I
was once reprimanded at work for telling my boss that I'd said to a
Pakistan-based supplier - whose accent was somewhat impenetrable - that
I couldn't understand him on the phone so I had asked if he wouldn't
mind communicating over email instead (especially important as I'm an IT
developer and you've got to get these things right first time). My
[white/English boss] had a major problem with this but the Pakistani
supplier thought it quite funny and agreed instantly. Needless to say
his written English when we did communicate was better than any of my
colleagues'. I asked what I was supposed to do when I can't understand
someone - what are my other options, really? - and just got the response
"well you just can't say that". Imagine the difference in
reaction had my contact been German and I'd asked the same question! You
can't even be innocently honest without some implication of some ism or
other being involved. What happened to impartial consideration of
peoples' motives? Does it always have to be evil?!
|
Name
and Address Supplied
29.05.08 |
| My
friends erected a St George flag in support of the England football team
at a recent game. Shortly afterwards a council official arrived and told
them to take the flag down as a complaint had been received by immigrant
neighbours of theirs that it was causing them offence. My friends
reluctantly removed their flag. A short time afterwards, the neighbours
who had made the complaint erected a flag of their own country, but when
my friends complained to the council they were told "Sorry, there's
nothing we can do." |
Name
and Address Supplied
24.05.08 |
| When
I was at school I had a dispute with a girl in a lesson. I sat down in
the chair at which I always sat and the girl in question demanded (not
asked) that I let her sit there as she wanted to be near her friend.
This girl was extremely volatile and when I refused she attempted to use
force to get me off the chair. She was screaming with rage. It ran
through my mind that her behaviour was like that of a wild animal and I
remarked "Get back in your cage". Now, this girl was black.
Because of this comment I was sent out the class and hauled up in front
of the sanctimonious deputy head, who accused me of racism and lectured
me about the legacy of slavery. The whole thing was lost on me. The girl
meanwhile never saw it as a 'racist' incident and was treated as a victim and not admonished at all even though
it was she who had committed a physical assault. |
Name
Supplied
21.05.08 |
| My
parents were on a cruise in the Caribbean and, on the way, they were showing
the movie 'The Queen'. During the movie, each time the word God was
used, they bleeped it out. They even did it during the national
anthem! |
Name
Supplied
25.02.08 |
| I
was told by a prospective employer that taking me on could be difficult
as they need to up their ethnic quota. How bad is that? |
Name
Supplied
20.12.07 |
| Tonight
I am going to watch a Nativity Play - one of those events the PC brigade
are anxious to ban. In this play Ali, the son of my colleague Nazir is
playing the part of one of the Kings. Ali is absolutely delighted and so
are his parents. Ali has been telling me what he is getting for
Christmas and has promised to make me a Christmas card. Ali and his
parents are Muslims and have invited me for a meal to celebrate Eid on
20th December. If the PC brigade who want to ban events such as nativity
plays actually got off their backsides and out of their offices and met
a Muslim, they would find that they are not in the slightest bit
offended by Christian celebrations. I know that I will receive a
Christmas card from all my Asian colleagues and our office party is
timed to celebrate both Christmas and Eid and all concerned will have a
great time whilst celebrating each others festivities. We have all
festively decorated our office and Abdul even bought the Christmas tree
out of his own pocket. The PC brigade are a waste of time and
money and if ever anybody could create a real life Room 101 - they would
be the first thing in it. (I know that it's not politically correct to
show a preference of one group over another but that's why we are here
so shove "em in) |
Peter
Dunn
Lancashire
11.12.07 |
| I
am a nurse who works in an NHS hospital, and on the walls at
various points in the hospital, I have recently noted some posters
informing the public that 'verbal or physical abuse of our staff could
result in prosecution'. As one of the said staff group that
needs 'protecting', I have no problem with prosecution for physical
assault; but verbal abuse could easily be dealt with by ejection from
the hospital or refusal of treatment - so why criminalise speech??
I grew up in an age when we learnt the basic truth that 'sticks and
stones can break the bones, but names can never hurt'. It seems
that the PC brigade have trouble with this simple adult concept. I
for one will be contacting those responsible and informing them that
this has not been done in my name. |
Dave
Winstanley
Rotherham
29.11.07 |
| I
overheard a teacher at my College explaining that it is non pc to
describe a female actor as an actress - as apparently the first
actresses hundreds of years ago were actually prostitutes. How many
people know that, and how many actresses care? Unfortunately, this
sort of nonsense is rife in educational institutions where a whiteboard
has to be called a 'wipeboard' a brainstorm a 'thoughtshower' etc.
It is ridiculous, creativity-stifling, and against our basic right of
free speech. Why should anyone change their entire vocabulary just
because it might offend someone. Well, PC Brigade, I am offended that
you are trying to enforce your ideas and rules onto everyone else.
On the plus side, this pc nonsense is so ludicrous it is mildly
entertaining. |
Alison
Jones
St Helens
26.11.07 |
I
am a 16-year old AS student who, partly due to political interest, came
across this site a few weeks ago. I was completely shocked at some of
the extremes ordinary people have encountered concerning the
undemocratic, anti-freedom of speech ideology they call political
correctness. Luckily, I thought, I live in an area where the views are
fairly very traditional, so the Newspeak would probably reach us last.
Or perhaps not! In my sociology class at school, I burst into laughter,
along with the rest of the class when the teacher said we were going to
do a "thoughtshower". The teacher herself was giggling just by
the look on all of our faces, but adamant to "use the term she had
been briefed by the head". Apparently, 'brainstorm' is offensive to
epilepsy sufferers - have you ever heard anything as ridiculously
inane?! Everybody has a brain, and NOBODY considers 'brainstorm'
offensive!
