Is Europe More Racist Than North America? Swiss Elections Expose European Racism Against Black People
A right wing party in Switzerland called the SVP party, is proposing a new controversial law that will deport criminals and their families from Switzerland. The leader of the SVP party, Ueil Maurer, states that his party is not racist, but believes in protecting the “security” of Switzerland. Why deport entire families? I think this sounds like repatriation, this is shocking, and deleterious! The SVP strategy has worked, the party gained 29% of the vote in Swiss elections. It is very clear to me this is just a disguise for racism. The SVP strategy was to break down the linguistic divide between the different regions of Switzerland and they attracted more French and Italian votes.
In the past the SVP party main target for voters was in the rural areas of Switzerland and the small towns. However, in the 1990s the SVP party shifted its focus to attract a larger voice in Swiss politics. There is a fear in Switzerland that too many non whites are living in the country.
An interesting fact about Switzerland is the country has a long history of being culturally diverse. In fact Germans, French, and Italians, have lived together in Switzerland for centuries. French, Italian, Romansch,and German are also the official languages in Switzerland. Switzerland was never a “monolithic” or “homogeneous” country.
However, the Germans , French, and Italians in Switzerland have one thing in common their “whiteness”. The SVP party feels too many “non whites” are moving into Switzerland and are changing the complexion of the nation. Immigrants already make up 20% of Switzerland’s population.
The SVP propaganda advertisements are a very chilling reminder of the power of racist imagery. In the advertisment, you see three white sheep standing on the Swiss flag and the only black sheep is kicked out. Recently, in Switzelrand there were riots in the city of Bern forty two people were arrested. The issue of racism, immigration, and xenophobia has exploded like an atomic bomb in the once “neutral” country of Switzerland. It is extremely typical during elections to find scapegoats and people of colour are vulnerable to become victims of white supremacists.
I have to ask the question, why do African people bother living in such xenophobic and racist countries such as Switzerland, Austria, or Germany? I am well aware that other European countries have anti black prejudices and biases such as Russia. I am focusing on the Western European countries at the moment to be the focus of this discussion.
The German speaking countries are known for their history of racism and anti black prejudices. I understand that people move to Europe for educational opportunities, for a better life, or to live with families. I continue to be amazed when I hear about African people living in those German speaking countries. Why? Why bother living in Europe at all? Why don’t the Africans move to North America they will be safer here?
Its so frightening Germany and Austria especially the hostility and racism against black people is so shocking. Why do African people bother living “there”? Why not live in the UK or something? Yes, I know the UK has issues with racism but at least there is a black community in England.
France is a country that once claimed to be tolerant of “different” people such as Josephine Baker and Langston Hughes. Well times have changed in France the nation now has an immigration crisis.
The French have banned Muslim girls from wearing the hijab at schools. I know in France, there are racists such as the current French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the right wing leader Jean Marie Le Pen.
Last year, Sarkozy called immigrant youth “scum”, even though he’s the son of Hungarian immigrants. For the white French majority although Sarkozy is of Hungarian origin he’s still white and he is still viewed as a “real” European.
Immigration and racial intolerance was one of the main themes for the recent French election. In France there is a strong current of xenophobia and racism against blacks and Arabs.
I have to ask the question, why do black people even bother living in Europe? I would like to know?
If you’re a black person or a person of colour why did you choose to live in Europe instead of say North America? Was it due to the pull of jobs, education, living with family? I would like to know what is so attractive, interesting, exciting about Europe? There is this facade that Europe is a continent of tolerance. Europeans like to present themselves as forward thinking people but the truth is the intolerance against people of colour is extreme and the racism is even stronger.
I am not suggesting there is no racial intolerance against immigrants in North America because there is. In North America, there is a man on CNN named Lou Dobbs. Dobbs has uses his TV program on CNN as a platform to complain about the Hispanics.
Why does the American media act as though “whites immigrants” from other countries do not enter America illegally that its just people of colour?
I find this kind of reporting not only racist but also extremely xenophobic as well. Dobbs program is a ratings winner for CNN. Obviously CNN isn’t going to remove Dobbs for his obvious xenophobic and racist views on Mexicans and Hispanics.
Why doesn’t Dobbs conduct a special about Europeans that are illegally immigrating to the United States? Why just focus on Hispanics? Dobbs is generating a lot of revenue for for CNN with his rhetoric. The issue of immigration reform will be one of the central issues in the 2008 USA Presidential election in the United States next year.
Link to Time Magazine article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1673669,00.html
Link to Economist Article: http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10024795
79 responses to “Is Europe More Racist Than North America? Swiss Elections Expose European Racism Against Black People”
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- - Monday , November 12 , 2007
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Gayblackcanada 
First time writing here, enjoy your blog and thought I’d add something to the discussion of France as an intolerant nation. You wrote of how hajib is no longer permitted in French public schools, and I thought that I’d add that they banned all religious attire. No crosses are allowed, no stars of David, no headcoverings of any religion. I do agree, though, that this law singles out Muslim women who have a greater cultural pressure to wear hajib than, say, a Christian girl has to wear a cross.
Hello Katy and thank you for taking your time to read my little blog.
Northern Europe can be xenophobic (particularly Belgium and Switzerland), but I think it’s a little bit different from “racist”. My experience with Switzerland was that they didn’t want any foreigners coming and living there (even caucasian Americans of German/Swiss decent). I had a friend move there and his younger brother (in junior high) was regularly attacked by the Swiss kids for being a foreigner. It had nothing to do with skin or hair color (he was pale and blond), it was cultural.
Why do African blacks move there? Financial opportunity, the same reason they move to the US and Canada and the Middle East. I would recommend the Scandinavian countries, since they seem to be the least xenophobic and least culturally insulated. Germany is much more open than Switzerland (and probably France/Belgium).
I agree that perhaps there is xenophobia against Europeans or whites from other countries in Switzerland or Belgium. However, if you’re a person of colour in any of these European countries you immediately stand out. Why does Europe continue to present this hypocritical attitude that they aren’t racist against blacks, or Arabs, or Muslims when the obvious is true?
Europe appears to me to be a very scary and a very racist place. Look at the SVP party in Switzerland and their propaganda ad with the white sheep standing on the Swiss flag and the black sheep being kicked out. Its a very chilling and shocking ad.
You say Germany is much more open then Switzerland. Well that’s shocking because Germany is known for its history of racism against black people. What about all those Neo Nazis groups or white power groups in Germany, France, and the UK? Germany has a very strong anti black racism its well documented. How could you say Germany is a good place for black people to live? Germany and Austria appears to me to be very frightening places of violence and anti black racism.
