The Event - How Racist Are You?

[NickyT75]

It was about raising awareness and forcing people to see things from the viewpoint of others which would not have worked if she'd taken a 'softly softly' approach x

 

[lesleyann]

The UK is 90% white, white people will never be the minority. Those of ethnic minorities have been experiencing racism and oppression for generations.

but racism works both ways nor a black or white person can say they are the only who get racist remarks made to them or about them.

If i go to a certain part of town i can 100% that i would get white racist comments so we both get it just as bad so therefore none can say oh you dont no how it feels, ive lived in areas where im in the minority and where im the majority.

 

[lesleyann]

People won't become more racist because they have had racism pointed out to them

It was a social experiment.

I bet none of those people in that group were racist, yet look at how easily they were led by her. One person shouted out blue eyed people were liars. I'm willing to bet that would not have happend outside the experiment. She was illustrating a point, and leading them to make conclusions. She was not teaching them to be racist, but pointing out their own internal flaws and showing that it affects everyone.

She was doing what she hated to show all people, regardless of skin colour, how wrong racism is and how easy it is to slip into.

She was incredible, and a very effective teacher. I think its a shame it was her last seminar. People could learn a lot from her methods.

that may be true but its never going to change anything do you think people who are rasict are going to watch that problem and think OMG how nasty am i, im hurting people i should stop?

and yet again its saying white people dont no how bad it is what about the people who get picked on for being white? they no how it feels

That wasn't the point of the show at all I really don't think youv'e understood the programme.

Yet again you are saying it was the white people being picked on. Did you see the groups? The brown eyed group was mostly white people.

It's not about people who are racist watching that programme. Its about people pretending racism doesn't exist, or people who don't want to hear about it. People who bury their heads in the sand and don't think it's that bad, from all walks of life and all races. It was bringing racism into a more real light and making people realise that it still goes on around them whether or not they are involved.

but its not solving the problem so it obv does not work that well

Do you expect a seminar of 20 people at a time to solve global racism? Its meant to leave a lasting impression on the people who attend, and the people who watch. Not change the world. If one person can take away a different viewpoint from it, then it's worked. You can only make one person at a time start thinking about their own behaviour.

if shes been doing it for 40 years and its been proven to work then why is it not in schools? why do people been said to be racist have to go to a class like this ? and what about the white people who get picked on for there colour the black lady was going on about how its hard for her to be black theres areas here where if your white your the minority. Ok it may just be the people on the show turning it into black vs white ect but it seems to all be about how white people never have racist remarks made to them to they dont understand.

We do understand ive been picked on for being a "white british bit of S***" is just one of the many comments ive had

It is in schools, that's where it all started off

Its not people who said they were racist who went along, it's people who volunteerd to learn more about it. None of the people I sae in the programme were racist.

You may have had comments, and there may be white racism but the whole point of the experiment was to show that RACISM exists, regardless of colour!

Why do you think you're more of a victim than someone else? Surely all racism is wrong? This is exactly what they were talking about.

You're the one who's made it into a black vs white debate just like some of the people on the show. They missed the point too. It isn't about black vs white or any other race. It was about dividing up the group and showing them racism based on EYE COLOUR. It was the group, and it is now you that had brought black vs white into it.

i may have started in on black and white on here but only from what i have seen on the tv show and i have never ever seen anything like this in school im only 17 not long out of school my brother is still in school and his not done anything like this so far

 

[Pyrrhic]

She's American, the concept is American and she started in some American schools.

 

[NickyT75]

Yes racism DOES work both ways... it was just showing that racism is wrong FULL STOP - she wasnt saying specifically that being racist against black people was wrong

does that make sense? x

 

[amylk87]

There are probably white people who get racist remarks said to them, but white people will never feel the same oppression in society for example, in employment.

 

[Pyrrhic]

but racism works both ways nor a black or white person can say they are the only who get racist remarks made to them or about them.
.

I know, that was the whole point of the show.

 

[NickyT75]

It was pointing out how unfair it is to discriminate against someone based on something they have no control over whether it be the colour of their skin/colour of their eyes etc... its all the same thing and equally unfair x

 

[lesleyann]

There are probably white people who get racist remarks said to them, but white people will never feel the same oppression in society for example, in employment.

how do you no that though? who says white people dont get jobs because there white because of an ideal there boss wants?

it seems a bit double standards to say white people dont no how it feels or suffer racism is the whole point im trying to get across. at the end she might of well of said all white people are racist because we are programed that way

 

[amylk87]

Its not a competition in who feels the most oppression in society. But as a white person, i know i will never be oppressed or discriminated because of my skin colour because i live in a predominantly white country.

 

[Pyrrhic]

Its not a competition in who feels the most oppression in society. But as a white person, i know i will never be oppressed or discriminated because of my skin colour because i live in a predominantly white country.

Exactly, and a throwaway comment by someone is not oppression or discrimination. The latter is systematic and calculated. Yes, comments are still racist but not to the same degree as oppressing someone.

White people are the ethnic majority in the UK, not a minority. Minorities will statistically be the ones who suffer bigotry. There may be pockets of the UK were white people are the minority, but it is not the norm.