Political correctness must be the only authoritarian, racist, and
discriminatory ideology that supposedly opposes authoritarianism,
racism, and discrimination. What a joke! |
Leon
Georgiou
Leicestershire
05.11.07 |
| One
Sunday afternoon in Bexleyheath, I saw a policeman running towards my
front door. I let him in and he charged towards my back garden looking
for car thieves that had abandoned a vehicle and were now hiding in
gardens. Within minutes he was joined by 5 colleagues, a dog and their
helicopter overhead. No one was found but on leaving I ask the officer
for a description. "He's bla..." stopping himself before the
"ck" are added. I was then left with a description of someone
without the single most noticeable feature being officially given i.e.
the colour of his skin. How did we reach this stage? |
David
Grant
Kent
04.11.07 |
| I
used to work for Glasgow City Council. As a designer, I was asked to
design a circular arrangement of religious symbols to be attached to
glass doors in the Scottish Gallery at the Museum of Religious Life and
Art. I put the Christian cross at the top, partly because of my
own leanings, but also because Scotland has been Christian for centuries
and even today Christianity remains the main religion in Scotland.
Needless to say, I was asked to remove it from the top so as not to
offend non-Christians and to replace it with the 'neutral' Buddhist
symbol. |
Jeff
Fallow
Fife
03.11.07 |
| I
went into Costa coffee and asked for a black coffee, and the guy on the
counter refused to serve me because I asked for a "black"
coffee. |
Craig
Peterborough
02.11.07 |
| As
you may have noticed my surname is Black.....should I change my name to
Mrs Rainbow (a la baa baa rainbow sheep)..... I think NOT :o) |
Sharron
Black
13.09.07 |
| At
the London University College where I teach, every year all staff are
required (forced by command of the Principal) to attend a half day
course of instruction (brain-washing) about diversity & equality
awareness. The same drivel is repeated every year - and is further
dumbed down (if that's possible) by being acted out as playlets by
untalented actors. |
Name
and Address Supplied
12.09.07 |
| Two
families who have lived next door to each other for over fifteen years
and have always been close recently have not spoken since a heated argument where
one family accused their neighbour's dog of being racist because he barked at their
daughter's new boyfriend who is black.
Apparently the evidence that the dog is racist is that
normally the dog is well mannered, friendly towards all and never barks
- until recently when their daughter's boyfriend came round! |
Name
Supplied
20.04.07 |
A
woman in her early sixties - called "M" here - has, for most
of her working life been a nurse but more recently became the warden of
sheltered housing for the elderly.
She is now working at the third such accommodation since she started.
The home in question is local authority run. Most of its
clientele are ex-council house tenants. They are, for the most
part, a cheerful and unpretentious crowd. They get on well with
each other, and with M.
Except, that is, for one old man, who is a miserable piece of work.
Among his many antisocial habits is a noisy and foul-mouthed
racism. His fellow-residents despise him, but put up with him, in
their tolerant way.
Now, it came to pass that a new potential resident was lined up. M
had to speak to this man and go through his details, in order to send a
report to head office. She wrote that she considered him to be
eminently suitable, but that there was one problem. As this good
fellow had a black skin, trouble could be expected from the
aforementioned racist.
You might think that she would have been failing in her duty of care,
not least to the black man, if she had not drawn this unfortunate
circumstance to the attention of her superiors. But that is not
the way they saw it. They accused her of racism, and hauled her
before a disciplinary tribunal. She is naturally very distressed,
and has decided that now is the time to retire. Much as I would
like to see her stand and fight, I appreciate her point of view.
By the way, in her younger days, M had a number of black gentleman
friends. This story has no amusing side at all and, although the lady in
question does not want to be named, I do feel it is something people
should be made aware of.
|
Name
and Address Supplied
13.03.07 |
When
visiting our daughter and her new baby in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary I
inquired whether her husband had arrived. We were severely ticked
off for the use of the word "husband" which is viewed as
pejorative. New mothers do NOT have husbands, they have PARTNERS.
The guy I work with is my partner, but we don't make babies together.
Give me a break. |
Ian
Forrest
Kincardineshire
03.02.07 |
| I
realised that PC was getting a bit crazy from stories I had seen in the
paper, but it really annoyed me last week when playing a live show. Our
band's typical dress sense is all white suits with black ties and shoes,
whereas our Asian drummer wears the opposite. After we had played, two
of the PC brigade from the audience spoke to me about how it was racist
that our Asian drummer is forced to wear black. He found it laughable,
where I was seriously annoyed. |
Name
Supplied
Warwickshire
10.01.07 |
| I
heard about your website this morning and thought I would take a look.
Having read through just a small number of stories I found myself
getting more and more angry with the stupidity of PC, this just has to
stop. As a woman of 50+, I have worked in several different
industries, one of which was the motor trade. I was mercilessly taken
the mickey out of by the mechanics and salesmen, with me being the only
woman. Far from being offended by this it gave me good grounding for my
future work, it was great to have the "banter", and some of
the I am still friends with some 30 years later. It's no wonder that the
art of conversation is dying rapidly, people are too afraid to open
their mouths. One last thing Christmas time is Christmas time and NOT a
winter festival. |
Name
Supplied
14.12.06 |
I
work as a civilian for the the thin blue line. We're already
institutionally racist (nobody has bothered to re-examine this
conclusion in the wake of the revelation that one of the officers in the
Stephen Lawrence enquiry was taking bungs to suppress evidence). In
today's paper it was revealed that the government is going to accuse
schools of being institutionally racist as well. The backlash for the
police has involved them virtually turning themselves inside out trying
to appear inclusive and diverse. Not one of them simply said "No we're
not" and got on with the business of policing. Download our
diversity policy and it will bring tears to your eyes (not only because
its about 80 pages long). We have about 5 people employed full time just
dealing with diversity issues. The legacy of PC for a whole generation
will be the utter destruction of individual ability to reason and
recognise common sense. Who wants us so paranoid that we wait for
someone else to feed us our thoughts and opinions? Who wants us to
listen and watch everyone around us in case we have the opportunity to
perceive offence?
|
Name
supplied
11.12.06 |
At
Lord Bath's estate recently I noticed yellow signs under the trees.