Switzerland doesn’t represent the whole Europe.I think you guys are juumping to conclusions too fast.And yes,many European countries aren’t very open to welcoming other cultures in,because they probably want to preserve their own culture as it is.I think it’s their right,after all.And just because you’ve HEARD that a few countries in Europe are strict when it comes to foreigners,don’t judge the WHOLE freakin’ CONTINENT just based on that as being scary! Only someone with a scarily simple mind would jump to these kinds of conclusions.Plus,one thing I noticed is that the countries with German speaking people as a majority are reluctant to other cultures and races…Wonder why.Try South Europe,Central,Eastern,Scandinavian ones…So many other countries! Switzerland and Austria don’t make up as the whole Europe! And yes,I’ve been many times to Austria,because half of my famiy lived there for a while,and I’m pale and Blonde from an Eastern European country…I spkoke in English there,of course,and the people were indeed pretty rude with me and very cold just because I didn’t speak their language and because I wasn’t from there.So???? Screw them! There are other countries,MUCH BETTER ones,in Europe to visit and explore.It’s NOT the end of the world.And I seriously doubt it is better in North America than it is in Europe.I could never leave Europe,just because of the cultural diversity.It’s wonderful here and it’s an AWESOME continent.Oh,and I’ve been to North America,so I’m not talking just from what I’ve heard. So please,use your brain,don’t judge a whole wonderful continent based on a few stupid countries.
Thank you.
There are racists everywhere but Switzerland,Austria,Italy and south Germany represent another case.They are conservative and extremely xenephobic.The 70 percent of the native citizens from those countries are all dangerous racists and they use modern laws only for hiding their real face.Unfortunaly this is the truth about famous miserable middle europe.Actually they need minimum 2 more generations for renewing their mentality and creating a real modern-multicultural society but those primitives do not want it at all.
Germany may not be particularly welcoming, but there is almost no Neo-Nazi presence there (it’s actually legally outlawed). There might be some racist and xenophobic sentiments in segments of the society, but it’s much weaker than in Switzerland.
My point was not that Germany was an anti-racist utopia, but that Switzerland is a hotbed of xenophobia and nationalism, and I’m not particularly surprised by their election of nutty, racist, xenophobes. Remember, Switzerland natinalized women’s right to vote in 1990. They’re pretty bizarre.
You are correct that the “image” of Switzerland is a tainted one.Switzerland may be a prosperous nation but the truth is women’s rights in Switzerland is far behind many places in the world. I was shocked to learn women were only allowed the right to vote extremely late around the year 1971 or something like that?
‘I am not suggesting there is no racial intolerance against immigrants in North America because there is.’
Apart from a few hundred thousand indigenous Indians, you’re all immigrants in North America and so in theory have homelands to which you could return. Here in Europe the situation is completely different; we have lived here since the Ice Age and have nowhere else to go now that we are being subsumed by immigration on a massive scale.
Lee you are ignoring the legacy slavery. Europeans can’t have it both ways. Europeans cannot simply just attempt to “ignore” or “forget” history. The Europeans cannot have their cake and eat it too. Europeans have a history of imperalism, colonization, exploiting Africa and Asia and getting away with it. Europeans also had slaves in Europe or have you forgotten this fact? Liverpool in England was a well known slave port. Europeans also robbed Africa and Asia of billions of dollars over the centuries.
And into the 20th century Europe exploited Africa and Asia manipulating political elections. And even to this day France still gets involved in its former colonies political affairs.Europeans have also been involved in sexual exploitation of women of colour and continue to. Germany is well known for its prostitution sex trade and the importing women of colour from East Asia and Africa into sexual slavery. Europe has a history of raping black and Asian women and gotten away with it for centuries.
The European Union and the International Monetary Fund keeps Africa poor with debt. Europe has been exploiting Africa and Asia for centuries. Of course, Africans, Arabs, South Asians, East Asians, are going to “move” to Europe. Why shouldn’t they? If Europe cared so much about “debt forgiveness” and about helping its former colonies real change would of taken place by now. I admit that African dictators are a problem as are Asian dictators. However, Europe and America aren’t going after these dictators.
Europeans were able to prosper over exploiting African and Asian people for centuries to make the cotton, sugar, and labour. The reason Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world have so many problems is due to European exploitation.
Interesting perspective, Lee, and it may be relevant if your only sense of time is the geological, but for those of us who were born in North America, and whose parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were born here, “returning to our homelands” is not an option.
The whole “subsumed by immigration on a massive scale” complaint is pretty absurd. Outside of Northern Ireland, no country in Western Europe has a high rate of population increase, so the problem is not lack of space nor, for the most part, economic. The main issue Western Europeans have with immigration is loss of their homogenous cultural structure (look no further than the absurdity of Belgian succession to see how seriously Europeans take cultural homogeneity). This is what underlies the problems that, for example, the French have African Muslims, they view them as unintegratable (perhaps an invented word), and thus undesirable. Skin color and religion play a part, but at it’s core, it’s less an issue of racism than the overwhelming human failing best described as “fear of other”.
All I can say is thgat the deep south of america is a nightmare. I like europe as a black person because i am free to be me. There are opportunities there for me as a creative professional and the bite of insitutional racism is less intense thus allowig for me to create my own destiny. America is a nitemare compared to europe in many ways. I have run into much racsim in germany. In berlin I was treated like dirt by the very racist owner/director of the DNA Gallery in Berlin. However, I was still free to do my own thing. In america, if you are kept out, you are KEPT OUT and there are few alternatives.
Oh my goodness Jim the American south sounds like a very scary and dangerous place for black people to live. I have read a lot of books and studied American history during my time in university. I’ve heard about Germany that country is all smokes and mirrors. I also heard Germany is a racist country. I have also heard Germany is not a safe place for people of African descent to visit.
I’m Swiss and I’m amazed to read these things about my country.
I’m a primary school teacher and teaching since twelve years. Our school is near Zurich, and we have pupils of all different ethnic and religious backgrounds. In all these years, not a single racistic case occured. Of course, there are children who are mobbing victims, but only because of their behaving. Actually, the victims have always been Swiss.
Around Zurich, the biggest foreign population group are the Germans. They are not equally liked, because some of them have a tendency to be much more direct and straight forward, which in Switzerland is considered impolite. I’m sure, you know these kinds of cultural differencies as well.
I’m married to a Dutch and my best friends are German, Italian and Swedish. This is typical here, as my husband has to talk English to his IT – Team, since there are so many foreigners.
I adore the international athmosphere of Zurich, and I love discussing with foreign people about their roots and how they see Switzerland.
About politics: we have a system that is called “concordance”. It means, that all elected parties have to work together. At the moment, the SVP has 69 of total 200 seats in our parliament. Since the other parties are more left wing oriented, they have no chance to dominate our policy.
I think the black sheep poster is childish and ridiculous. But fact is, that almost 70% of violent crimes are comit by foreigners, including 85% of raipings.
That’s why the SVP wants them out of the country, after they have been in jail. And that’s why they call them “the black sheep of the foreigners”. It has nothing to do with skin colour.
One question Sybille where are you getting these statistics that 85% of rapes and 70% of violent crimes are committed by foreigners I find your numbers absolutely outrageous. Where is your proof?
