So had a quick play on good ol' XBox Live last night and generally I'll throw the headset on which will allow me to have a chat with other players as I play. Anyways - talking to a couple of guys from down south and there was a little banter going on which is generally the norm. Anyways, one of the guys proceeds to say something along the lines of "Christ...I'm running like a N****R".
Call it racism, naivety or whatever else, but I'd just refer to it as just plain dumb! From my own stand point, I'll admit I was a little offended and this was not only because of the fact that I'm a black man and simply don't like to hear that word being used by anyone (black or white) but on a whole, racist comments whether they are meant to harm or not are still offensive to me (regardless of whether they're talking about black people, asian people etc). I've been on the end of racial abuse when I was younger and knowing a fair bit about black history and how ignorant people had been to others simply because their skin colour was different to that of their own - I just don't like to hear racist comments in any capacity whether it be a joke, passing comment or out right ignorance.
Anyways - when I pointed out the fact that I was indeed, a black man, an awkward silence ensued followed by and apology and one of them attempting to give an anecdote..."Yeah...I met this black fella once and he was well funny...proper nice bloke". Thank you ever so much for telling me that - and on the basis of your anecdote I feel that we have made an ever lasting connection...(obviously I'm being sarcastic).
It's a difficult one when talking about racial issues being as there are those like myself who have been on the receiving end of racial comments which in a predominately Caucasian environment causes you to feel extremely uncomfortable and on the basis of this, it's not something that I would do to someone else. On the flip side of that, there are others who feel that because their comments were said without any malicious intent they are cleansed of any wrong doing. With that said I feel it is important to remember this. The fact that you do not intend to cause offence does not stop others from being offended, and it's a shame that even though we should all relate to each other as human beings - we are still a far cry from doing so.
Just goes to show that it's amazing what people will say when they think no one else is listening.
