Head Of Year. If the school is a good community one, then they will take it very seriously.

justme111

Interesting so many have completely disregarded the wish of a child not to mention it to school authority . Guess whether the child will mention anything like that to parents again if he finds out it has been reported.

justme111

Contemporary politcorrectness gets on my nerves as well - one can not call black black anymore. Why is it so wrong to call indian indian ? Would it been better if he was called fat or long nosed ? Again , why everybody assumes bullying ? From one bickering remark to bullying is a long way. Or children not allowed any disparaging remarks anymore ? I would just keep an eye on this issue.

lulu_92

justme111 wrote: »

Contemporary politcorrectness gets on my nerves as well - one can not call black black anymore. Why is it so wrong to call indian indian ? Would it been better if he was called fat or long nosed ? Again , why everybody assumes bullying ? From one bickering remark to bullying is a long way. Or children not allowed any disparaging remarks anymore ? I would just keep an eye on this issue.

I too dislike it to an extent, however as someone who is mixed race (some people don't even like that term!) I think it depends on the context in which it was said. I have this discussion with my OH because he thinks the "P" word is okay to say because it's like calling someone a Brit and I disagree because too many people use the "P" word as an insult.

In this case I think that if the lad was being described as Indian, then fair enough it is the blanked out word that needs focusing on. If the lad was being called an "Indian XYZ" with his nationality/race being part of the insult then that's where I have issues with it.

DUTR

justme111 wrote: »

Contemporary politcorrectness gets on my nerves as well - one can not call black black anymore. Why is it so wrong to call indian indian ? Would it been better if he was called fat or long nosed ? Again , why everybody assumes bullying ? From one bickering remark to bullying is a long way. Or children not allowed any disparaging remarks anymore ? I would just keep an eye on this issue.

Since when? Black people are black people, the last thing they are is coloured.

justme111

Why does invoking nationality make insult worse ? Why Being called useless ugly billy no mates is better than indian ugly useless billy no mates for example ?
On a different topic - Lulu , when i have read your post i felt for you and your mother for the battle you had been through. I wanted to tell you those people who haunt you must have rubbish lives and be sick , it is not normal when one wishes someone dead and posts about it , one should have other business in their lives than that , unless you killed that person's child they sound like patients of psychiatric ward , why do you need to read what they think if i may ask ?

justme111

Whoops i take my words about patients of psychiatric ward back , i offended them by comparing to low lives who spend their time wishing someone dead and posting about it

lulu_92

justme111 wrote: »

Why does invoking nationality make insult worse ? Why Being called useless ugly billy no mates is better than indian ugly useless billy no mates for example ?
On a different topic - Lulu , when i have read your post i felt for you and your mother for the battle you had been through. I wanted to tell you those people who haunt you must have rubbish lives and be sick , it is not normal when one wishes someone dead and posts about it , one should have other business in their lives than that , unless you killed that person's child they sound like patients of psychiatric ward , why do you need to read what they think if i may ask ?

I understand your point because these things are down to your genetics. I know people say you can't change if you're ugly, but it's a hell of a lot easier to change that than to change your race (as long as you can afford plastic surgery and a camera with filters). Why should you be insulted for things you can't change?

Thanks, it was a hard thing to go through at 14 years old. It's not like I had it as the homepage on my web browser so I could see it :rotfl: it gradually made its way around the school, as things do, and someone showed it to me. Naturally I was horrifed, upset and scared. I kept having to go back to it to make sure I could gather as much evidence as possible.

A group of people from my old school tried to arrange a school reunion the other day. Needless to say I didn't accept the invitation.

justme111

Sorry - misunderstanding , i know how it can be at school , i thought it was still ongoing.
Interesting that you draw the line on things one can/ can not change .. if one was bullied for being poor and wearing old clothes or of a particular religiois belief or fat you think it would hurt less or be less wrong than doing it for race ?

lulu_92

justme111 wrote: »

Sorry - misunderstanding , i know how it can be at school , i thought it was still ongoing.
Interesting that you draw the line on things one can/ can not change .. if one was bullied for being poor and wearing old clothes or of a particular religiois belief or fat you think it would hurt less or be less wrong than doing it for race ?

Oh, don't get me wrong I don't think bullying for any reason is right. I was just answering your question about comparing it to someone being called ugly.