The numbers are from the Swiss national centre of statistics in Berne.
I don’t have any more proof.
Just a remember that statistics can be manipulated to provide an inaccurate result. Given the fact immigrants make up such a smaller number of the Swiss population I find your “numbers” to be suspect.
You know,who are you to ask for proof.She’s from THERE,that means she knows better than you do about their internal matters.You’ve never lived there and you don’t know for real any real thing about their country.You speak just from what you’ve read and hears.Have -you- been there,have -you- been beaten up by any racists,did you get mocked at EVERY DAY while being there? Then,I could retreat my words in that case.But I doubt you’ve even been there at all.I think,you’re the one who has to question wether you’re racist yourself,not them.And stop pulling the “racist card” and argue.She seems honest and seems like she knows what she’s saying,because she’s FROM there.People,books can tell LIES,too! Don’t forget they were written by PEOPLE,who they aren’t PERFECT,because no one’s perfect! If you go to Europe with an open mind,no crap like racism in mind,then you’ll descover that people here aren’t as BAD as you assume to be! And you’ll find racists EVERYWHERE in the world,not just Europe or America.Then what? You need to open your minds.Europe has MANY different cultures and mass mentality types.When visit a country here,in order to feel good and get along perfectly with everyone,you need to at least TRY to understand their culture,the people.And you need to respect the country’s cultural and social bounderies.If you come here with a closed mind,people will sense that and they won’t be as willing to socialize with you,since they’ll feel you got nothing in common with them.And a close mind means arrogance and disrespect,ignorance to one’s culture.You need to stop viewing everything from your own perspective,and try to take on other people’s perspective,too,to understand.If you’re willing to embrace their culture,you’re willing to connect with them,and they’ll notice that and will be willing to welcome you more warmly.That’s the whole trick.And just because you’ve heard of a few who became racist,don’t judge the whole country or continent for that and put a stamp on it.Rmember that it’s how -you- portray yourself in the society.The society will take on the vibe you give off.It’s all up to -you-.You teach people how to treat you! And you’re the only one who can control that.
Thomas you need to be more specific what do you mean by “refuse” to adapt? Are you talking about immigrants not learning to speak Dutch or French? In terms of finding employment I read recently that even more Walloons are learning how to speak Dutch. I think in order to find a job in Belgium it is crucial and necessary to speak one of the official languages that only makes sense. You need to know how to communicate with the general population in that particular country. I think if someone is going to move to Belgium since the Flemish speak Dutch and the Walloons speak French an immigrant should know how to speak one of the official languages of Belgium. Now if you’re talking about culture that’s a totally different issue. I don’t think people need to “change” their culture because that’s part of who they “are”.
Here in belgium we have a similar situation. Muslims demand new muslim-only laws and riot if they don’t get them, they refuse to adapt and look down on us, with 300 000 on a population of 10 000 about 68% of all crimes are commit by non european foreigners so yes its normal most people are against muslims (situation in sweden is even worse btw).
The normal africans however adapt and get a job hardly cause trouble and are hardly ever confronted with real racism.
Last year i went to turkey and people are completely different there, they even told me its all the scum they don’t want anymore that comes to europe.
they don’t even try to speak our language thats one issue
culture and religion is the biggest issue however.
Its fine if they keep all that inside their own house but when you go dressed as muslim to a catholic school, demand money for mosques in a catholic country, demand their own muslim cort and laws, protest if they see a christmas tree or something catholic related (they say its an insult to their religion) and i could go on for an other hour with things like that.
Now if you have comments on that they directly call you a racist. fun heh
xenophobia and nationalism in europe can be very much centred around issues of intergration and assimulation – how much effort migrants make to fit in. What is subversive now for nations in 21c is the challenge presented by religion and the assertion of non-indigenous faiths. The last few blogs prove that what is at the centre of the current conflict is the preception of ‘demanding’ special rights. Assimulation is a two way street and the debate is moving from the traditional one of – learn our language, keep our laws to one that is very much focused on the partnership that comes with having immigration laws. “If I come in I will keep your laws, learn the language , pay your taxes in return for my contribution how will you ensure my whole being is kept safe and I don’t lose my traditions.” This is a new dialogue that plays itself out badly in the nedia because it is assumed this is cheeky and sub-ordinate – a legacy of post colonial thinking. The global legacies of slavery are disaporic groups across the world losing or already lost their heritage and customs, bringing up generations of children who are lost and displaced not just geographically but cultural. Is it wrong to avoid this happening agin?
I’m from Canada, and here the immigration policy poses a very large problem. We work upon point system that admits some of the most educated people in the world from countries everywhere. Though, doctors and lawyers end up sweeping up after me in my local café. It is very dumb to have such a policy. In good theory we should be letting in people from Europe because they are culturally more integrating. Muslims, Orientals, Arabs, Persians, and Africans integrate poorly. They come to our big cities such as Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Quebec City; though they end up living in places like little India, and Chinatown. That is ludicrous, if they want to live in Canada at least try to adhere to our proper culture. If they demand to live in a Chinese concentrated area, than stay in China and stop raising the unemployment rate. We let in so many people, but we have unemployment problems all over. We need people to take less educated jobs, such as working trades, and it would be the healthiest situation to only permit immigration from European people. I do not want our cities to see more white minority. Vancouver in British Columbia has seen less whites than other coloured people. East Asians and Chinas making up the largest group of coloured.
Also, in Canada people of colour make less money, and they commit more violent crimes. It is very bad for us true Canadians whose families have lived here since the 17th and 18th century. I have to agree with policy of Switzerland and France. Why should us white citizens be forced to put up with such mockery and infestation? They do nothing but cause trouble and destroy culture. Thank you!
You’re a racist .I know many Africans friends of mine who live and work in canada, pay their taxes.You’re using an non sense excuse to justify and cover your racism.You French speaking people(Belgium,France,Québec)are narrow-minded.Just say you don’t like non-Europeans that’s all
I am an American living in Europe I do not like the atmosphere for people of color. I thought Europeans would also be more forward thinking and culturally adaptive to different races. They do talk alot about how they live together as different cultures but like the article said they have one thing in common-their whiteness and they are really not accomplishing anything. Africans are treated horribly here and have no social/economic power what so ever. I don’t think europeans hate the Africans but as the saying goes “it is easy to like someone as long as you feel better then them.” I wonder what would happen if Africans started wanting more? Europe reminds me of the U.S. in the 1950’s. I have a different outlook on what the Civil Rights really brought to America, African Americans, other minorities, women, and the world. I think years ago, Europe was more forward thinking and it was a safe place for Africans and African Americans to explore but it is not the case today. Europe is stuck in the past. I think Europe racism is more about keeping their old traditions alive which in the end is stunting their real growth potential. Europe is a liberal place conserving the hell out of traditions. Cheers
And what’s wrong with keeping our traditions and cultures? Look at America,speciffically U.S.A. .I can’t understand what’s of their culture,because they let everyone screw them from all directions.Yes,it’s nice that they’re so “accepting” of other cultures,although,I doubt they really are.It’s more like,whoever comes into their country,adapts to their “culture”,and honestly, it is easier to adapt to their “culture”,because there is almost none.
