Whats the most uncomfortable/racist thing you witnessed abroad?

Fratton Fred

saywhatyousee wrote: »

i was in florence train station last august
went up to a ticket checker at the gate
and asked him what platform was the train to poggibossi
(i bought the return ticket in poggibossi smaller station)
i asked the man at the gate
he snapped no INGELSE and started to walk away
i said no no i am from irlanda
he turned around and oh im sorry i taught u where english platform 5(in perfect english)

i taught that behaviour was completly un accetable
if i happened to be english what would he expect me to do walk
if it was a bar i could sort of understand but no in a public place like a train station

Th, th, Th.

This, that, these and Those.

Or is that racist??

A similar thing happened to me in Venice. I watched an American get very irate with the guy at the ticket desk as he was trying to buy a ticket to Milan. As the conversation went on he got louder and louder and wanted to know why the guy couldn't speak goddamn English.

I went up after and asked for "due biglietti a Verona per favore" to which he replied "ritorno o one-way? " having anticipated this question, I replied one-way. he then asked "economia o primo codice categoria" which completely buggered me.

He then said, do you want to go in first class, the train gets very busy on a Friday. crafty sod.

kind of supports what this guy says, but I found them pretty decent in general.

20goto10 wrote: »

Italians are pricks about speaking Enhlish. But if you put even the minimal effort into trying to speak Italian to them you will usually get a bit of respect and they will turn the conversation English. Unless they can't speak English of course :-)

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Because all English people have a lifespan of 400 years and individual personal veto on their countries foreign policy decisions :rolleyes:

Personally I am 800 years old and singularly responsible for the Norman invasion, the Cromwellian conquest, the penal laws, the Famine and Keith Harris and Orville.

Well, at least according to these guys anyway

fontanalis

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Personally I am 800 years old and singularly responsible for the Norman invasion, the Cromwellian conquest, the penal laws, the Famine and Keith Harris and Orville.

Well, at least according to these guys anyway

How can you show your face on here?? Are you responsible for Timmy Mallet aswell?

Fratton Fred

fontanalis wrote: »

How can you show your face on here?? Are you responsible for Timmy Mallet aswell?

Yep, but I refuse to take any blame for Cliff Richard, despite us being the same age

prinz

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Yep, but I refuse to take any blame for Cliff Richard, despite us being the same age

..you never see Fred and Cliff posting online at boards at the same time.:rolleyes:.... hmmm.

CD.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Personally I am 800 years old and singularly responsible for the Norman invasion, the Cromwellian conquest, the penal laws, the Famine and Keith Harris and Orville.

we all know the catholic church hid potato's during the famine and actually closed down the potato factories and turned them into orphanges.

Fratton Fred

I was on a beach in Tobago and was chatting to the deck chair/umbrella guy about diving.

We knew the same person who ran a diving centre in crown point, I hadn't been there for a few years so i was asking if he was still around) so the guys says to me sure, Barry and Obi are still there, when you see them, tell them Blackie says Hi.

I looked all confued and mumbled "What", so he repeated "tell them Blackie says Hi, that's my nickname".

How the hell was i supposed to say to one Black guy, that another black guy called "Blackie" says hi? my inbuilt PC instincts just would not let me do it.

InTheTrees

Caoimhín wrote: »

I was in Poland in the 1940's.

Shocking stuff, still cant eat roast pork.

Wow. Is that true?

Big Nasty

[quote=[Deleted User];66420804]This reminds me of a semi xenophobic thing I witnessed in a cafe in Dublin a few years ago, an Italian bloke came in and obviously had hardly any English and was using Italian words and pointing, all the staff were just scowling at him and talking rudely about him, making no effort at all to understand what he was saying or use a trial and error approach to see what he wanted. It just annoyed me because I have seen HUNDREDS of Irish people abroad walking into places and using English and then getting annoyed when they weren't understood. This bloke was obviously embarrassed and self conscious and just wanted a cup of coffee and a scone. So the Irish really aren't the most welcoming either when people have no English and make no effort to learn any.[/QUOTE]

They didn't know waht an Espresso was? :eek:

griffdaddy

griffdaddy wrote: »

That would be excluding all those Irish writers that are generally regarded as the best of all time I presume? People like Yeats, Joyce, Beckett and Heaney are all airport novelists I suppose. And as for all that software we were designing and exporting a few years ago, I suppose all those disks just had Dubliner's songs and videos of Wexford Hurling stars riding porno stars? pull the other one mate.

and world changing advances in Physics! Ernest Walton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Walton

Donkey Oaty

windycity wrote: »

Try walking into a pub in Ireland during the onset of the Iraq war, having complete strangers hear your voice and know you are from America, and then proceed to sum up your thoughts and stance on the war based solely on the fact that you are an American. I spent the entire evening defending myself to strangers, on the upside, the Irish economy benefitted from the large amount of alcohol I suddenly wanted to consume.

