No, where do you come from?

[Stephen]

Sensitivity overdrive gone mad.

[screwy]

If your British,why dress like an African.?

[david63]

So if you are a white, say, American is alright or not to ask where they are from?

[screwy]

I think it’s becoming more clear that Funali was a Meghan stooge. Perfect timing for William and Kate’s visit to Boston and the launch of H&M’s Netflix revelations.
I could see another. “Make it look like an accident Mr Bond”

[Mervyn and Trish]

The more I hear about this story the more it stinks. Elderly white woman forced to stand down from a duty she has undertaken for years because of over sensitive woke cancel culture.

Keffie might want to see the end of the Monarchy but is this really the sort of bollocks he wants in its place?

[oldbluefox]

Funali is an anti monarchist whose life is steeped in African dance and culture tainted by colonialism and imperialism. I fear the old dear clumsily walked into a huge bear trap which the media immediately jumped upon.
Faced with a woman in dreadlocks wearing African dress whose name she didn't recognise she rather innocently and foolishly allowed herself to get deeper and deeper into the mire.
Do I think she is racist? Not really but I think this episode does little to promote good race relations. Fulani may be British by birth but African/Caribbean by culture.

[Mervyn and Trish]

It certainly wouldn't have hurt her to say I'm British, but my family roots were in etc. Many people would be proud to share their cultural background. Then the conversation would have moved on. I think she was out for trouble. People ask me where I'm from. I'm happy to tell them I was born in Folkestone but for generations my family were cobblers in Northamptonshire.

[oldbluefox]

Fulani wanted to make a point and Lady Hussey didn't realise it. As you say where was the harm in explaining where her family came from then a proper dialogue could have been held.

[david63]

So now we have Ms Fulani's "team" having a dialogue with the Palace over this.

If, heaven forbid, I was a cynical person I would be inclined to think that this was all staged.

[Bensham33]

Not staged but she might be looking for compensation. Give her nothing.

[Onelife]

The more I hear about this story the more it stinks. Elderly white woman forced to stand down from a duty she has undertaken for years because of over sensitive woke cancel culture.

Keffie might want to see the end of the Monarchy but is this really the sort of bollocks he wants in its place?

Hi Sir Merv, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want; I wanna system of Government that free’s itself from the hereditary past of privilege, pomp and ceremony, an institution that surrounds itself with those who keep this unrepresentative relic of the past alive. We need to move with the times and forget about Monarchy’s and start thinking about what the UK has become and stop hankering after what will never be again...Britishness is in name only, the sooner we accept this to be true the sooner we can start working towards a new kind of inclusive Britain, a Britain where we respect our multicultural status and try to forge a way forward in accepting “what the powers that be have created”.

You and others may see that the Monarchy still has a purpose, I on the other hand see it as a total waste of money, but more importantly I see it as an institution that has no purpose other than to keep those who bennift from the same privileges and titles that loyalty to the crown affords. (I see Sir Keir has commissioned a review on whether some, if not all of the house of Lords should be an elected chamber and not as it is now… a wink and a nod from the crown).

So here we are in the 21st century thinking to ourselves what it is to be British?... do you have any idea’s other than reminiscing about the past? … I for one have no idea anymore. I have therfore come to accept that the future of the UK will be a compromise of accepting that different ethnic groups have succeeded in respecting their cultural heritages more than what we have our own, this I believe, along with an increasing number of indigenous brits who now see our dysfunctional Royal family unrepresentative of what was once British values and cultural heritage.

Get rid of them and introduce a new way of Governing our country without all the crap that goes with it.

That's what I really, really want.

[Stephen]

God save the King.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Yeah. Let's have a president. Like Trump. Or Putin. That's the way ahead.

[towny44]

I am not really sure where Keirh gets his ideas from, and why he assumes that what HE thinks about the monarchy is also the views of the imajority of the mmigrant population, when in my experience most W Indies immigrants seem far more supportive of the monarchy than many indigenous Brits.
I also think that his assumption that the monarchy costs far too much is also suspect, it is difficult to quantify but I would think that our tourism economy would suffer a major hit without the pomp, ceremony and majesty that the monarchy brings to so many aspects of UK tourism.
And finally you are so right that a presidential republic has recently been shown to be one of the least stable forms of government ever conceived.

[david63]

Starmer's idea of scrapping the House of Lords will come back and bite him.

Firstly who are these new "elected" people going to be? Has been MPs? Anybody who wants to put up for the job? Designated "party" members? No matter where they come from they will cost more than the current HoL.

Then we will end up with a system like USA where the upper house is from a different political party to the lower house meaning that legislation can be blocked.

Expecting this to be in place within five years is just unrealistic - legislation will need to be enacted (could be interesting as the HoL would have to approve it!), then there would be legal challenges, after which a constitution would have to be created and finally the mechanics of it all would need to be set up. Not going to happen in my lifetime.

You and others may see that the Monarchy still has a purpose, I on the other hand see it as a total waste of money,

Abolishing the Monarchy would actually result in costing the taxpayer £millions every year as the Monarchy receives less than it contributes and that's before you take into account the intangible benefits.