I agree with European countries preserving their own cultures and traditions.
Go to China or Japan! There’s a LOT of racism! Are THEY accepting anyone outside their culture? NO! Go try to integrate in their traditional ways and culture as an European and see if you’ll succeed.You won’t,I can tell you from the start.They’ll be nice to you,welcome you,but never accept you as one of theirs.Same with African countries,Muslim and so on.I think you guys are being two-faced.And,again,stop pulling the “race card” on us every freakin’time!It’s not like you were the ONLY ones who suffered along the history! And stop playing perpetual victims too,that’s not going to work.Go to Turkey,as an European and you’ll see what racism really IS.Plus,they got no respect for people from outside their culture,whatsoever.Not even here in Europe.They need to start to be sincere,fair,act mannered and educate themselves.And they need to start to respect others that aren’t of them! See? There’s a reason to everything.It’s not like they pulled those laws there out of nowhere.Things must of happened to make them take those measurements.It’s their right.It’s THEIR country.And this is all double standard what you guys are doing.Go to India and do or say something that is considered desobeying their religion or tradition and you’ll see yourself going to jail and being thrown out of country in no time.And honestly,Europe’s indeed far more accepting of other cultures,at least they’re far better at respecting them than a lot of Asian countries,Oriental,Muslim and so on.Seriously.And it’s not only blacks and just people of color that get mocked by racists.We,as whites as well get mocked by racists,too.There are haters everywhere and of ALL colors.
I fully agree with Marc-Henri.I’m sorry,but he’s got a lot of point.
I am one of the people of colour. I have been to US.. trust me.. I would rather live and die in Europe then living then living with American white ignorants
The US is the least racist country in the world. That is with the South and Mid-West factored in, if you excluded them and only counted the West Coast, East Coast and Chicago area – it is BY FAR the least racist nation in the world. Canada, New Zealand and some places in Europe (Sweden and Netherlands) aren’t bad and way less racist than Central Europe and Australia, but they are not as good as the US.
Brett, wake up and smell the coffee. The United States is one of the most racist countries in the world. Lets not get started with the serious amount of hate groups(which keep rising every year) and the social inequalities that minorities face(for goodness sake, the U.S. can’t even provide their citizens with EQUAL education to get minorities out of a poverty-struck cycle)
The U.S. is absolutely NOT one of the most racist countries in the world. WHAT SO EVER. if you are looking strictly at the South and the Midwest, I may be able to see what you are saying. But simply looking at the West Coast, East Coast, Chicago area and Florida it is MORE than evident that people of colour can live about COMPLETELY in peace in these areas. Inequality is still there, but there is far more progression towards less racism in the US than any other country
Marc-Henri, Asians and Indians make the most money in the US, Canada and UK. They commit hardly any crimes… the crimes comitted in Canada are by Jamaicans and Natives.
I agree with your statement that to a certain extent colonial powers exploited Africa, that we can all agree on. But to ask Europe to clean up Africa’s modern chaos decades after we have thrown in the towel so to speak and given up past colonial commitments, is pure hypocrisy.
Take the current case of Zimbabwe, once one of Africa’s most prosperous nations, now plagued with hyperinflation and extreme unemployment. At the time of writing this Mugabe won’t even release the election results. My point being, neighbouring countries won’t help Africa why should we? Millions upon millions of dollars have been poured into Africa to no avail. (as the saying goes ‘taking money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries’.) South Africa is relatively prosperous even by European standards yet it stands idle. In short the African people suffer at the hands of inately corrupt politicians that yet they elect themselves. I for one would love for Africa to sort out its problems, a continent so rich in natural beauty and culture.
As for the the main issue at hand, I guess people are generally annoyed by the lack of integration by non-white immigrants. Individuals on the whole are lovely, no matter their skin colour but once a community is established they tend to stick together. Take London for example (where I live incidentally) the streets especially outer London are lined with trouble making mostly black youths. Yes there is much more opportunity but immigrants not only bring their alien cultures and appearances but also their deep rooted social problems. I am referring to the frequency of Black men not to raise their children just taking flight on a whim as it were.
Thus, immigrant communities are not even taking full grasp of the opportunities on offer for them. And to point a simple fact no matter how much you integrate, your skin colour won’t change. I suppose it is inate human nature to assemble with people of similar type, the droves of Polish immigrants although not particularly liked within 20 years will look, act, and sound British.
Just the plain facts I guess. To add on a personal level, I really have no problem with people of any colour coming to live in Europe, providing they are law abiding citizens, and make a real attempt to integrate. The proliferation of parallel communities rife with social problems will only result in racial tensions. Believe me, demographics in the long term are self regulating. If a population truly resents the arrival of immigrants, particularly those who see themselves as somehow cheated (of course deluded) then they will hit back. You barely touched on Russia, having a Russian housemate I can tell you from the stories of dispossessed Russian youths beating Black kids to a pulp in the street, and mixed couples having to hide from public view they certainly are long way removed from Western Europe’s tolerant stance.
One last thought, the inter-tribal xenophobia that Africans possess for one another surely is even more immoral than the supposed racism that Europeans feel for non-white immigrants. Think Rwanda, think Kenya. At least Europeans have learned to get along and protect each other, perhaps Africa is in a stage of development similar to Europe hundreds of years ago and we should let it run its course??
Guess what? The shitty and disorganized state Europe left Africa in is what allowed dictators like Mugabe to get into power. There was no structure for government, all the educated natives left the country, and the countries weren’t given any guidance, and since they had no strong traditions of any particular form of government, whoever was the most violent and scared the populace the most managed to strong arm the people into submission.
Europe colonised and raped the riches and cultures of Africa for hundreds over years, destroying even their most basic fabric necessary to form a society, and you are now whining that you have done ‘alot’ the past 40years ‘helping’ Africa?????
@Elliott, I agree that Mugabe is a tyrant and obviously a hindrance to the masses in Zimbabwe. I also agree that African leaders are culprits and are a serious detriment to the development of the African continent. It just proves corrupt leaders can be any race it doesn’t matter if the leaders are black or white.
However, Apartheid only ended fourteen years ago in South Africa that simply isn’t enough time for real change to occur. The infrastructure in South Africa is still controlled by the Europeans. Apartheid should not be ignored the legacy of white supremacy on the educational, political, social, and cultural areas of African societies must be explored. Its going to take at least one to two generations for real change to occur in South Africa not a mere fourteen years.
The European Union needs to get real if they want to “stop”
the flow of immigration they need to be held accountable for the legacy of the dire economic destruction of African economies.
Mbeki definitely could be a leader for the African continent. But what about Nigeria for instance? The quandary is the African continent actually has the natural resources the diamonds, gold, and the oil. The dilemma are these strings attached to the “foreign aid”. Nigeria is a very oil rich country and the money from the oil isn’t being distributed to the masses its going to the Europeans. So once again, the Occident is profiting off of Africa.