Welcome to After Hours!

El Siglo

fontanalis wrote: »

Luckily Gene Hackman came along.

Don't forget Willem Dafoe.;)

Coriolanus

irish-stew wrote: »

'green hills' santa ponsa, anyone whoes been there will understand

:eek:

You'll have to explain that one. Been five or so years since I was there, but didn't have any trouble at all. Might have been the twenty odd rugby players I was with but...

MIN2511

alwaysadub wrote: »

"you have very good English"

I get that all the time!

It beats me that people think because you're different/foreign you probably don't speak English:mad:

Nodin

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Personally I am 800 years old and singularly responsible for the Norman invasion, the Cromwellian conquest, the penal laws, the Famine and Keith Harris and Orville.

Well, at least according to (...) anyway

Not at all. Please don't misrepresent the views of others.

tommyhaas

Fishie wrote: »

Last year when I was in Kenya, I met a white woman in her 60's who had lived there for most of her life. The way she talked about black people was horrible, she was always implying that they were stupid and that you couldn't teach them basic things because there was something wrong with them. She was hard to avoid because she was staying in the same place as me for about a week.

However, one evening I was sitting reading a book and she decided to turn on the TV. It was in the middle of an adbreak, and an ad came on for African Big Brother. I made some remark like "Jeez, I can't believe there's an African Big Brother" and she replied with something like "There's no way I'd watch that". I thought we were finally agreeing on something - I had been thinking how awful it is that rubbish reality TV shows like BB have spread to other cultures, and thought that she was thinking along the same lines.

Then she said "I have absolutely no interest in those woggy programmes" :eek: I was so shocked I couldn't actually think of a response, and just stared at her. She must have thought I didn't know what she meant, because she started expanding on it: "Woggy, you know, its all Africans in it. They're so different, even if you were blindfolded you'd still know they were black from the way they speak. It's awful that they have their own TV programmes" :mad:

To add insult to injury, she then goes "The English version is quite good though!"

Not to condone that sort of attitude, but its important to remember that alot of people were living in some of the former African colonies (such as Kenya, Zimbabwe) prior to the country becomming independent, and have since seen things deteriorate dramatically, and in certain cases have had to leave the country. I know in Zimbabwe in particular, alot of white people were forced out after the Rhodesian war, hence this sort of attitude. Im not for a second condoning racism, but its important to remember that in certain other countries, older generations have experienced quiet alot and hence formed these opinions

Fratton Fred

Nodin wrote: »

Not at all. Please don't misrepresent the views of others.

Damn, you saw through my charade.

I'm only 650.

Donkey Oaty

What's the most uncomfortable/racist thing you witnessed abroad?

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Big Nasty

tommyhaas wrote: »

Not to condone that sort of attitude, but its important to remember that alot of people were living in some of the former African colonies (such as Kenya, Zimbabwe) prior to the country becomming independent, and have since seen things deteriorate dramatically, and in certain cases have had to leave the country. I know in Zimbabwe in particular, alot of white people were forced out after the Rhodesian war, hence this sort of attitude. Im not for a second condoning racism, but its important to remember that in certain other countries, older generations have experienced quiet alot and hence formed these opinions

Friend of mine grew up in some part of Southern Africa, his ancestors are there a couple hundred years or so. He's living over here now but he can't understand why his family are effectively being ****ed off the land they've owned and farmed legally for the last 100+ years. It may be his fore-fathers fault, but it's not his parents or grand parents or great grand parents fault and they just can't understand how their whole life has been essentially wiped out.

Similalry any English person living today is not responsible for anything inflicted on Ireland pre 1900.

Capt'n Midnight

Funky Kingston wrote: »

For a finish i also got sick of the alcoholic references too.... 'oh shes irish , she will drink EVERYTHING '

'oh shes irish , she will drink ANYTHING '

flag123

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Twas in Melbourne, Australia. We get into the taxi, tell the bloke where we want to go and he then mumbles (but very audibly), "****ing Irish".

Other than that, nothing major. I've seen more racism in Ireland than I have abroad, and in what you might think were sophisticated settings too.

