tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post5190007645815580617..comments2023-07-18T07:27:08.516+00:00Comments on Siren Voices: the worst thingSpence Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-12387825082518502022014-09-24T07:23:06.274+00:002014-09-24T07:23:06.274+00:00I'm so sorry to hear you had that experience, ...I'm so sorry to hear you had that experience, Lynda. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for you. The whole subject of racism is just so depressing. You wonder what exactly happened to people to narrow their outlook so brutally. <br /><br />I play in a band (occasionally!) We did this gig in a manor house whose old shipping family made their money in the 1700s - portraits on the wall of the ships & the noble descendants. It struck me (quietly!) that much of that family's wealth was derived in large part from the slave trade - cloth &c to Africa - slaves to the Americas - rum & tobacco & sugar home. The whole thing founded on the murderous & brutal suppression of whole peoples and their cultures. And to think that this well-to-do, well respected family is based in large part on that! Dreadful. <br /><br />I suppose I mention it because this racist, separatist mindset has very deep roots!<br /><br />Just thought I'd mention it...! <br /><br />Cheers for the comment, L xSpence Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-71784203673947668742014-09-24T00:28:24.265+00:002014-09-24T00:28:24.265+00:00Thanks, Spence, for responding in that fashion. It...Thanks, Spence, for responding in that fashion. It astounds me to hear that casual hatred espoused so openly and easily. My parents were racists and had a fit when I married a person of another race; I think they never got over it and died earlier this year hating my daughter for her skin color. Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O)https://www.blogger.com/profile/08938791116446859160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-22372387254150367542014-09-23T22:59:58.856+00:002014-09-23T22:59:58.856+00:00Becca - Sometimes I think those racist comments ar...Becca - Sometimes I think those racist comments are more to do with an attempt to shore-up some notional group identity. Finding / identifying another group to pick on, to re-enforce a sense of your own safety or speciality. From fear, I suppose - fear of change, fear of isolation. <br /><br />It's dreadful when you get the sense that someone is making tentative, racist comments just to 'test the waters' - to see where you stand. Yuk.<br /><br />L - It certainly was a shocking turn of events. I think those racist attitudes are still quite prevalent, unfortunately - something that will always be vulnerable to exploitation by political parties, especially when they want to divide people and make scapegoats for political advantage. God knows, history is full of dreadful examples....<br /><br /> Spence Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-64037801475793932222014-09-23T14:38:09.142+00:002014-09-23T14:38:09.142+00:00OH NO - you so had me in the sympathy vote for Ver...OH NO - you so had me in the sympathy vote for Vera and her family and then....bang. Gone. Shocking that this "casual racism" as you call it is still so prevalent and she thinks it's OK to discuss with you....<br /><br />LxFamily Affairshttp://www.familyaffairsandothermatters.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-49043294466443275442014-09-23T10:24:06.369+00:002014-09-23T10:24:06.369+00:00I know the feeling. The I once had a similar comm...I know the feeling. The I once had a similar comment dropped into an otherwise OK conversation by a *colleague* - working for the NHS and referring to NHS treatment of a patient with a non-English name. Fortunately not one we were in any way responsible for ourselves but spine chilling nonetheless.<br /><br />We hadn't had the greatest working relationship before that but that comment pretty much skewered any chance of it improving. Very hard wipe such poisonous views from your image of a person.Beccanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-64181820011105764662014-09-23T07:56:39.758+00:002014-09-23T07:56:39.758+00:00I'm sure you're right, Jack - and about th...I'm sure you're right, Jack - and about the waste of breath. I don't think one trip in an ambulance (especially when she's stressed & vulnerable) would've done anything to make her think about these things. Maybe I should've taken your example and steered us into calmer waters - Socialism vs Capitalism, maybe? Spence Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-71218081998207691612014-09-23T06:45:03.319+00:002014-09-23T06:45:03.319+00:00It's probably a generational thing Spence.I he...It's probably a generational thing Spence.I hear it reasonably often from some of my older customers.I try to steer the conversation away onto something less controversial (perhaps religion or world peace).<br /><br />Doesn't excuse it of course,but I'm sure trying to correct Vera would have been a waste of breath.jacksofbuxtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05420847156401984373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-37661719685236848872014-09-23T06:15:55.323+00:002014-09-23T06:15:55.323+00:00It's just so disappointing, CW! Esp as she'...It's just so disappointing, CW! Esp as she'd seemed so concerned when I mentioned that 100yo Syrian woman. I suppose that's the thing about ingrained racist views - the person expresses them as easily as if they were talking about the weather. Which makes it all the more shocking, of course. Spence Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-13977249954901757082014-09-23T00:15:42.570+00:002014-09-23T00:15:42.570+00:00I have run into the same "bomb" when I w...I have run into the same "bomb" when I worked with seniors in South Carolina,USA. And also the other way around. As in: they got seen faster because they were white. There is really nothing you can say. They grew up with those feelings. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-61141148098350621352014-09-22T22:32:39.504+00:002014-09-22T22:32:39.504+00:00i CAN COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND YOUR REACTION sPENCEi CAN COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND YOUR REACTION sPENCECompostwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028585447065282738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-32647424372220574872014-09-22T20:01:08.513+00:002014-09-22T20:01:08.513+00:00Absolutely, tpals - a bomb describes it perfectly,...Absolutely, tpals - a bomb describes it perfectly, the same instantaneous and shattering effect. I've had it happen before, and I have to say the shock doesn't get any easier. I know I should probably be more explicit in confronting it. (I felt guilty afterwards that I hadn't). But it's difficult when the person saying it is an old lady with a broken arm. I did suffer a marked drop in sympathy, though... :/Spence Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183848895584919812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27691111.post-86412907136750457992014-09-22T19:11:47.916+00:002014-09-22T19:11:47.916+00:00You had a bomb dropped into your conversation that...You had a bomb dropped into your conversation that time. Comments like that cause me to physically jerk away from the speaker, like a verbal stench.tpalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05646231041413714929noreply@blogger.com