Mugabe needs to be removed. You do have a point that other African leaders especially Mbeki in South Africa could of done more. Africans do need to be held accountable this is true. However, the Occident has a particular role with the political and social problems on the African continent.
Thomas you fail to mention the fact there are strings attached to the money flowing into the African continent. The EU doesn’t just provide “money” there are so many strings attached. The French specifically have contributed to a lot of political problems in her former colonies.
Racism! Racism! Racism! Racism! Racism!
Are these racists so dumb to be racists in the twentyfirst century or do they do racism to annoy the non-racists?
Feed yourselves on this food for thought, ye unevolved racists with nothing better to do:
Racism is immoral and dehumanizing behaviour that reflects the “incapable to perform
humanely” quality of those who are racist and are being watched from God’s court above in ways they cannot be expected to be capable to perceive yet.
It’s a shame when obnoxious stench of racism comes from people in so called rich countries. It’s even more of a shame when words are twisted by media to influence young minds with lies. It’s even more of a shame when so called authorities perpetuate racism and behave racistly and enforce racist policies and behaviour through intimidating means amidst outer sweet and polite talks. Racism seems to be prominent among so called white people in rich countries who cannot bear non-whites from other countries of origin. Planet Earth belongs to people of Earth. Highly educated people of high intellectual calibres, rich bosses and CEOs, etc, of rich countries are a blotch on humanity and their material levels when they
haven’t yet evolved to basic human concepts of all humans have red blood irrespective of race. Are the racists that dumb not to comprehend even this much?
Racism stems from social attitudes that are perpetuated by racist societies, the media, the authoritarians, and the peers. It’s time to say, shame on all those who perpetuate racism and racist attitudes. It’s time the white rigid narrowminded racist colonialists go back to where they came from.
I first want to address the comment by Marc- Henri. How are you coming to the conclusion that high immigration rate means high rates of unemployment? You wrote…” than stay in China and stop raising the unemployment rate. We let in so many people, but we have unemployment problems all over.” Where are you getting this information from? let me point you to this document from the U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-05.pdf). You’ll see on page 17 that it states, ” The median income of Asian households …. was $8,000 higher than the median income of non-hispanic white households”. There’s even the whole “model minority” phenomenon being discussed in the States and Canada. Why are you “true canadians” just because your families have been here since the 17th or 18th century? What does that make the native canadians, who have been here way before that? I think something that is at the core of Canadian culture is that IT IS a mixture of many cultures and that’s what makes it special.
I myself am an American/Canadian currently working in Italy, and I can tell you that the atmosphere here in Europe is more tense towards people of colour than in America. I think it’s unfair that people call America a “racist country”. Sure, America’s history has been marked with racism, but currently, so many steps have been taken to ensure equality. It’s an issue that’s openly discussed in classrooms and public places, and Americans are really aware of the issues. Are there “non-racist” countries out there? I would say U.S. and Canada are far ahead of the rest of the world in dealing with issues of race.
Also, to address the comment by Jim Kirk, what do you mean that “In america, if you are kept out, you are KEPT OUT and there are few alternatives.” Kept out of what? With all my years of living in the states, I have not seen a place that has a discriminatory policy. You said yourself that you treated like dirt by the very racist owner/director of the DNA Gallery in Berlin. I can’t imagine this happening in the U.S.
I’m not saying that racism doesn’t exist in the U.S., but I think it’s far more ahead of the rest of the world than people give it credit for.
In America, when I am asked where I’m from, people are usually asking for the city that I grew up in – which is Toronto, though now I can Chicago home. However, in Europe, people are never satisfied when I say I am American. They want to know where I am “originally from”. It seems people are still not comfortable with the idea that America is multicultural and you do not have to be white to be American.
Also, just with regard to posts, could people please cite sources when they use statistics to support their arguments? Just throwing around numbers like “5% of rapes and 70% of violent crimes are committed by foreigners” can be very misleading and is a very dangerous practice. I think part of the xenophobic feelings are generated by instances like this.
Actually Switzerland is the most racist modern country of the world and it is too late for change it. After 27 years of experiences with all sort of discrimination i do not see any reason to talk about this extremely miserable-primitive-racist place.Well placing the hooligans in governement offices is a very original solution for stop the crime. Is not it?…
I’m Korean living in Geneva, Switzerland. I’m working for the United Nations. Switzerland is the most racist country ever. Even if “Gevene is called an international city”..Sometimes I’m afraid of getting out of my work. Worse than the States..
So many uneducated people in Swiss..
This blog was very insightful and the comments quite interesting to read. I am a Black American and I was always lead to believe Europe was more open minded and embracing of other culturess and people, now I see the same problem exists everywhere and that racism is simply a human flaw. I do want to comment on a couple of the comments. Sybille, I am quite sure you are a kind person and though you may not have have experienced overtly racist behaviour, simply because you haven’t seen it and you have friends and family of diverese background doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. No offense, but it sounds like you live in a bubble, a ‘happy’ bubble, but a bubble nonetheless and surround yourself with like minded individuals which is fine, but there are meanspirited people out there and they make life a living hell for others and the experinences of others is just as valiid as yours even if you haven’t experienced it. To Marc-Henri, it is true that with the exception of Native Americans, all of us are immigrants, but it is important to remember that one group of us (Africans) were brought here against our will and since our culture was stripped from us, there really is no ‘homeland’ for us to go back to. Africa isn’t a county, it’s a contient. I can’t tell you what county my ancestors came from so how can I reclaim it? But I can tell you that I can trace members of my family back to the 1700s and since their blood, sweat and tears built a country that they had no ‘claim’ to that I claim it for them now. Orvilleloydedouglas makes an excellent point about the audacity of Europe ( and America, also for that matter) wanting to wipe their hands of immigrants after both have exploited the the others country. If you take the money from the people, then the people have a right to reap the benefits so if you want immigrants to stop coming over then repay what was stolen/coerced from the nations, assist them in rebuilding on THEIR TERMS then get out and stay out of their lands! And don’t give me the line about Europe and America helped with colonization because the name of the game was greed at the expense of others and that’ just the truth no matter how much it may hurt to admit it. And Jim Kirk, I understand what you are saying about feeling ‘kept out’ of things in America, though I haven’t been overseas for a comparison. What he’s trying to say is that thought there are no more ‘n*gg*r go home’ signs, you still get the glass ceiling effect sometimes like you can only go so far because bottom line no matter how many civil rights you have, you can’t make people like or accept you and when your livelihood depends on an appoint from someone who still judges on the color of your skin you will get forced into a holding pattern. They will never say it but you know. THey may think that you are not like the ‘rest’ of them but you still aren’t white so sorry not this time. Thanks for letting me share my comments
No, America has never been any more racist than Europe. All the Europeans who denounced Americans for having slaves and then segregation were at the same time treating Jews like dirt (Dreyfuss Affair, Pogroms, Holocaust). And Europeans started the slave trade. I guarantee you if blacks or Asians or Latinos had moved to Europe in the 19th or early 20th centuries they would have had the same racist policies and racial tensions. Not to mention the whole imperialism thing. America gets a bad rap because its domination of the global media means the spotlight shines more brightly on everything, including our problems and the mistakes of our government, and this negative focus is fueled by global resentment of American power. The simple fact is all peoples are inherently intolerant of outsiders, and since whites have been more powerful politically and militarily the last 500 years, they were able to act on their racism and harm and exploit others. Either way, all racism is pointless since genetically we are over 99% identical, and wherever racism happens, it should be condemned. Cultural diversity should be celebrated, and people have the right to be proud of their heritage, but the treatment of one background or ethnicity as better than another is morally wrong.