[Gill W]

But if you are proud of your heritage, then you should be happy to detail your roots, which then should enlighten, or if there were any racist allusions, quieten the questioner.

It's only non-white people who are grilled about their ancestory.

If you said that you were John from Yorkshire and you were British, you wouldn't get any further questions.

If you were black, you'd likely get a barrage of other questions.

Why is the black person expected to give chapter and verse on their ancestors and where they lived over the last 100 or more years, but the white person's answer is accepted?

Sensitivity overdrive gone mad.

Where are you from?

If your British,why dress like an African.?

You can dress how you like, it's supposed to be a free country

So if you are a white, say, American is alright or not to ask where they are from?

It doesn't matter what colour they are, you can ask where they are from and accept their answer

It certainly wouldn't have hurt her to say I'm British, but my family roots were in etc. Many people would be proud to share their cultural background. Then the conversation would have moved on. I think she was out for trouble. People ask me where I'm from. I'm happy to tell them I was born in Folkestone but for generations my family were cobblers in Northamptonshire.

But nobody asks that question. they just accept you are Merv from whereever, and no further questions are asked. But I'm interested to know where you were born, and your trade connections, as I love family history and social history. Maybe I will start grilling white people about their origins when I meet them! (joke)

[Stephen]

Nosey

[towny44]

Not sure that I subscribe to your view that non whites are "grilled" about their heritage, but it is likely that people would find their heritage far more interesting than that of a Huddersfield Town who has never lived anywhere but West Yorkshire. However why do you, and many others, consider this to be racist, can it not just be a polite enquiry to enable a conversation to proceed.

[barney]

But if you are proud of your heritage, then you should be happy to detail your roots, which then should enlighten, or if there were any racist allusions, quieten the questioner.

It's only non-white people who are grilled about their ancestory.

If you said that you were John from Yorkshire and you were British, you wouldn't get any further questions.

If you were black, you'd likely get a barrage of other questions.

Why is the black person expected to give chapter and verse on their ancestors and where they lived over the last 100 or more years, but the white person's answer is accepted?

Sensitivity overdrive gone mad.

Where are you from?

If your British,why dress like an African.?

You can dress how you like, it's supposed to be a free country

So if you are a white, say, American is alright or not to ask where they are from?

It doesn't matter what colour they are, you can ask where they are from and accept their answer

It certainly wouldn't have hurt her to say I'm British, but my family roots were in etc. Many people would be proud to share their cultural background. Then the conversation would have moved on. I think she was out for trouble. People ask me where I'm from. I'm happy to tell them I was born in Folkestone but for generations my family were cobblers in Northamptonshire.

But nobody asks that question. they just accept you are Merv from whereever, and no further questions are asked. But I'm interested to know where you were born, and your trade connections, as I love family history and social history. Maybe I will start grilling white people about their origins when I meet them! (joke)

Not quite so Gill.
I’ve a friend who was born and raised in Montserrat in the Caribbean.
His parents moved there from the U.K.
He was constantly questioned about his heritage when he lived there, before moving to the U.K.
It’s more to do with being in a minority.
There is a small minority of white people so the locals just assume that he was an incomer.

[Onelife]

It clearly mattered where they came from…

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ers-reveal

[barney]

I’m pretty sure that the Palace has moved on a bit in sixty years

[Onelife]

I’m pretty sure that the Palace has moved on a bit in sixty years

Would you put money on that Barney?

[Mervyn and Trish]

My problem is this whole thing is one sided and a moving target where it is impossible to do right for doing wrong.

Yes of course one is free to wear what one wants (except formal nights on a cruise bur that is another matter!

But if someone chooses to wear something that's obviously culturally significant surely they.understand it's likely to be of interest and a potential conversation starter. If one doesn't wish to have that conversation surely wiser to avoid the risk, unless one is deliberately baiting a trap.

And while white people are apparently considered racist by some if they converse about another's heritage while on a different day they're expected to apologise for their own because their ancestors were obviously slave traders.

The only way to end racism is if we all, black white and brown, can look beyond it and treat each other as individuals, some of whom may be more interesting than others.

Attacking an elderly woman because she happens to be white and from a privileged background is as discriminatory as what she was accused of.

[towny44]

It clearly mattered where they came from…

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ers-reveal

So did most other organisation before the 60s, especially horse racing, in fact I dont know any black jockeys.

[Ray B]

. However why do you, and many others, consider this to be racist, can it not just be a polite enquiry to enable a conversation to proceed.

This has been my thinking from the start towny.
I assume the conversation was not witnessed??
if this was the case then maybe the old lady's tone may have come across as abrupt, not intentionally and repeated questions, may be she is a bit deaf, I don't know.
Earlier this year we were cruising the Caribbean and got chatting with a coloured lady who was British, she was visiting the Caribbean as her parents came over on the Windrush. Our conversation started by asking her if she was from the Caribbean and went on to have a nice chat,, it's how you initiate the conversation without causing an offence.
So I will give the old lady in waiting the benefit of doubt until I hear a true neutral account.