Huge oak's that have been there for hundreds of years. On closer
inspections the signs were warning people not to sit under the trees as
something might fall on them!!!!!
|
David
Barrow
Hampshire
07.12.06 |
As
Chairman of my Residents Association, I was making a presentation before
the Council's (So'ton) Licensing Panel and wished to describe the
customer base of a local Public House so the Panel could properly
consider our objections. Seeking to describe what was and is, a
diverse customer mix made up of locals, students, Easter Europeans and
others, I used the word "ethnic" to try to describe and
illustrate the difficulties the landlord had from time to time in trying
to control these disparate groups. I was immediately shouted down
by a member of the panel who refused to allow me to continue giving
evidence, saying "we do not allow that sort of language here"!
Actually, I was trying to complement the licensee on his control of the
premises and the inference taken (I assume) that I may have been
referring to non caucasians was in fact quite wrong. Even so, what
would have been unreasonable in the use of the word, "ethnic"?
I despair!
|
Jerry
Gillen
Southampton
06.12.06 |
I
was in a pub recently with a group of friends. One of the people I
was with is black and he asked if anybody wanted a game of pool.
He went on to say that the game of pool is racist because it involves a
white ball 'hitting' a black ball. He was joking of course, and we
all found it quite funny. If only a member of the PC brigade was
there to witness it. It just goes to show that the people who are
apparently supposed to be offended find the whole thing just as
ridiculous and are happy to poke fun at the PC brigade as well.
Political correctness is just offensive and patronising to the minority
groups we are supposed to be helping.
|
Name
and Address Supplied
04.12.06 |
The
nature of my work involves a lot of political correctness, I thought I
had seen and heard it all but now we have been told that we cannot ask
colleagues if they have a girlfriend or if they are married. It seems
that homosexuals would feel discriminated against if they were asked
such questions, in fact the handout we got stated that asking such
questions was "a clumsy attempt to identify a persons sexual
orientation". Silly me, there was me thinking it was small talk.
All these years I've been victimising people and didn't even know it!
|
Name
Supplied
03.12.06 |
My
wife was working as a Teacher at a college in Bradford. The school
decided that the Christmas Party was "inappropriately" named.
The new name for the Christmas Party was the "Winter
Festival". Those members of staff who opposed this change
were threatened with disciplinary action if they refused to support the
change.
|
Granville
Crossley
Yorkshire
30.11.06 |
I
was working for Southampton University as a temp a couple of years ago
and I referred to a guy from China as a 'Chinaman' only for the head of
department to give me a severe rollicking for being racist! Can someone
please tell me what is racist about 'Chinaman' as opposed to
'Englishman', 'Frenchman' or 'Scotsman'? When I put that question to her
she got irate. It's PC nonsense and is utterly PATHETIC! People like
this woman and others of her ilk need to wake up and get in the real
world.
|
Faith
Jordan
Hampshire
27.11.06 |
I
have just put up a sign in my office that reads "Political Correctness
has no place in my office however, open and frank discussions are
accepted" - just waiting for my Line Manager to see
it!!! Should be fun as he is PC.
|
Richard
Underhill
Devon
18.11.06 |
| Lorraine
Rogers refers to herself as "Chairman" of Tranmere Rovers...
not "Chairperson" or "Chairwoman". |
Alistair
Gloucestershire
10.11.06 |
| Recently
I attended a private Halloween party. It was organized by a couple of
blokes at work and was well attended. I dressed up as a bit of coal
wearing a shiny black shirt and trousers and blacked out my face and
hair. Of course many photos were taken. A colleague collected
photos together and posted them on our work server so we could all see
them. The upper administration saw them and I now have to undergo 'cultural
sensitivity training' because I offended black people. Apparently
dressing up as coal at a fancy dress party is racially hostile. We had
no control as to who took our pictures, we were also free to dress up
whichever way we chose. I am so angry with this politically correct
rubbish that has infiltrated every part of society but if I protest too
strongly I will lose my job.
|
Name
Supplied
09.11.06 |
I
live in a Muslim country - I have no Western contacts here - all my
friends being Malay, Chinese or Indian. Here the local people
complain openly about illegal immigrants or the crimes being committed
by foreigners without fear of being dubbed racist. My wife and I
are again looking forward to Christmas in Penang - much better than in
Politically Correct Britain . There will be Christmas songs and carols
played in all the shopping malls, along with models of Santa and his
reindeer. There will be Christmas Greetings offered by Muslim security
men in the supermarkets and, if one of the local hotels is true to form,
the Santa - complete with white beard, will be as black as "The
Earl of Hell's waistcoat " as my father would have said. We will - like all the stores - have our Christmas tree with presents
for friends and family (mostly non-Christian). There will be
Christmas cards sent to me from devout Buddhists. I just arrived back from Perak a couple of hours ago and, when in one
gift shop there, the young Muslim saleswoman, dressed in Malay baju with
tudong (headscarf) showed me a group of tiny pig ornaments which she
considered "cute!" I am not offended when people here
speak of Orang Puteh (white people). They say that their own skin
is dark with the sun. We have recently had Muslim Hari Raya and
Indian Deepavali celebrations and I greeted my Muslim and Indian friends
and contacts accordingly. My view is that Britain is in a
downward spiral and will have a revolution within a few years because of
the way the natives - yes natives - are being subjugated by this and
previous governments and by the lawyers who are making fortunes out of
this P.C. culture.