Nikki,
We all live in a bubble and perceive ‘our own world’ differently, it’s part of being human. I find your comment to Sybille kind of ironic from an american who admitted of not having been overseas. The EU gives a bigger percentage of its GDP than america to Africa, and the US gives a third of its foreign aid to Israel which I wouldn’t call a poverty-stricken country! On that note, Orville, the US has as much if not more strings attached to its foreign aid money than the EU. If you had read a previous blog we’re(EU/US)trying to help Africa, but does Africa truly wants to help itself? I am truly ashamed at what Europeans did to Africa in the past(I’m Belgian), but I think we’ve evolved(thank god)as humans, and it is pointless blaming us for things we cannot undo today. Moreover, you cannot blame colonialism for every single problems plaguing Africa today, for which by the way, we’re helping.
Racism is rampant and everywhere, my sister lived in LA for a number of years and thought there was more racism there than in the UK(where she lives now). Again we all perceive the world differently and it’s always easy to find the ‘ugly’ and the ‘bad’ in people if you look hard enough, Orville.
It is so enlightening to see blogs that discuss race intelligently instead of demeaning anyone. I live in the US but traveled to the UK several times back in the 1980’s. I must admit that I am a little surprised to hear that the UK isn’t the country I once visited. I can honestly say that I felt welcomed but did sense some racism towards Pakistanis. I am biracial and most people probably assume I am white (I’ve been told that) so I guess I am not the best person to determine if there are racist feelings when I go out somewhere (particularly by myself). I also traveled to Belgium and thought they were more open minded than the Brits.
I must say that I’m a little dissapointed that Europe has regressed and racism has struck it’s ugly head even more. I know there is no eutopia, and that everyone’s experience is different, but with that said, it makes me apprehensive to want to travel there. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy, but I hear Italy is now racist. My husband is Afro-Carribbean and I would not want to spend my hard earned money vacationing somewhere people are going to look down on us. I can assure you that if you vacation in the US, you are treated well as long as you have money to spend. That’s the way it should be. I don’t feel my family and I are inferior to anyone and therefore won’t stand for anyone treating us like we’re less of a human being. We will probably go to Canada on vacation instead because I don’t want to end up in jail in EU if someone treated me terribly. I would not stand for it and neither would my husband.
If Europe has become more racist recently, it’s probably because more immigrants have come to Europe recently. Illegal immigration has become a big deal in the US because of the increase in the number of illegal immigrants coming in recent years.
kiki,
Could you please explain to me(or to us)how, and for what reason you would be sent to jail in the “EU”??
Excuse me, but you are more likely to be thrown in jail in the USA for a non-violent offense than anywhere else in the free world. And I am not even going to get into America’s human rights record as of late. I personally know a friend of my parents who almost ended up spending her holiday in jail because she took off her bra on a beach in florida.
Yes, she was ignorant, but it was her first trip to America and being topless on a beach in Europe is taken for granted; welcome to the so-called ‘freest country in the world’ right?. America is called ‘a melting pot’, Europe is often referred to as a ‘salad bowl’, there are people from every corners of the globe here. If you’ve cancelled your trip to Italy just because you ‘heard’ it was racist, well, that’s truly a pity.
Jerome,
To answer your question, I am referring to the fact that if someone made a racist remark toward my family, I would probably react negatively toward them. As far as your friend is concerned, I’m sorry to hear that the police reacted so harshly since she was indeed visiting from another country and therefore was unfamiliar with the laws here. I have never personally had any unpleasant run ins with the police before, but can tell you that in my state (Virginia) they are very professional. Maybe the police in Florida are different.
As I stated before, I have been to the UK several times and to EU once (Belgium and France). If you don’t mind me asking, what country are you from?
As stated in my first post(1 Oct)kiki, I am Belgian(from Brussels). I lived and studied in England for 7 years and spent 3 years in Florida taking business courses and flight training.
The cops were actually lenient not to have thrown her in jail thanks to my mother pleading and explaining(or trying!)to the police that it was her first time in the US and that in Europe it’s almost a human right for women to have the choice of being topless on a beach. Human rights, kiki, are core values of the EU also, it’s not only americans who actually enjoy them believe me. We have freedom of speech, expression, of the press, peaceful assembly and religion just like you do; and to insinuate that you’re going to get easily thrown in jail as if the EU was some kind of dictatorship is ignorant. I enjoyed America and its people very much but my god you are so misinformed about the world outside your borders.
Regarding racism in the UK and EU, from my point of view it’s been growing towards middle easterns in the last few years especially since 9/11. There’s also racism towards the many eastern europeans flocking to the EU.
I’ve always thought that the French were more racist than the Brits in general. The US’s history towards the blacks is nothing to brag about and if I remember correctly the Brits abolished slavery some 30 years before you yanks did. enough said.
I am currently from te U.S.A and no I do not experience any racism here and I am in fact a black American. But I do receive ignorant stereotypes everyday for example “stop acting white”- which by their definition means, stop being so intelligent and into “white sports like soccer” which is very ignorant. I never have left the U.S.A before and I really would like to travel. But my dad went to Spain and loved it there. He speaks spanish quite fluently. My top priority is to visit Moscow, because I’m learning Russian and is very intrested in Russian culture. I also hope I am not discriminated or somebody bringing up a stereotype, because eveything I hoped in Russia would have been a waist of time for me. P.S I am currently a teenager.
Chris Dyer
Sounds like you are experiencing Racism Chris , you just don`t know it young chap.
White countries are for white people
Jerome:
Since I come from such a racist country (US), why did Klaus Emmerich (Austrian) make such racist remarks about Obama becoming president and that a “Black cannot rule the world.” It seems that it’s EU that’s still in the dark ages. I think I’ll stay in my own country.
Algebra Answers: since you’re too much of a coward to give a proper name and write the statement that white countries are for white people, please explain then why there are whites in non-white countries such as Asia and Africa? Aren’t the whites the ones who went all over the world and exploited every other race on the planet?
A.S. sour grapes.
My dear KiKi,
you seem to be a little confused.