Maybe it's because you live in Ireland?

dave 27

funny this thread came up, my bro told me yesterday when italy were playing that in the last world cup he was in rome and they were playing some african team and loads of people in the front of the bar started making monkey noises!

everyone else in the pub apparently were just like..wtf??

windycity

Thank God, now we have someone to blame

flag123

I don't get it, if i was called a "white b*****d" or Cracker Ass it wouldn't bother me in the slightest no matter what nationality the stranger was that said it too me.

But when you hear stories of Black people beeing called "Black B*****d" they go nuts!.

Teutorix

flag123 wrote: »

I don't get it, if i was called a "white b*****d" or Cracker Ass it wouldn't bother me in the slightest no matter what nationality the stranger was that said it too me.

But when you hear stories of Black people beeing called "Black B*****d" they go nuts!.

Probably because its a compliment to be called white :pac:

Jennyfer

I was in London about 13 years ago at a Tube station and chatting away to my friend and this girl walking past heard my accent and without actually looking at me she said "Irish bitch" and spat at my feet...nice girl :rolleyes:

shogunpower

a sign on a pub in santa ponza,,it said, no dogs OR IRISH,,,,putting use on the same level as dogs:eek:

Capt'n Midnight

Thirdfox wrote: »

there's a lot of bad blood left over from WWII between Japan and its neighbours but that doesn't excuse the racism directed against the Japanese people...

The Japanese government haven't accepted responsibility for what happened in China. It's glossed over in their school books.

Butch Cassidy

Manchester, England.
A woman was going bloody mental at the Indiain lookin cashier and the black security guard. She was throwing **** all around the shop and hurling the most profane abuse at both of them. The black guy I think was driven to a breakdown as he called the police and it looked like they were fobbing him off so he started shouting at the person on the other end of the phone about how they treat black people.

It was one of the most shocking incidents I've ever seen.

Ruu_Old

I live in midwest United States and saw a black fella tapping someone on the shoulder so he could get off the bus. The man let him by and as soon as he was gone, dusted himself for the next five minutes where the black chap had touched him. He looked absolutely disgusted.

I got told that foreigners shouldn't be let work in American libraries by someone over the phone who didn't like what I was telling her about her account. She called earlier but hung up after I told her the problem with her library account, she told me that time that she would call back to speak to someone in English.

hussey

I remember a few years ago, after work in the pubs with a few lads, I decided to tell a racist joke.

Anyway I decided to hype it up a bit and everyone seemed to be laughing away

so I get to the punchline, bear in mind at this point a few of them had big smiles on faces and were laughing, and then I tell it - nothing, all them sat there with the most serious faces I have seen,

so I turn around slowly, and guess who's behind me?

That's right, a racist ... so awkward ....

major bill

ive seen plenty of racism here. not racist but got asked to leave the maldron hotel in tallaght cos i was a bohs fan wasnt even wearing a jersey ha.

once in nottingham a girl called me mate a paddy quite amusing.

worst racism i seen was prob in me local pub when henry cheated against ireland:eek:.

abroad never seen or noticed anything just usual banter.

Faith+1

Jazlynn Lemon Son wrote: »

But thats not the question!.

Abroad, I guess in Lebanon when I was told by a member of Hezbollah to cover up my Star of David necklace or I'd be shot dead

Why were you wearing a star of David?

ordinary_girl

I specifically remember being outside a pub in London when a traffic warden came up and put a ticket on a guy's car because he hadn't paid to park there, all of a sudden this guy runs out of the pub hurling abuse at the traffic warden (who was black) and using the "n" word and telling him to "fcuk back off to his own country." The guy who was yelling at him had a very strong Dublin accent, and was calling the traffic warden a foreigner that he should "go back home." Embarrassed doesn't even sum up how I felt. What a prick.

Teutorix

Faith+1 wrote: »

Why were you wearing a star of David?

Yeah, why? Death wish? retarded? just plain clueless?

Faith+1

Caoimhín wrote: »

I was in Poland in the 1940's.

Shocking stuff, still cant eat roast pork.

How old are you???????

Killer Pigeon

I was on holidays with my parents in France about 4 years ago and we went to this 'Flunch' restaurant one night. We were sitting across the table from a French family, they had about six people at their table. Now I'm the only true ginger in my family, my brother has a bit of a tinge of the ginge in his fringe but not as much of a ginge as me. So we're sitting there and I hear them whispering and laughing a bit, I glanced over and they were all looking at me about to explode with laughter, literally. Now my French isn't that great but I did heard "La Rousse" mentioned a few times which I understand to be "the redhead". On my way out after the meal, one man who was at the table asked me where we were from and of course I said Ireland and he then went back and told everyone else where we were from which they found quite amusing. They had finished their meal too and were in the car park and two of them had the cheek to start waving at us and were trying to do a bit of an Irish dance. I mean seriously. These two were in their mid-20's and you swear they hadn't seen a red haired person in their life.

ride-the-spiral

My mother said that the first time she saw a black man she fainted.

