You weren’t born in Malaysia though, the woman in question was born in the UK and told her so but still got interrogatedI probably get asked "where do you come from" 2-3 times a week. Looks like I was wrong not to be bothered or offended by it. Time to get with the times and call out these racists!!
That’s because people aren’t observant these days.I probably get asked "where do you come from" 2-3 times a week. Looks like I was wrong not to be bothered or offended by it. Time to get with the times and call out these racists!!
I get asked it every time I go to the Etihad. Especially by @LongsightM13I probably get asked "where do you come from" 2-3 times a week.
Having read the transcript of the Hussey interaction, at the very least it shows a lack of awareness and / or a desire to make a supposed guest uncomfortable. The content, asking repeatedly where someone is from because they are not white, clearly shows that Hussey was, at least on this occasion and that is all we can judge, being racist.
She didn't just enquire about her heritage. She asked repeatedly, batting away replies that didn't satisfy, to the point where even from the written word you can easily see how uncomfortable the guest was being made. Even if we accept that Hussey was clumsily just trying get to the bottom of where her ancestors came from (and she'd already been told re Africa: they didn't exactly leave records), why? Why does Hussey need to know? I mean, we all probably came from Africa at one point so what's the relevance or necessity of needing to know her origins? The answer is power, supremacy, the old 'i'm better than you because I'm money/educated/good stock, and I can show it'. She was lording it over a black person, precisely because she was black, and got called out for it.
Hussey's comment "Well you must know where you're from..I spent some time in France" would be laughable if it wasn't so belittling. She was also given a very good hint right at the very start when asking where she was from, with the reply being the charity's name, that the focus of the night is charity and should have been positivity.
That's not to say Hussey hates non whites, but clearly she denotes skin colour as a differentiating factor between who is truly British and who is not.
Is the whole palace racist? Who can say. Clearly there is a culture there where the above attitudes are or have been unchallenged and left to fester. Only Buckingham Palace could answer that, and there is not a chance they'd admit it is a bigger problem regardless, so the actual size of the issue will remain hidden.

A buckfast fuelled scottish dance movement. *shuddersI was thinking I’d missed a genre of Scottish dance music when I read the title of this thread.
As you were.
I’m intrigued and disgusted by the concept in equal doses.A buckfast fuelled scottish dance movement. *shudders
The latter describes me very accurately:-)That’s because people aren’t observant these days.
You're from Radcliffe, Rick.
Or a bullshitter.
Nice one, Steve.The latter describes me very accurately:-)
I think that, ultimately, it doesn’t really matter.I was in the pub with a few friends of Indian decent and a mate from Mumbai. They asked each other several times where they came from. Some of my Sikh mates are Leeds born and bred. Nobody took any offence.
This 83 year old might be racist or she might not. We don’t know. Anyone recording a transcript at such an event is either deeply offended or has ulterior motives. I don’t know the answer to that either, having no real knowledge of the people involved.
Or is it an awkward way about enquiring about someone's heritage?I think it's pretty harmless in most circumstances to ask someone who looks or sounds foreign where they or their family are from if it's just genuine friendly curiosity, just as when I'm down south people ask me where me or my accent are from. I think the problem with the palace incident is that once you've had that question answered, to say 'where are you really from' implies you think they are either lying or somehow don't belong here. That is racist/offensive.
Point hugely missed. This wasnt a few people who looked like eachother in a pub chatting was it?I was in the pub with a few friends of Indian decent and a mate from Mumbai. They asked each other several times where they came from. Some of my Sikh mates are Leeds born and bred. Nobody took any offence.
This 83 year old might be racist or she might not. We don’t know. Anyone recording a transcript at such an event is either deeply offended or has ulterior motives. I don’t know the answer to that either, having no real knowledge of the people involved.
I suppose a lot depends on context and the rapport you have between each other. I probably wouldn't use that sort of a question as an ice breaker with someone I'd never met.Or is it an awkward way about enquiring about someone's heritage?