Comments on: Towards a typology of discrimination?

By: David Semple

David Semple — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:54:24 +0000

Well, I relate to all people as a socialist ought, regardless of colour. It probably helps that I’m an immigrant to England, being Irish (though of British nationality). I don’t see native and foreigner, I see workers.

As for the Animal Farm reference, please, have at it.

By: Michael Child

Michael Child — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:50:33 +0000

Dave Sorry about the delay here very tied up with local issues, I have always been interested in racial prejudice, and go out of my way to discuss it with people of different racial backgrounds.

As you are a socialist I could pull the old Animal Farm trick here, but consider it below the belt, particularly with the British jobs for British workers thing going on at the moment.

But no this is much more about the way we relate to people of different ethnic backgrounds and how they want us to relate to them.

That based around the fact that we are pretty much all descended from immigrants in this country, meaning to a greater of lesser extent ones foreignness is related more to how one, or ones ancestors have integrated, than what one looks like.

All that said I am getting the feeling from talking to people from different ethnic backgrounds, in the commonly accepted sense, that we are getting something wrong here, all I can say is chat to a few about it and see what you think.

By: David Semple

David Semple — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:45:39 +0000

I think, when discussing political correctness, we have to be very exact.

First of all, if by political correctness, they mean they dislike positive discrimination, then that’s their choice. Yet I think positive discrimination (especially in the workplace) is of benefit. Discrimination is not always obvious, and it helps larger workplaces to have more than simply white men under employment.

Not only is it good from the point of view of employing minorities, it’s good for race relations etc – which is one of the reasons I’m against “faith” schools. Segregation, even inadvertant segregation, does no one any good.

If that’s not what they mean by political correctness, if they mean the same sort of stories that talk about Christmas being banned because of Muslims protesting to city councils, then you can reassure them – mostly such stories are made up by Melanie Phillips and her cohort and are debunked thoroughly year after year.

By: Michael Child

Michael Child — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:39:04 +0000

Dave there is though an unusual problem I am encountering with racism and that is, that political correctness is in itself becoming a form of racism. Two of my friends who I consider and they consider to be primarily Englishmen, although one happens to be black and the other happens to be Jewish, have mentioned their dislike of political correctness in the last week. While they and I both hate racism, they don’t want to be treated differently to anyone else, and I don’t want to treat them differently either.

By: samedifference1

samedifference1 — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:10:12 +0000

I feel very proud that my post inspired such a brilliant essay! Well said.

Thanks for the link. I’m very glad that you discovered me. I always love to get new readers. I hope you’ll be back

However, I did find it interesting that what I, as a DisAbled female, call Disablism, you, as (I sincerely hope) an able-bodied male, seem to call Ableism. What was it you said we put ‘isms’ down to? Human nature!