prejudice i found in western europe

hi all, as you have seen my introduction a few weeks ago i am from russia who moved to western europe because my dad could not find job there. since i got here i have had good experiences and bad ones... one of them was the prejudice i found in schools here. most kids segregate them selves by their racial group for example, russians stick with russians, blacks with blacks and south americans with south americans... i tried to be friend with portuguese girls but they say crap about russia in my back, they say its very backwards and we come here to exploit the country. i was shocked, i thought western europe was number one in equality. authorities don't care about xenophobia against russians they probably defend it in secret. however i was able to be friends with black people, they are very nice and always treat me with respect...my dad also tells me he suffers from racism at work... his colleges always call him ukrainian which is very offensive to us. but don't worry not all portuguese are like that!! i know many who are very respectful and friendly and i know when compared to russia's racism, portugal is 100 times better...these are just my thoughts thanks for listening.

 

Being originally European myself I can completely vouch for what you are saying. In an ethnically diverse country like the United States we pick on different races. In areas of the globe where the only blatant differences are nationality and religion, people pick on those things, because skin difference doesn't stand out. Bottom line, people are prejudiced everywhere, and the smaller the differences, the pettier the prejudices will be. But always, always, you will find people picking on each other. Black vs white, protestant vs catholic, east vs west europe. Oh yes, big prejudice, to western europeans, the eastern ones are always somehow second class, eastern europe having been traditionally underprivileged compared to the west. Sorry, but it happens everywhere, for the stupidest reasons. As far as western europe being number one in equality, this is true for social and economic equality, not as much racial and ethnic equality, I don't think. Maybe more racial equality in larger cities, maybe places like London and Paris? Dunno.... anyone else have any thoughts, experiences to add?

 

F**K the HATERS.

 

What's always interesting to see is a member of an oppressed group beinmg prejudice towards others. Makes no sense.

 

With bigger metropolitan areas where there are more diverse backgrounds, people are generally inclined to communicate with one another. However, at the end of the day, you have those who tend to rather stick to themselves and those who look like them. We often argue that we're more of a melting pot in Western territories, but it's more of a mixed salad. This is the problem with ignorance of that nature and it's a perpetuating cycle of bigotry. But, people will eventually learn and garner some hopeful experiences to realize that we're all human beings in the end and as long as we exist in the same plane of existence, we have to learn to get along with one another.

Even in my city, you still have your fair share of mixed salads and it's pretty damning, but we're improving slowly.

 

In college, I noticed this, too. Everyday I walked on campus, I saw black students with black students, white student with white, Latin students with Latin students. And Asian with Asian. I was a member of the International Club. Most of our members were from Central and South America. We even had a Japanese student who lived in Peru(he was there during a coup during Fujimori's time as that country's leader), he spoke English and Spanish fluently. Our club president was from Venezuela(I think) and she explained to us that the reason Latins congregate with each other is because the English language has too many words and phrases. And that they feel comfortable amongst themselves. Her statement was not in any way negative, but she and the others were from other countries in Latin America. They are friendly. But, in this country, they feel like they are not alone. I remember the Black Student Union had put out an invitation for all non-blacks to join them. But it fell on deaf ears or was forgotten.

 

In Europe you will encounter the odd phonomenon of whites being racist to each other.

The way some western Europeans talk you would think Southern Europeans were Black people, and Romanians, Bulgarians, and Poles are Mexicans "TAKING OUR JOBS"

 

Totally. I used to hear that "Africa starts at the Pyrenees" directed against Portuguese and Spanish in Europe. Each new group acceding to the EU is treated like the latest threat to working class voters and jobs.

 

That is exactly how western Europeans think. Nailed it.

 

Hey Bulgarin,your dad is fortunate to have a job in Portugal. The jobless rate is very high there and its citizens go to Brazil and Angola for jobs.

 

Well you cant really call it racism. In my opinion this isnt "ideological" racism.

This is just xenophobia due to the bad economic situation in Portugal. The colleagues of your father have probably relatives or friends who suffer from unemployment.

See it as jealousy and not hatred.

 

who is this sarah23 ? LOL