[Mavira]

I live in Bradford. It's one of the poorest/worst cities in the UK.

Economic privilege is not the same as white privilege.

Race/gender shouldn't disallow you from achieving your goals.

I agree. But you suggested race/gender should be irrelevant. I said that we should not ignore race and gender, as ignoring this means we also ignore the problems that come with race and gender.

They used to (it used to be a University policy, a while back.). And that is insulting to them, because they are perfectly capable of getting the same results as anyone else.

If it was a policy, I can see why it would be problematic. But you gave no evidence, so I was inclined to believe you assumed it.

I disagree. That whole idea is just ridiculous. Come live here and see how much race is barely an issue in my life.

You don't think racism is about power and oppression?
I did not deny that you had experienced discrimination,as I do not know you, but rather that discrimination and racism are not the same thing.

And?

You benefit from being white regardless of where you are in the country.

I've been called a 'chink' too. I was told to get out of a park because white people aren't allowed there when I was a little girl. I've had a number of other experiences I don't want to post on the internet. Are you saying those are less serious just because I'm white? Are you saying if I told a black person to get out of a park for being black, it would be worse because they aren't the majority? Seriously? If so, words fail me. It affected me the same way as any person would be affected in that situation.

Did you read my argument? That's not what I was saying at all.

We all face struggles. We don't all use them as excuses for violence.

I didn't say it excused it. I implied that you don't seem to understand what racism is, other than at surface value.

I don't remember ever saying they chose to, or it was their fault. It's not even about race, it's about the fact they are poorer. I want a country where the poor/rich gap isn't so wide, so that people could afford to live together and celebrate diversity.

The way you stated it seemed to be implying that the minorities were purposefully segregating themselves. I apologise if I misinterperted you.

Exactly the point I made. By saying I want to know what England is about, I'm put in the same category as the BNP and EDL. Bravo, bravo.

You said that immigrants were causing the decline of British culture, which is exactly what those two parties state.

Considering you know nothing about me, you are making a lot of judgements about my 'position.' I worked at McDonalds for 2 years so I could afford Uni, it's not exactly an upper class white privileged job.

White privilege is not the same as economic or class privilege. Do you know what white privilege is, or are you making assumptions?
If a black man were rich, then he would have economic privilege over you. But you would still have white privilege over him.
White privilege does not mean that you are racist, or a bad person, or that you should feel guilt, or even that you are well-off in any way. It is understanding that you are in a position where you cannot understand the plight of another, because you can never be in their position.

We put in so many resources for translation of material, when we could easily be putting a lot more into learning English. 'Enough' is just enough to basically say hello, buy things in a shop, etc. I don't expect everyone to be fluent, English is a tough language to learn. I just think it's a gesture of politeness to try and learn the language of the country you are going to live in. Obviously that isn't possible for everyone if the resources aren't there, but the number of free English language courses around leaves little excuse to just try and learn a bit. I know people that have been here for 20 years and barely know how to greet me... I'm not sure how that happens.

Fair enough. I can understand why you say that now.
I've just known a lot of people who think anything less that perfectly fluent isn't 'good enough'. I didn't mean to insinuate anything.

I would like to state that I am not denying you have struggles, MissMisa.
Simply that discrimination and racism are different, and I do not believe that in a society where 'whiteness' is valued above other ethnicities, you can be racist towards white people.