 

[snettyb]

I'm with lesleyanne. My OH said i didn't understant the concept and i didn't but its the i received it that counts iykwim. I was offended by some remarks. I seen red near the beggining when she was telling the brown eye'd people to think like whites and be mean!!! As if only white people are capable of racism. I admit i didn't get how the event could possibly have been a help at all. White people are subject to racism just as much as blacks, asians etc. Maybe not so much in this country and certainly not where i live but in other places in the world, white people are targeted by blacks etc. I didn't watch the whole show tbh as i failed to see how speaking to people like shit could be of any benefit. How would she like it if someone else believed in something passionatley and spoke to her like thst to make their point. xx

 

[krissie1234uk]

I did see the point of the show - and I agree that it was to show that all racism was wrong. However I can totally see why it got people's back up because she was inducing a racist attitude in the brown eyed group. I was actually shocked at how easily the young black man conformed to this attitude when he shouted that white people were liars or words to that affect. I think that was the point though, that most people have racist ideas and it is a wrong attitude to have.
The black woman who was stood at the front annoyed me. I can empathise with her, however when she made the comment of "I live like this all the time, why can't you have this experience for 2hours" it struck me as a little harsh as surely NOBODY should have to live with racism, whether it be for 2 hours to prove a point or in everyday life. Why would she want anybody to be discriminated against!? Maybe I took this the wrong way.
I also thought that maybe more attention should have been paid to the white lady in the brown eyed group who ruined the intelligence test. She mentioned that she had lived in a country where she was in the minority as a white woman and felt the effects of racism. Surely this would be an interesting thing to highlight!?
At the end, when the woman who ran the experiment (sorry I'm terrible with names), said something about all white people are educated to be racist, if you aren't racist by the end of high school then you would have failed. I didn't really get this comment. I went to a very diverse high school in Burnley and if anything, this taught me not to be racist! I was friends with quite a few Asian girls and so it broke the stereotype, so to speak. I can't for the life of me remember ever being conditioned into a racist!
I hope that all the participants were debriefed after the show and it was explained to them what the actual point was, otherwise it was a very unethical procedure!

 

[PeanutBean]

OK I haven't watched it yet. We taped it so I'm going to watch in a few minutes. In relation to the comments about doing this sort of thing in school I'd just like to point out that using eye colour as a means of exemplifying discrimination on inappropriate grounds is a classic social experiment going back donkeys years. We did things in school where it was used as an example and I also studied about social conditioning experiments in A-level Psychology and it's a classic.

I might have some comments after watching it!

 

[PeanutBean]

OK I've just watched it and I have very mixed feelings. Overall I didn't get it. If her intention was to brutalise and intimidate and lower the self-worth of the blue group so they learn about what whites do to blacks I don't think she achieved it. I think she just put people's backs up and pushed them into a corner they probably wouldn't normally occupy. I think it was very American. I don't think her comment about high school had much bearing on a British education. I think it was sensationalist and over-simplified. I feel a workshop about the issue of overall discrimination, both personal and institutional, would be more productive and her technique didn't translate well to a British mind set.

I totally accept where she is coming from, the level of discrimination in the UK and people's often lack of awareness of its extent but I think her way of going about raising awareness was pretty rubbish.

My work is aimed at inclusion and I have actively sought ways to include minority groups of all sorts in science so this is no new ground to me. I was unpleasantly surprised by the man saying gollywog wasn't offensive but I also thought the woman saying she noticed racist comments that others' didn't was slightly naive, not because this doesn't happen but because I think there is a general lack of sensitivity to many states of life, not just race, that people as a whole are guilty of one way or another. I don't think naive it the right word, just can't think of one that it... Obviously the implications of that lack of sensitivity vary but I think on the whole it is an almost innocent ignorance rather than a malicious one, iykwim.

 

[Blah11]

I didn't like it much to be honest. i don't think i got it either :\ We have better debates on BnB than those people did.

 

[hpjagged]

I just watched this show. And although I see the meaning by why she did this it clearly did not work. On that group anyways. I also think that, that black woman was being racist towards white people when she was arguing with the white long haired girl in the brown eyed group.

Going off subject here. But it's OK for black people to have Black history month, Martin L King day, BET (black entertainment television) Black hair care, black magazines.
But yet if white people wanted to bring out white entertainment tv, white hair care, white magazines, we would be called racists!

 

[Blah11]

I think the black woman (was her name Pearl?) had a huge chip on her shoulder to be honest. I don't think she particularly liked white people

 

[marley2580]

Going off subject here. But it's OK for black people to have Black history month, Martin L King day, BET (black entertainment television) Black hair care, black magazines.
But yet if white people wanted to bring out white entertainment tv, white hair care, white magazines, we would be called racists!

The argument against this is that white is considered to be the norm in this society, therefore the majority of tv, magazines etc is already white. How would white tv/magazines differ to what is already out there?

 

[krissie1234uk]

I think the black woman (was her name Pearl?) had a huge chip on her shoulder to be honest. I don't think she particularly liked white people

I completely agree and I think the show provided positive reinforcements for her views. Which is why I really really hope they were spoken to at length after the show to make sure there are no detrimental effects on either groups.
Whilst white is the norm in society and so we have no need for white tv etc. if we started to label it as "White entertainment TV" or "White hair care" it would be frowned upon and cause a lot of problems. That being said, I have no problem with the above mentioned things. I think it is perfectly acceptable and to be fair, what else can we call these things to distinguish them from the rest?