|
Name
Supplied
Malaysia
04.11.06 |
I
did an acting course and part of that included dialect coaching. When I
used to practice talking in different accents in my job at a nursery
school I was told I had better not do that in case any parents with an
accent other than English thought I was imitating them. Silly or
what?
|
J
Royston
London
03.11.06 |
Quick
and to the point. University. Student group email to arrange a
gathering. Powers that be (Equality and Diversity people) censored mail
and words 'bacon roll' had to be removed. Students are allowed to eat
bacon rolls. They had to order a number of rolls from canteen, by email,
without using phrase 'bacon roll'! Would this be worth nominating for a
prize or am I just too insensitive to the offence the words 'bacon roll'
may cause?
|
Christian
Hawker
Northampton
01.11.06 |
| The
monthly news letter that is circulated at work last month contained the
announcement that the "C" word is no longer to be used. The
"C" word in question was "Christmas". No staff are
allowed to send Christmas cards and the company Christmas party that is
held yearly in London has been replaced by a staff awards presentation.
During this presentation every office will get an award with nobody
excluded.
Directly below this announcement was a page and a half
description of Ramadan with a reminder of how important it was to
respect the beliefs of all muslims, especially at this time of year.
|
Simon
Evans
Plymouth
17.10.06 |
I
worked for a while as a labourer on a building site in West Yorkshire.
At the start of my time working there I had to attend a health and
safety talk and run down of the site rules. So far so good - they are
dangerous places to work. Towards the end of the talk the issue of
workmen not being allowed to remove their tops or to shout or whistle
things at female passers by was addressed. Health and safety joining the
force of political correctness in mutual smug satisfaction. I smiled and
nodded and signed the paperwork confirming I would comply and then went
to work. After about 90 minutes I was called to the site office to
discuss my behaviour. I informed the management that I had broken
no rules and they finally had to admit defeat and reluctantly I was
allowed back to work. Once working I continued to work wearing
just my bra (on top) and heckle male passers by to the delight of many
and the frustration of the other workers.
Being female I feel I struck a blow for their ridiculous attempts at
political correctness and would beg any builder or building company out
there to remember that being whistled at is a compliment that can make
someone's day not cause offence to half the population!
|
Jeanne
Riggs
Matlock
12.10.06 |
The
Royal is on television on Sunday at 8.00 p.m. It is set in the 60’s.
On Sunday 1st a nurse took blood from a child and prior to
the needle entering his arm said “you’ll just feel a little
scratch” which is modern political correctness. It is also inaccurate
and would not have been used in the 60’s. The accurate warning should
be “you’ll just feel a little prick”, so why not use it.
|
Martin
Dixon
05.10.06 |
I
recently attended a meeting of the Harrow Bus Panel where, surprise
surprise, we discussed local bus routes. Attending were a couple of PC
worthies from Transport for London (Gridlock for London). One of the
subjects was the signage on buses, i.e. destinations. One of our bus
routes is circular so to denote the direction (clockwise or
anti-clockwise) they have different numbers H8 and H9. BOTH have
"Harrow" as the destinations. When I asked why no mention of
the stops in between i.e. via what, I was told by said semi-sentient XX-chromosomed
Transport for London satrap, that the smaller font was "Not
Accessible" to the "sight impaired". I asked how
"accessible" it was that no-one could read where the bloody
hell the bus was going and via where? I just about restrained myself
from leaping over the tables and removing her trachea by pure force of
hands and teeth. Said non-male self-righteous lackey just could not get
it through her skull that a partially sighted person could actually ask
someone what the sign on the bus said. Meanwhile we will still have to
guess, because you cannot reason with a brainwashed PC
"official" moron. Meanwhile said non-XY-homo-alleged-sapiens
got quite shirty with me as if I was some sort of sub-species. P.S. I
thought that I would use gender neutral descriptions for the
non-testicle adorned semi-evolved hominid, so as not to offend anyone...
What a load of male-oblate-spheroids!!!
|
Cllr
Jeremy Zeid
Harrow
04.10.06 |
I
am 15 years old and I am currently attending Salesian College in
Farnborough. Thank goodness that this is a normal, 1950s/60s style
school with strict rules and boundaries. Another great thing is that
they are strictly Catholic Christian - and the Headmaster is not afraid
to say so. I am shocked at these stories of schools and companies not
allowing themselves to celebrate Christmas and other festivals for
various reasons. Sure, Salesian Col's ritualised religion is not
everyone's style, but at least it stands for traditional values and
isn't making way for Hindus, Muslims etc.
|
Gavril
Postnikov
Aldershot
02.10.06 |
My
brother was on a residential care home course for a local authority and
was told off when getting a cup of coffee. He'd asked for a white coffee
and was told to ask for coffee with milk.
|
Jack
Henderson
18.09.06 |
Once,
when in Year 8 at school, we were read a politically correct version of
Three Little Pigs, or should I say, Three Vertically Challenged Swine
and it was the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard.
|
Ashleigh
Dodds
Gateshead
18.09.06 |
An
email mailshot which was sent to literally hundreds of thousands of
customers by the company which I work for was rejected by several County
Council email addresses as it contained the name of the (apparently
racist) flower "Black Violet".... Quite how anyone could find
this offensive is beyond me. People need to take a major reality check
in my opinion - How, if a colour is contained within the NAME of
something, be it a black flower, a black car, or a black pair of
trousers be offensive when it is in no way derogatory? I don't see
anyone complaining when something is pre-fixed with the word
"White"!