I never said america was ‘such a racist country’. This discussion was about racism in swiss politics and veered towards the EU being very much racist, and decided to give my opinion.
I did admit to racism being present in Europe but in a more complex way than in the US because we’re divided countries with different cultural heritage and history, among other factors involved(so much for the “EU”). There is, undeniably, racism in the US, and has yet to hear it from you. I’m afraid to tell you honestly, that I heard the word ‘n*****’ in the states a lot more than in the UK.
As to klaus emmerich’s comment, we do have ignoramuses just like you do in america who are allowed to speak their minds. A myopic pinhead like mr.klaus does not speak for the ‘EU’, KiKi. I hope you’ve been informed that the vast majority of Europeans are delighted at Obama’s victory.
Please, do stay at home KiKi.
u hear the word ni@@e% in america in the south. U hear it said by black americans. i personally think it is an offensive word. i live in the south, in the us. i dated a black girl for 3 years and even heard her say the word. tried my hardest to stop her from saying it for i feel it is an ugly word. but i have heard it plenty from the white coworkers in north carolina and south carolina. there is much more racism in america than people think but it will soon die out i believe. in the north there is racisim but it is well hidden. but down south it is very common to hear the word ni@@@r and i have lost jobs because i will not work for scum. as for other countries i think that russia is maybe right behind or maybe even ahead of switz. my sister lived there and there is alot of hate geared towards gays, blacks, and muslims. i often find myself roaming through comments on youtube and finding out which countries have more racists, and to my suprise i see alot of racist comments from prople from turkey. could someone explain to me why?
I am an American that has been to Canada, UK, and Europe. I lived in the UK , and Canada for years. It’s a joke that there are even Canadian racists because I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to live in Canada. I used to think Canada was this great place. Often times, the UN would write about how Canada’s quality of life is higher than the U.S. Once you get there, you will see that is untrue. Just ask those Phd’s living there who end up delivering pizza. The weather there is horrible, the people are cold, and the economy is bad. It seemed like most Canadians dreamed about going to the U.S. Those who were skilled enough did leave Canada. Those who weren’t stayed, and probably complained about immigrants stealing their jobs. I was surprised to see how early the shops closed in Canada, and how many university graduates couldn’t even get a job. In contrast, many of my American friends were making $70 000 a year with a high school education. When I was in Canada, I noticed that most of the criminals were in fact white. They released a list of the top 10 car thiefs in the city and 9/10 of them were white. I believe that most criminals are white because of how difficult it is to immigrate. In order to immigrate to Canada, you need to bring in $10 000, so you have to be somewhat rich, just to get into the country. You are also acessed based on your job history, and education. Canada rarely lets underqualified people in. Even the cab drivers are highly educated. The same can be said about other countries. Because most of these immigrants are rich, educated, and skilled, you will find that most of them have good jobs. On the other hand white Canadians are not necessarily educated, rich, or skilled. So, many of them will go out and commit crimes. Many white Canadians also have drinking problems, which contributes to the crime. I’m sure there is something good about Canada that people from India, Jamaica, and China can see about Canada, but as an American, I felt that I was taking one step down.
Onto the next issue. The UK has its problems, but I sensed there was a strong voice against racism there. There are many people who will aggressively speak out against racism in the UK, and throughout Europe. This was something I did not see in America. Most Americans seem very tolerant of racism, even if they are not racist themselves. Americans see racism as freedom of speech, whereas European racists seem to know what they are doing is wrong. They have a sense of what is right and wrong, but most Americans don’t believe there is anything wrong with racism. In fact, many Europeans see America as a haven for racism. Some European racist websites were shut down a few years ago because it was against their laws to make racist sites. So what the European racists did was relocate their racist sites to good old USA, where it was perfectly legal, and acceptable to host racist sites. The funny thing about America is, racism is so much a part of the culture, that even the blacks find it acceptable. I was talking to a black man who told me that racism was freedom of speech, and that people should have a right to voice their racist opinions. My conclusion is, although Europe is racist, there is a counter force present. Many laws have been passed to make certain racist acts illegal, and this is not seen in America.
Brazil rocks, everybody is welcome here!
Im black and I want to visit Spain or France next year for a week and by the looks of this blog I dont think I want to go now, and I was so excited. Bummer. Iam surprised though that this blog was intelligent, most blogs discussing racism are filled with hatred and what not. Great blog.
Oh come on.You’re welcome to Europe any time! Ignore those who put you down,you know?
Seriously,you don’t know what you’re missing if you don’t come to Europe.Pack your stuff and come! You’re welcome! And you’ll love it here!
Europeans are the great racists but nobody notice this tragedy.Because those guys changed their way to practice racism. They studied precisely all about how to use modern laws as basic tools for creating all kind of discrimination acts without killing or wounding anybody. Of course this new formula works for excellence for its goal but it is also extremely well hidden.
Europe is old……It will never change.
Middle europe is the worst.
Some europeans claims that USA is more racist than europe but this is not true,not at all.USA is more criminal than europe but europe is much more racist than USA. Of course, europeans are so nationalist that they can not accept such a thing but majority of europeans are the secret big racists.
They want to re-create a renewed-modernised Holy Roman Empire again.
I think that they will never accept the main principles of UU FROM USA.Because they do not want to forget their old world racist and fundamentalist emotions from middle age times.
OLD SICK EUROPE……..VERY AND DEEPLY SICK….
INCURABLE……
you truly define the height of ignorance. I don’t even know where to start with your stupid comments.
Yes. It is possible that my english is not enough good for writing good comments about such a sensible theme for making happy the NEANDERTHAL guys as you but i can say that your ignorance about Switzerland and your primitive behaviour toward me are really much worst than my english.I am very sorry Mr. Neanderthal but after now i will never answer your primitive comments.Go ahead show us that you are the best…Primate…
I could not help notice how simplistic and biased the poll at the beginning of this blog asks the question about whether europe is racist or not. There is racism everywhere, full stop. How about asking “do you think there is more racism in europe than in america”, would have been more valid. And even such a question would bring very inaccurate results since europe differs from country to country. I’ve also read a lot of knee-jerk reactions posts from americans wanting to visit europe but after having read this blog suddenly decided not to, based on ignorant comments from people who seem to have never set foot outside the USA. This type of mind poisoning is truly sad. I’m european so I’m probably a bit biased but by no means think europe is perfect. Again there’s racism everywhere but I still think europe is an amazing and inviting cosmopolitan place for people from all over the world. To insinuate that the whole of europe is racist based on an article about a political party in switzerland is truly silly and utterly ignorant.
I agree with post 43, I’ve never been to brazil but my brother spent 3 months there and he absolutely loved it. He mentioned that it was an amazing place where your skin has no colour; and he’s european.
“He mentioned that it was an amazing place where your skin has no colour; and he’s european.”
Do you know what racism is??????????
the hatred or intolerance of another race or races.