Killer Pigeon

I hate those gobshítes who think Ireland is still part of the UK.

Teutorix

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

I was on holidays with my parents in France about 4 years ago and we went to this 'Flunch' restaurant one night. We were sitting across the table from a French family, they had about six people at their table. Now I'm the only true ginger in my family, my brother has a bit of a tinge of the ginge in his fringe but not as much of a ginge as me. So we're sitting there and I hear them whispering and laughing a bit, I glanced over and they were all looking at me about to explode with laughter, literally. Now my French isn't that great but I did heard "La Rousse" mentioned a few times which I understand to be "the redhead". On my way out after the meal, one man who was at the table asked me where we were from and of course I said Ireland and he then went back and told everyone else where we were from which they found quite amusing. They had finished their meal too and were in the car park and two of them had the cheek to start waving at us and were trying to do a bit of an Irish dance. I mean seriously. These two were in their mid-20's and you swear they hadn't seen a red haired person in their life.

Personally i dont think the french have a great sense of humour :rolleyes:

Killer Pigeon

ride-the-spiral wrote: »

My mother said that the first time she saw a black man she fainted.

What part of the black man :P

Killer Pigeon

The country I've been to with the least racist attitude towards the Irish is probably Germany. I stayed in Limburg for 2 night with some friends and we went to this local bar about twice while we were there. The barman asked us the first night where we were from on our way out. The next night he gave us each a small glass of this liquor that tasted a bit like rum, he said it was on the house. Thought it was awfully nice. I wondered if he would do the same if it were and English or a French person who visited the bar. (note: it definitely wasn't a gay bar, and he wasn't trying to chat us up or anything)

Butch Cassidy

Killer Pigeon wrote: »

I hate those gobshítes who think Ireland is still part of the UK.

In this 21st Century world of global free market capitalism it doesn't bloody matter what country is what. Ireland's part of the "Western World" which for all intents and purposes is one united kingdom of states.

Capitalism has no regard for nationalism. Money and capital is flexible.

wonton

i was in america when i was about 15 and i ran across a busyish road(cars were pretty far away), and on the other side some black kids started saying "crazy whiteboy" and " oooh are you the cool muth****a" i hadnt a clue what was going on until i later found out about the whole jay walking thing, i thought they were just singing a rap song or something!

bad2dabone

When my nephew was 3 or so (he's 14 now) he had a bit of a bug so my Sister in law got the doctor to pay a visit to their house. Their GP was on hols so an on-call doctor showed up and he was a Nigerian guy. My nephew hadn't seen a black person before and got quite upset, bursting into tears when the doctor tried to examine him, "be a big boy Luke let the doctor make you better!" "no!" screamed my nephew "Why not?" said Sis in law "because.... HE'S GREEN!"

Racist little **** didn't even know his colors properly :pac:

Killer Pigeon

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

In this 21st Century world of global free market capitalism it doesn't bloody matter what country is what. Ireland's part of the "Western World" which for all intents and purposes is one united kingdom of states.

Capitalism has no regard for nationalism. Money and capital is flexible.

Jebus crisps, that's not the point I was trying to make. Surely people should get a grip with geography.

If you want to get all political about it and if you are indeed Irish then you should recognise the Irish Republic out of respect for the people who fought, died and sacrificed everything to create it. And by the way, it does matter because in Ireland for the most part we do run our affairs and to say that it was some chap in English deserves the credit for how our country is run then you're talking bullsizzle. Also, I don't know if you know this but the Western World isn't exactly a federalist state yet and never should be because it would be dangerous to leave all the power into the hands of the lucky few. All states that have a functioning government like Ireland, they should be recognised.

Agent Smith

i was once served a guinness by an american....

Overheal

Agent Smith wrote: »

i was once served a guinness by an american....

lol, the rest doesnt even need to be said, does it :cool:

Pinturicchio

"Galway? What part of Dublin is that in?"

Caoimhín

Faith+1 wrote: »

How old are you???????

32.

I have a time machine.

Gyalist

brianthebard wrote: »

Most people in Ireland know basic stuff like people in Canada speak English* not Canadian, they speak Portugese in Brazil, Spanish in the rest of South America, etc.

[pedant]
Not quite. English is spoken in Guyana, Dutch in Suriname, and French in Guyane.
[/pedant]