|
Name
supplied
14.09.06 |
|
I am Catholic and my wife is Muslim. She is the one who
gets the Christmas tree sorted out and ensures that Christmas
cards are sent to our friends and respective families. My wife's mum
is very devout but always sends a card at Christmas. Our children have
piggy banks and read happy pig type fairytales. We have been to city
farms and have told my children that pig is very happy because he
knows you are not going to eat him! My wife thought it was funny as
well! I am very active is disability issues and used to have a brother
in arms who was totally blind. He used to always sign off
meetings by saying "see you all soon!"
|
Kenneth
Smith
14.09.06 |
While
working for a large, multinational software company, I arrived one
morning to find a letter on my desk. The letter advised me that, should
I encounter any politically incorrect behaviour in my team, I could
anonymously propose diversity training for the person concerned.
Everyone in the company (5000+ people) received the same letter on the
same day. The diversity training course was 2 weeks long and took
place at the company's training centre in Mountain View,
California. Oddly enough, although I worked in a close knit team
of 5 people from a number of different backgrounds, by the end of the
year, all 5 of us had been mysteriously volunteered by each other for 2
weeks in sunny California! The trainer told everyone on the first day
that the whole course was voluntary and we didn't have to attend any day
that we didn't feel was appropriate for us...you can guess the rest!
|
Tim
Nicholls
Buckinghamshire
11.09.06 |
Due
to Political Correctness I lost out on a job because I didn't fill the
Ethnic Minorities quota. The funny thing is my Great Grandfather married
someone from the Spanish Basque area and so I inherited dark skin and
brown eyes but still regard myself as a white British male
|
Name
and Address Supplied
11.09.06 |
I
think that humour is sometimes the best way of dealing with Political
Correctness.
Recently I had to attend a consultation at hospital before a minor
operation. A Nurse had to fill in a form about my previous medical
history. It was very detailed and at the end of a long questionnaire I
was asked about my ethnic origin, by this time I had enough of questions
and decided to add a little humour. In reply to the nurse I said I was
unsure of my ethnic origin and asked if there was an "I don't Know
section" I explained I got a sun tan very easily and that my mother
had told me that one of my grandfathers was possibly Moroccan and this
made me unsure which ethnic group I could place myself. The nurse did
find the situation amusing and asked me if I would mind being classified
as white, which with some thought I eventually agreed.
|
Frank
Walton
Cumbria
07.09.06 |
I
was informed at my office today we now cannot make 'ageist' comments or
celebrate birthdays by putting a 'Happy 40th/50th birthday' banner, balloons
etc on our colleagues desks. The usual quips about the number of
candles on a birthday cake is now outlawed. Also our job application
forms will no longer have a date of birth section either.
GIVE ME STRENGTH!
|
Name
and Address Supplied
06.09.06 |
I
worked for Lewisham Business Rates section for 4 years in the early
1990's. I can assure everyone that reads this that the biggest
non-payers were either Nigerian, Asian or Turkish. I don't say there
weren't any non-paying white people but the majority were the one's
previously mentioned.
The council's attitude was to go softly, softly with these people and to
do it by the book for the white people. This was never put in writing
but we had verbal instructions on every case and this is what happened.
Isn't this racist? |
John
Evans
Wales
04.09.06 |
In
the process of registering on the website to give my views on the issue
of public funding for political parties (http://forum.partyfundingreview.gov.uk)
one of the questions asked was, "To which of these ethnic groups do
you consider you belong?" It was compulsory to answer this
question if you wanted to register and thus take part in the process.
I refused to do so sending an e-mail to Sir Harden Phillips (who is in
charge of the project) explaining why. On checking back later in
the day the question was no longer mandatory!
|
Colin
Pritchard
Northants
02.08.06 |
The
centre of Bristol is currently undergoing a major redevelopment to
create a huge state of the art shopping Mall. The proposed
name 'Merchants Quarters' was soon dropped after a local
'community leader' expressed horror at this 'celebration of
Bristol's slave trading history' (What??!!). Can anyone guess the
tenuous PC connection? Well historically some Bristol Merchants
utilised slave workers in their West Indies plantations so
naturally the term 'Merchant' is now the latest victim of the PC
witch hunt. Unfortunately Bristol City Council is too weak willed
to follow this capitulation to its logical conclusion: the
prohibition of all commercial transactions in case they offend
anyone by reminding them of more oppressive times! Maybe you might
like to call in on 'Equal Opportunities Transaction Empowerment
Executives Quarters' next time your in Bristol? (No probably not!)
|
Anonymous
02.08.06 |
|
A friend of mine called had a call from the police one
day. Would she please go down to the station as they wanted to
ask her some questions. Her 11 year old son had told friends at
school that his mother had smacked him in the face and he had a slight
mark to prove it. This mark was due to a rash he had and he was
lying to get attention from his friends. The school had
contacted the police.
My friend, who loves children and has fostered them for
many years, arrived at the police station to be told she was under
arrest. They stripped her of her jewellery and locked her in a
police cell while a panel decided whether the story was true.
She was absolutely mortified and distressed. She spent at least
an hour sobbing in the cell. Eventually, she was let out
and told that she was free to go as they believed her story that
her son was lying. However, they insisted that her son
didn't sleep in the family home that night. Senior social
workers contacted her the following day to say that they were taking
her foster child away from her - even though she had been found
innocent. It was at least six months before they returned
and said her name was clear and she could continue with fostering.