If Europe is so intolerant about people of colour settling in their so called beloved continent then please allow me to make a suggestion that may benefit both parties. First let us take a look back at the history of Europe from the age of discovery. I am sure everyone is aware of the crimes against humanity of which Europe is to stand accused. Now before the age of discovery, Europe was one of the poorest continents with really no scientific output during the dark ages. Most of the innovations and discoveries were made in Asia primarily by India and China. It is these writings that were transmitted to Europe via the Arabs that ushered the continent into the renaissance. Many discoveries were made during this period simply because India at the time was too busy fighting off the Muslim invaders and hence no time for us to invent things when we are on the run trying to save our very culture.
During the renaissance Europe developed a sense of so called white superiority and began the scramble for Africa. Because the African continent did not come up with the same so called innovations of Europe (that plagiarised India’s teaching) they deemed the Africans as niggers and inferior. Prior to colonization, India and China had the world’s largest economy that was robust and stable. India was one the richest countries of the world with gold, diamonds and many other cultural riches unsurpassed by any other nation. During colonization of India, Asia and Africa the wealth of these countries began to be slowly transferred to Europe and her wealth began to increase. This continued until nationalist movements began to emerge in the non-white countries calling for an end to European imperialism. At the time when these countries began to be granted independence, the Europeans handed over control to corrupt and degenerate rulers to become masters of countries desolate of past riches they once possessed.
Due to the economic difficulties of post independence, many Africans, Asians and Indians began to seek out the developed and wealthier countries such as Europe for a better quality of life. They way I would interpret this is that the Asians, Indians and African are merely through legitimate means, reclaiming the wealth that was stolen from their ancestors by the European masters. So I basically see nothing wrong with colored people residing in Europe and until the continent repatriates all the countries they colonized, expect to see a continued rise in immigration and race problems until you people pay for the crimes you committed against Asia and Africa.
-Muski
Watch this, its racialism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtLTZRvNsRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuXyvKzf17M
Well said Muski!
I never looked at it from that perspective.
There is racism everywhere, unfortunately.
I live in England – and have not understood why SOME Caucasians are so racist- with them being all ‘civilised’. Seriously?
You’d think this was a forward moving society- but then again, look at Japan.
But you learn to develop a thick skin for those ignorant primitives- in Europe, USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, etc… racism is everywhere.
This negativity, as a young person, gives me no hope for a better future- that’s why some of us, turn a blind eye or adapt to this attitude rather than change.
European racism is hidden and covert.
Institutional racism is more rampant in Europe than USA.
Europeans are even racist against other Europeans.
It is true that the German speaking Nations are extremely racist.
But it is wrong to say that they are only racist towards black people.
They hate all races. So if you are chinese, black or middle eastern.
You have a problem!
The German race which includes the Scandinavians, some of the
Eastern Europeans, the English, Irish, French, Norhtern Spaniards,
Northern Italians, the Austrians, the Swiss, have the greatest problems
with NON-EUOPEANS.
The Russians are also partly German. The Vikings which were a
German race established the Ukraine before they went on and
settled further north which is called Russía today.
But this kind of racism is everywhere where the Germans race is.
So you have the same problem in Canada, in the United States,
in South America and even in Australia.
Don’t forget international relations and politics are based on this
kind of racism.
That means if the white race would live in Africa, or in the Middle
East or even in other parts of the world those areas would be
highly developed by now.
Furthermore, if the Muslims had the correct race no one would
bother that they were Muslims.
R A C E is determining GLOBAL POLITICS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I think europeans are racist. Ive been to Spain,Ireland and Germany. I dont want to go to Europe in the future.
Id been in Toronto,Canada for 2 and half years. The city was amazing.
Northamericans are more friendly and helpful than europeans.
I am japanese.
Racism exists everywhere. It is part the tribal instinct that is within all humans. The difference which is seen overtly or not depends on the country and not the race. People say that Japan does not like immigrants borne out by the facts on the ground.
Western European countries have allowed immigration due to economic reasons and also to some extend due to their championing of the cause of Human rights, NOT because they are not racist. It is true that North America is less overtly racist, but racist notions do exist in the majority race that is European, however they are less prone to being extreme. This is because North America, both US and Canada are made up almost exclusively of immigrants. Migration has been in the hundreds of thousands to both the countries changing the demographics in such a way that it is normal to see faces from every type of races in every metropolitan city in either of these countries. Everyone more or less knows someone from another race. In this kind of atmosphere, it is easier to lose the natural instinct to be hostile to someone who does not look like you.
The only way to get rid of racism totally would be for inter-racial marriages to happen throughout the world. Once everyone looks similar or at least is not ‘pure’, there will be no rational reason to hold on to racist ideas!!
In the interim, expect racism in one form or another wherever you may go. If you are lucky, you wont be the victim of overt racism. Just stick to the big cities in any country, and marry someone who is not of your race, 😉
Cheers!
Race is a social construct. Genetically we are all identical, the only difference being is skin pigmentation. Children at a young age are TAUGHT to have disdain and hatred for others, it is NOT a natural born genetic trait.
The most racist people in the world in my opinion are white people.I live in Europe at the moment.I’ve lived in North America.The issue with Europe is their hypocrisy.North America is straight-forward with their racism.They hate you,they hate you.
Europe preaches tolerance and cooperation to the world,but deep underneath,they are vipers,striking at every opportunity.Whites in the US and Canda preach racial tolerance.They even bomb other nations pretending to protect its vulnerable population from tyrannic despots.But that’s all a lie and a facade for invasion and plunder of that countries wealth.
This scenario has played itself over and over again in Africa,Africa,Africa,Middle East,South America and smaller Islands of the Seas.
People talk about people of color not adapting and integrating properly.That’s a lie.The country I live in systematically excludes children of people of color,even though these children are citizens,know no other language or culture,act and behave just like their white compatriots.What a mentality and a cultural mess called the white culture!!!!!
The most racist people in the world in my opinion are white people.I live in Europe at the moment.I’ve lived in North America.The issue with Europe is their hypocrisy.North America is straight-forward with their racism.They hate you,they hate you.
Europe preaches tolerance and cooperation to the world,but deep underneath,they are vipers,striking at every opportunity.Whites in the US and Canada preach racial tolerance.They even bomb other nations pretending to protect its vulnerable population from tyrannic despots.But that’s all a lie and a facade for invasion and plunder of that country’s wealth.
This scenario has played itself over and over again in Africa,Africa,Africa,Middle East,South America and smaller Islands of the Seas.
People talk about people of color not adapting and integrating properly.That’s a lie.The country I live in systematically excludes children of people of color,even though these children are citizens,know no other language or culture except the host’s,act and behave just like their white compatriots.
What a mentality! -and a cultural mess called the white culture!!!!!
On average, Whites harbor the least racial hatred for other races. The word racist is an anti-White racial slur.
Black male thinking of moving to Alberta Canada.Tired of the racism in the U.
Having read this I thought it was rather informative.
I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this article together.
I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments.
But so what, it was still worth it!