Is this Rascist?

Question

Whilst on my way home to huddersfield i saw a sign...
Sikh temple
Sikh lesiure centre

Now this annoyed me, why should they have their own lesiure centre? just because they are a different religion/ race?
Just imagine the backlash our country would have if there was a Christian lesuire centre or a English community lesiure centre!?

Also there is the MOBO awards (Music of black origin) every year....why should they have their own awards night? imagine if there was a Music of white origin awards night, we would get told we are rascist wouldnt we?!?!

It seems unfair to me that other religions and races come to our country and decide they dont want to be part of british life.

I am not rascist, i get on with many people of different religions and colours and backgrounds, i am just pointing out how hypocritical britain is!

Your thoughts?

Answer 1

Definitely, I come from parents who were highly against any racism and brought up with an open and welcoming attitude to all people from all cultures. Britain is now laughable. We are not allowed to put forward the perfectly reasonable question you have posed for fear of being politically correct.Its madness gone mad. If we go and live in Spain or France we are expected to integrate into their culture and easy pace. You are not alone by any means with you opinion. People are now becoming totally fed up with the situation in this country. Live and let live has always been my moto, but some of those who choose to live in our country, enjoy the benefits of our liberal society yet criticise our morals and values then go ahead and separate themselves in what ever way they can. Britain has become a country where to minority rules and majority is not allowed to speak up!

Answer 2

I don't see that a Sikh temple is racist, any more than a Congregationalist Church or a Methodist Chapel is - merely a building dedicated to one form of worship.

The Sikh leisure centre is another matter, particularly as has been pointed out, that if someone promoted a 'white british' leisure centre then they'd find themselves prosecuted before the paint had dried on the sign!

I believe that anyone moving into a different culture should try to integrate and follow the normal customs of that society - that's what previous waves of immigrants have done over the centuries.

England, love it or leave it!

Answer 3

Racism is in the intention, not in the words. The stories about blackboards and black sheep were made up by a reporter for the Sun. (It's a porn magazine not a newspaper). However, if you want to deny the colour of a blackbird you could always call it an ousel. Pakistan is a made up name for an area carved out of Northern India in 1947. It's not the place where Paks or Pakis live - the word comes from Punjab and Kashmir. Paki is used as a word of racist abuse - especially when it's applied to people who have no connection with Pakistan. If I was to use the word to describe one of my Asian friends, they'd probably find it rather odd, but not offensive. On the other hand, if I were to shout it at a stranger, they might feel intimidated. Brit is not a word of racist abuse - we're limeys or poms.

Answer 4

We all have cultural differences Coco, however some peoples culture is much more dominant than others, for instance white culture, and chistianity.

For these reasons people of smaller groups can feel drowned out at times, or that they do not quite fit, rather like a gay man in a straight bar for example.

To address this, many minorities develop culturally specific groups, organisations, awards etc... This is because their needs are not adequately covered by the mainstream culture. This same need generally does not exist for those of the majority.

So in answer to your question, your thoughts/feelings can be interpreted as racist, however, let me be clear, this does not mark you out as a racist person, moreover you perhaps have some racist ways of thinking (we all do to some degree I think).

You now have the opportunity to empathise with another group of people and understand where they are coming from :)

Answer 5

There ARE 'leisure centres' and social clubs in many parts of the country which do exclude many groups, and are geared totally towards a white, middle class group of people; in my part of the country they are either called 'Golf Club' or 'Conservative Club'.

A good number of these same people are now choosing to retire to Spain, where they live in closed communities, have 'British' clubs and make no effort to learn Spanish. That is how hypocritical Britain is!!

And Yippie, I believe one of the biggest events held annually in New York is the St Patricks Day parade, held by a group of people very happy to call themselves Irish-Americans.

Answer 6

If you opened your eyes, you might observe that there are indeed many Christian Leisure Centres.

Also, the acronym MOBO stands for MUSIC of black origin, not PEOPLE of black origin. It is an awards ceremony for particular styles of music such as hip-hop, rap, reggae, underground soul etc that would find it very hard to appear in mainstream presentations.

It seems to me that your main objective is relate to us, the sheer pain and torment that you have suffered by witnessing the existence of a Sikh leisure centre. Therefore, you are racist.

I am white. My hobbies and music tastes are in line with western European culture, and I'm happy to say that they are more than catered for, so cheer up! Go out and enjoy the services and music provided and don't pretend to get upset about something that doesn't concern you, let alone harm you in any way.

Answer 7

I'm not sure hypocritical's the right word in this case... open-minded might be more fitting. Being white in Britain means you can do whatever you want, wherever you want. Immigrants (or "they" as you seem to like to call them) come here and have to adapt to their new surroundings just as much as you would be expected to accept and welcome them; having Sikh temples, leisure centres etc. is merely giving other religions/races a place when they can feel comfortable amongst their peers while still being able too integrate with the (white) majority.

Incidentally, the MOBOs were started as black music was generally under-represented in any other awards ceremony (the Brits etc); note it stands for music of black origin, stating that anyone can win one, it's the music they produce that's being recognised, not the colour of their skin.

Is it my fault that Leo Sayer can't rap? :-)

Answer 8

Mmm, I think you have to consider religion separately from race here. A religion, especially a relatively small one like the Sikhs, has people who are like-minded about things but are probably at odds with the rest of the world on beliefs--but still have to deal with the rest of the world. It's not a bad thing at all for them to have a place to talk to each other. (And how many churches have lounges and tennis courts? Plenty...)

When it comes down to specifically race...well, I do think it's silly, not in a racist way, but...if you're going to complain about how another race won't accept you, why set yourself further apart? (I do know not all people do this. It just seems oddly contradictory on many levels to me.)

Answer 9

I agee with you.
The British attitude to values is that white middle class people set the acceptable standards of behaviour in Britain without actually telling anyone else explicitly! So when people blow themselves up on trains in London middle class white people say "That's not very British"....Extremist Muslims reply "Who are you to tell us what being British is?" Middle class whites say "Well we didn't think we had to tell you, because this is Britain where everything is done with a nod and a wink and we don't think we need a bill of rights or a written constititution expressing what our values are.....

You think you know what being British means, I think I know but plenty of muslims think they know too and their version is very different and totally opposed to ours. We need to start being assertive about our values before we become the minority culture in Britain.

Answer 10

Why don't you come to America and learn Spanish?

Can't we all get along?

Why give tax benefits to any religious group?

BTW Isn't there an 'official' religion in England?