Whatever happened to being innocent until proved
guilty? I am angry that this happened to her as she was left
with stress for many weeks, suffering recurrent nightmares.
|
Name
and Address Supplied
29.07.06 |
As
a school pup... sorry, LEARNER on the autistic spectrum, I was
disgusted to hear that the term "autistic spectrum
disorder" had been replaced with the less offensive
"autistic spectrum CONDITION!"
Also, my sister went into a cafe in Sheffield city centre a number
of years ago and requested a "black coffee". She was
told it was a "coffee without milk".
|
Anonymous
20.07.06 |
Fantastic
site! As an ex-teacher, the current climate gives no end of
scope for the most ridiculous examples of pc gone mad society...
we (as a staff) were instructed that the following were
"banned" - the whiteboard, marking work in red (too aggressive,
use green instead), ALWAYS put a positive comment
("target") on the LEARNER's (not pupil's) work, lest
they feel victimised/undervalued/ridiculed.... do you note my good
use of PC vocab here? No child could be photographed (so I
refused to be too, for any reason), no child could be touched,
shouted at, spoken to without the presence of another grown up...
(which in this day and age and blame culture was fair enough to
protect us as teachers...), no-one can be stupid/silly/an
idiot.... no-one is "slow" or "remedial", they
are in "learning support".... I could go on
forever! By the way, I work in a bar now, and say whatever I
feel like....
|
Paul
Scott
Sunderland
17.07.06 |
I
am a Police Officer of 17 yrs service - I could write a book! but
in a nutshell your comments are totally true...in fact the tip of
the iceberg. I am Irish. When a riot training trainer
said to me 'you are a paddy from Belfast, you make the petrol
bombs!!' I thought it was hilarious and I obliged...we all
laughed...UNTIL... twelve years later we were given 'diversity
training'. And who was doing the training?? You've guessed
it, the same instructor (looking for a promotion). He asked for an
example of 'racism' we had experienced and I mentioned the
'fascist, racist and downright bully of a public order
instructor'! He thought it was 'disgusting' until I reminded him
who it was!!......
|
Name
and Address Supplied
07.07.06 |
I
work for a university in London and my colleagues and myself have
all been informed we have to attend a compulsory "Equality
and Diversity Training" course. I replied that my 30 years of
growing up in South London have taught me more about these issues
than a poorly run patronising pile of offensive rubbish which they
so happily refer to as "Both fun, refreshing and
educational".
|
Anonymous
London
21.06.06 |
The
University of Central England (Birmingham) has published a 2006
calendar. Diwali, Festival of Eid, Hannukah etc are all in there.
Fair enough. Try looking for Easter of Christmas though!!!!!
|
Paul
Gardener
Midlands
14.06.06 |
| I
was reading through the latest Cabinet minutes when I espied the
following - was this from April 1st?:
(11)
in conjunction with (10) above, a Real Nappy Officer be
recruited, on a two-year contract, to promote the take-up of
reusable nappies by parents, the health service and baby-care
professionals.
Permit
me to make some observations. We have an enormous black-hole
in the budget and have pledged to keep costs and recruitment under
control. A "Real Nappy Officer" is precisely the sort of
non-job malarkey that makes Council and the like a laughing stock
and attracts public contempt. This position will not be confined
to the salary, but covers pensions, office staffing and other
on-costs. Harrow does NOT need a RCNS/USTTP (Reusable Crappy Nappy
Supremo/ Urine Soaked Terry Towel Promoter).
Considering the current water constraints, how will this look when
tens of thousands of washing machines are operating several extra
cycles to wash the aforementioned soiled nappies? How much energy
will be wasted drying the notoriously water retentive
terry-towelling in the event of a tumble dryer being used. Will we
then appoint a "Real Outdoor Washing Line Usage
Coordinator" and a "Clothes Peg Safe Usage
Officer"??? I know that we have a landfill problem, but
the cost of the Infant Waste Product Reuseable Absorbant Material
Operative is, I suspect, more than the landfill for all of the
nappies in the entire borough. This is something I cannot support
in the same way that I am totally unconvinced of the necessity of
several hundred thousand pounds worth of "Local Area
Champions" and the oncosts, "Teenage Pregnancy
Coordinators" and other positions that should be considered
for deletion.
UPDATE:
The position of Real Nappy Officer is no longer in existence
following objections such as this!
|
Cllr
Jeremy Zeid
Harrow
06.06.06 |
On
July 8th 2005 I decided to fly a British flag from my car due to
my heartache and solidarity with the victims of the London
bombings. The police pulled me over and told me that it could be
considered racist and that I must take it down . Almost in tears I
explained I was doing it for the people who were killed by
terrorist scumbags. The policeman just said that I had to take it
down or he would arrest me for racial incitement.
|
Jimmy
Cohen
31.05.06 |
Last
night I went to the Theatre Royal to hear the opera "The
Marriage of Figaro". Low and behold PC has even got
there as on the corner of the stage stood a woman in black giving
sign language of the Opera. It's an OPERA are they for real.
