I realise I need to tread carefully here and I hope this comes across in the way I wish and as a means of simple discussion. I have no intention or wish to offend.
I’ve had this thought for a long time now and often pondered it over on many occasions, in my head and as many of us may have done as well. It was brought to my attention again recently when I saw a picture, I think on the Charlton website, it was of players celebrating, I think a Mavididi goal, there must of been a group of about 6 or 7 and none of them were white. Of course they were all very young and I imagine most if not all were born here?
It got me thinking of other situations where I’ve thought that I’m in a minority, in what I stupidly call my country, whatever that means? Often when travelling on a bus, I find a lot of the conversations taking place are in a language that isn’t my own and not long ago, I was in a very busy hospital waiting area and I was the only white person amongst other patients and staff.
Clearly our society has changed rapidly over the last 20/30/40 years and particularly now that I live in London, I’m only too aware of it.
I think on the whole it’s been very beneficial and we can gain a lot from different people and different cultures, to put it simply, so a good thing.
I grew up in Erith, Kent, during the late 50’s/60’s and things were very different back then. In my junior school from memory there was one black kid and in my senior school 2. I think they were excepted by everyone and I can’t remember any racism but then again it was a long time ago. I can’t though ever remember wondering what it must of been like for them, to be so out numbered by white people or how difficult they may of found things. To be honest I doubt that I even gave it a thought or if I did I guess I just assumed everything must of been hunky dory for them and it may or may not of been.
Fast forward to today and I sometimes feel like the title of Robert Heinlein’s book “Stranger in a Strange Land” but of course with mass population movement throughout the globe, can one ever lay claim to this being “My Country” anymore, probably not?
Being in my sixties I know I’m from a generation very different from many others on here, who’ve grow up in multi cultural schools and probably don’t even think anything of it because it’s now just the norm. Does separation even exist, I think in truth it does but hopefully not as much.
Clearly there are racists towards anybody and anything around the world and are happy to be vocal about it and it clearly shouldn’t be tolerated.
I’ve never considered myself a racist, I’ve no doubt that I may have in the past done or said things that may have been questionable and probably will in the future.
I do genuinely like the idea of a multi cultural society and I enjoy the fact that I do know and have friends from different ethnic backgrounds but why do I sometimes feel uncomfortable when I feel I’m in a minority, does that make me a racist or has that change to the “ English” way of life come a bit too quickly for some of the older generation, that it’s become a bit of a shock, even though I/we try to be accepting of that change?
Interestingly I’m always very conscious of it when I want to go out for breakfast round my way, rarely can you get just toast and marmalade, it’s always croissants in the main but also interestingly, I drink mainly coffee now and not tea, even at breakfast.
Have I just shot myself in the foot because of some of these thoughts?
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