Black Lives Matter

[Niall_Quinn]

It's very sad that the peaceful riots have now turned violent.

[GP]

The right is inherently violent.

[Niall_Quinn]

The right is inherently violent.

Yep. Every SINGLE one of them. Whereas it takes at least 10 lefties to be violent. Those aren't good odds for you, are they?

[Niall_Quinn]

Please.

Too cowardly, I suppose. But it's a nice thought.

[Niall_Quinn]

[Letters]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-53000622

all the times I've been asked, "Where are you from?" (England)
"No where are you from, from?" (Oh you mean why do I have this colour skin?)

No, you stupid bint. They mean where are you from. Where is your family from. And yes, your skin colour was the reason they realised you probably weren't from generations of Brits, but they'd ask the same if you had an accent they couldn't place. I would.

THIS ISN'T RACISM. It's just curiosity about you. I'm not saying racism isn't a thing but stop deliberately confusing it with genuine polite curiosity about you and pretending you're being swamped by racist abuse.

[Marc Overmars]

I’d find it strange for that curiosity to arise out of context though. If you happened to be having a discussion about backgrounds then sure it’s a perfectly normal thing to ask. If you just wanted to know what the ethnic origin of a person was for no reason other than your own curiosity, then I would say that’s odd.

[Letters]

Is it odd?
If I detect an accent I'm often interested in where it's from - whether that's a UK regional accent or a foreign one.
I remember seeing a doctor one time, quite thick African accent. Asked where he was from. He asked me to guess, I did so (correctly, as it happens) and that was that. I seriously doubt he left the encounter thinking "WHAT A RACIST BASTARD!".
It's just getting to know you smalltalk. If that doctor - or the lady in that article - inferred a racist intent behind the question then I'd suggest they're the ones with an issue.

EDIT: I doubt it's the first thing I'd say to someone but as part of a conversation I might, and have.

[Marc Overmars]

There’s nothing wrong with having a polite curiosity but I could see why a person of ethnic origin could find it odd to be asked about it out of context. For me personally, I wouldn’t ask because it doesn’t interest me.

Definitely not racist to ask (unless you’ve got an ulterior motive) but perhaps for those who have been victimised in the past it might not always be the best thing to ask, no matter how innocent it is from your end.

[Letters]

Fine. I agree the context is relevant. Someone approaching a black person in the street and aggressively asking this is very different from asking as part of a friendly conversation with someone you're just getting to know. I'm doubtful the former is what she's talking about.