I left at the interval so can't tell how she coped with the main
chorus.
|
Graham
Lester
Cumbria
17.05.06 |
I
work for a large Blue Chip company in Slough, we've just heard a
rumour, we're being called to a meeting about Respect for your
fellow worker, one of the main points is....they are banning us
from greeting fellow workers with a handshake.
|
Anonymous
Berkshire
16.05.06 |
While
living in Canada and working for Pottery Barn we were told not to
say Merry Christmas but happy holidays. I called a black board a
black board and was told that I must never say this again as it is
racially offensive. I was also told that I could not wear my cross
because it might offend our Muslim workers. Did anyone think
that I might be offended? I think not.
|
Heather
28.04.06 |
I
was just in my local chemist (Moss Chemists LTD) while waiting for
a prescription a teenager came in put a can of Lynx deodorant on
the counter...and was asked for IDENTIFICATION! Apparently it is
Moss Chemists LTD policy not to sell aerosols to under 16's ...but
come on give me a break the lad only wanted to smell nice and was
going to use it for its intended purpose SNIFFING IT!
|
Chris
Bell
Derbyshire
24.04.06 |
I
used to lecture at a museum (St Albans) on the Roman Army - that
is my field of academic expertise. I had lectured many times and
always showed props from the film Gladiator to which I was an
unofficial advisor via a close friend of mine who was the paid
expert. I did this gladly. However imagine my horror when I was
unceremoniously ejected (manhandled) out of the museum by their
Museums Director and later sacked for....wait for it....teaching a
military subject to children.... This was what they had come to
hear about and also because I told a child who asked if soldiers
die in war that yes sadly they sometimes did. Very good site too -
keep it up !!!!
|
Guy
Richard Leven-Torres
Surrey
23.04.06 |
I
am 17 and have spent 8 years of school in the Middle East.
My younger brother when he was 7 years old did a Christmas
"Festive Period" concert at school. They were singing
the song "Little Donkey" but had to change the lyrics to
"Little Donkey, carry Lucy" instead of Mary. This was in
a British School and in case the religious name offended people!
|
Name
Supplied
21.04.06
|
| My
friend tried to buy a crucifix on a necklace for her Mother's
birthday but was told by the shopkeeper that they no longer stock
crucifixes because they believe they are offensive to
Muslims. They said that they thought that most other
jewellers will be following suit. This has to be one of the
worst examples of how all this political correctness tosh is
affecting one's freedom of choice and what you should believe in. |
Name
Supplied
21.04.06 |
I
can't celebrate Christmas at work because it might offend my
fellow colleagues of other faiths. Sentiments on our Crimbo
cards at work have to be Seasons Greetings rather than merry
Christmas.
Even the King of Saudia sends Crimbo cards saying Merry Christmas.
Britain is and has been for many eons a Christian country, if we
travel to other parts of the world we respect and abide by their
laws, others should do the same when they come here to live or
visit. Whilst at school in Norwood, London, non Muslim girls
were not allowed to wear trouser summer or winter but Muslim girls
were, sorry but that is discrimination, bar bar black sheep is a
long run national nursery rhyme, it has no racist meaning as there
are black sheep or should I be PC and say coloured or dark sheep!
Hah. Just by talking against illegal immigration we are
labelled racist even though many immigrants are actually white.
I like black coffee, it is actually black. I could go on and
on and on.
|
Name
and Address Supplied
18.04.06
|
I
work for a government funded training company and am sick of being
'told off' because I am not politically correct. I am not
racist, I am not against equal opportunities, but I am sick of
things being unequal in favour of all minority groups. I am
a white, hetro, able bodied female. For example, I suggested
using the union flag as a graphic for a promotion and was told it
may offend some people! We were not allowed to have a
Christmas tree this year for the same reason. Surely we are
all British so why would anyone be offended by our flag, I am
going to celebrate St George's day by encouraging everyone to wear
red & white. I expect to be asked not to encourage this
in case I offend anyone. For a company that tries so hard to
be PC surely this is racism at its very worst!
|
Name
Supplied
11.04.06 |
Unfortunately,
I work in a very politically-correct field (support work with
people with learning disabilities), and this means we mustn't be
judgemental about any of our clients when entering anything in
their records, even when we have been on the receiving end of
verbal abuse, which is quite often. In a recent discussion
with a manager during my supervision on this issue, I was told
that we have to make allowances for the fact that the people we
work with have had a hard life in institutions. To me this
won't wash. Basically, it gives the clients licence to say
anything they want with no redress. A client can steal or
cause damage, or not pay their rent, and get away with it, because
they are considered 'vulnerable'. It is just another example
of the abdication of responsibility which goes hand in hand with
political correctness. I am so fed-up with it, that I am
considering giving up my job. I would like to wish you all
the best in your campaign to rid us of this cancer, which along
with the obsession with health 'n' safety is ruining this country.
|
Name
and Address Supplied
25.03.06 |
I'm
a cardiologist and treat people of every background, rich and
poor. Last week I got a stern lecture from a Japanese-
American patient because he heard me refer to someone else as an
"Oriental gentleman." This man was livid, and told
me that the correct term is " Asian American." I
turns out that the patient in question has only been in the US 5
years, and only spoke very little English.
|
Kenneth
Forman
USA
24.03.06 |
| In
a staff survey I wanted to be called 'English' but wasn't allowed to
be. |
Anthony
Stokes
Essex
24.03.06 |
| My
son is a music teacher. When he started his first job, he was told
he could not teach his pupils "Baa baa black sheep", but
had to use Baa baa HAPPY sheep". |
Eric
Moir
24.03.06 |
Last
year at my college in Angus I was a part of a group who had to
come up with a mock advert. I told my group "right lets
get our heads together and brainstorm". On hearing this
my tutor said that we're no meant to say that (brainstorming)
anymore as it could offend Epileptics.
|
Name
Supplied
23.03.06 |
My
grandson was being taught "Baa Baa White Sheep" at
school so I bought him a nursery rhyme book with the original
rhyme. My daughter is concerned that he will be told off but
I have told him to tell the teacher that he has a nursery rhyme
book at Nanny's with "Black Sheep" in.
|
Diane
Northcott
Norfolk
11.03.06 |
My
daughter was at a Further Education College in Kent. I was
very shocked when she told me that they were not allowed to refer
to "black" trousers as it was considered racist.
