Ethnic Stew

Standing in a sports shop, waiting to be given the other shoe I do really need to complete the pair, I find myself staring at all the beautiful trainers I would love to own if only I had won the lottery last night (damn set of balls number four!). After about ten minutes I realise I’m still standing there, like the proverbial lemon, watching everyone around me getting served first. Now I’m not generally an angry person but in the Great British tradition I am an avid believer in the use of queues. So when the barely post pubescent shop assistant actually tries to lean around me to serve the man behind me, I thrust my neglected shoe towards him and state clearly that I am in fact here, and waiting, and next. He sucks his teeth at me, snatches the shoe away and proceeds to take a further five minutes to find its partner. It was only after I started on my way to the check out that I realise the only difference I can see between myself and my fellow “queuers” is that I am the only white person. But I dismiss this automatically with thoughts of “how stupid would that look if I complain to management about racism from a black member of staff?”.

Since the abolishment of the slave trade and the 70’s movement for black equality, I have been brought up to hold racist people in absolute horror and contempt. No-one has the right to believe themselves better than anyone else by simple virtue of skin colour or culture. I also believe that there should be no such thing as race supremacy. However recently I have been beginning to feel that some people consider themselves superior. And strangely enough, they’re not white.

The common idea of racism is that of white people over any ethnic minority. But having studied at Greenwich University for four years I can say I feel like the ethnic minority. I may not be a well travelled, world knowledgeable person but I judge people on their merits from their personality and actions. The five years I have spent in London I have heard “is it because I”m black/asian/welsh/muslim/christian’ more time than I care to remember and I can promise, every time that question is asked the answer has been and will always be “no, its because you”re an a***hole’.

Racism is a controversial issue at the best of times but I am a little tired of being considered obtuse or inconsiderate of others culture because I am white, English and proud of country and culture. Nobody is perfect and no race is perfect but it shouldn’t matter what my skin colour is, white does not stand for I-have-a-chip-on-my-shoulder unlike the attitude of my sports shop staff, or so it seemed to appear. The actions we perform create our presented image to the outside world, so what do you want yours to say about you.