The students had to describe trousers as dark instead. She
also said one day, "I fell on my head when I was a small
child and I've never been the same since". The tutor
was angry and said that she should not make light of
disabilities. My daughter got distinctions on her course but
left the college without going any further because she could not
face another year with the same teacher.
|
Sue
Kent
16.01.06 |
I
am from New Zealand and 71 years of age. I feel the whole
world around me has gone mad with the emphasis on Political
Correctness. This year the Salvation Army carol singers
didn't come round at Christmas as we have non-Christians living in
the street and somebody thought that they might have been
offended.
|
Patricia
Spray
New Zealand
13.01.06 |
I
am 16 years old and an atheist but I don't mind nor am I offended
by referring to Christmas as Christmas. This year at school
we did not have a Christmas tree. To the untrained eye the
tree might have looked like a Christmas tree but it was, in fact,
as the sign pointed out a "Non-denominational Winter Solstice
Evergreen Tree".
|
Seb
London
08.01.06 |
|
I recently taught a small group of adults.
I was asked by the education team to refer to them as 'learners'
rather than students.
My argument against such nonsense is
that one can study until one is blue in the face but it doesn't
necessarily mean that one has learnt anything. Students
do not necessarily learn!
A student is a potential learner, not an
automatic learner.
|
John Jameson-Davis
08.12.05
|
|
I was shocked to
see on a job application form for the Immigration Service
an extended "Equal Opportunities" section. Not only
did the section ask me my "gender status", ethnic
origin and any disabilities but it also asked me about my
sexuality...whether I'm straight, gay or bi??? I'm now worried
that I might not get the job because I am "White
British" but I'm also worried that I'll be patronised by
being offered the job because I'm gay. As far as I'm concerned
the state should have nothing to do with my private life
whatsoever, and that I should be considered for the position
based entirely on ability and merit...not my sexuality, race or
religion.
I'm completely
against political correctness because I believe in freedom of
speech/ opinion and I completely don't mind if someone is
against my sexuality or wants to make jokes about gays because
everyone is entitled to an opinion and a sense of humour.
"Minority groups" do not need to be patronised, as I
can use my own two feet to progress in world...so PC brigade,
just back off!
|
Andy
Essex
05.12.05 |
My
ten year old daughter has recently been a victim of bullying and
intimidation at her primary school. It began last December
when the main instigator, a very disruptive boy from a
troubled background, hit her in front of teaching staff and
later, after she'd reported the incident, was intimidated during
lessons, at a school disco and at an after school club. Three
incidents were recorded with the Headmaster and the school
club in one month alone. Since then things seemed to
have calmed down but at the time I was told this boy 'had
behavioural problems'. Unfortunately, this
problem has risen again and during the past three weeks her
life has been made a misery by the same lad and one of his cronies
- stealing her homework, marking her work incorrectly so
she'd get a low mark in class and intimidating her. I
immediately wrote to the Headmaster (I was refused an urgent
appointment with the headmaster, Deputy and teacher) and received
a response which stated the boy wasn't disruptive, that
there weren't any problems with him during class and the teaching
staff didn't have any concerns or issues. My daughter was
told to move to another table which made her feel she was the
troublemaker while this boy continues to sit with his
cronies. My bright and bubbly daughter is losing confidence
in her work abilities and is beginning to dislike school
while the bullies go unpunished, unnamed and are protected by the
schools political correctness.
|
Amanda
18.11.05 |
I
have recently had the number plates from my car stolen. On
discovering this I dutifully called Avon and Somerset Police to
report the crime. I was asked for my name, address and had to
describe what had happened. The fourth question I was asked was
what my ethnic origins were. Upon stating "white"
I was asked a fifth question: "be more specific white French
or White British or something else"! I was astounded and
asked how this was relevant. I was simply told that the Home
Office requires that these questions be asked. Only then did they
come to far less important matters like which figures were on the
number plate and where the car was parked and had I seen anyone
suspicious etc! Clearly the hue of the car owner's skin is by far
the most important factor when catching number plate thieves!
|
Clare
Sims
Bristol
10.11.05 |
| Letter
from Chairman of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust is signed
"Chairman" not "Chair" (or even
"Chairwoman"). Parts of the letter - dated 4
November - are copied below:
Three cheers for Patricia Moberly!
|
NHS
Trust Letter
08.11.05 |
Click
the picture below to see a larger version of this Union Jack
pumpkin - from Canada!
|
Paul
M
Canada
08.11.05 |
|
We were all drunk at our BBQ, and
decided to go round the table singing a nursery rhyme. I chose
Baa baa black sheep, but no sooner had I uttered this line, one
of the 13 year old girls screamed at me "NO, that's racist,
you should sing baa baa grey sheep".
So, I told her to concentrate more
on her maths and english than her music lessons....unbelievable,
the utter rubbish that they are filling the kids heads with!
|
Teresa
07.11.05 |
We
watch from our happy flat in Ibiza the fearful things that are
going on in the UK. When we lived in London the Ocean Cruising
Club to which I belong used to have fun "get togethers"
where we all took some food and wine along for a convivial
evening. The latest notice I have had for a rather more
formal "get together" states that the club cannot be
held responsible for any injury or loss sustained. Next
thing - we won't dare take crew on our boats in case they get hit
by a broom or fall overboard!
|
Name
and address supplied
05.11.05 |
My half sister Chereece is Black (oh sorry I mean
without milk) and I her brother am white. I love my sister so
much we have grown up together and I would do anything for her.
She decided to go and work for the council landing a highly paid
good job with holidays, flexibility and a pension. She was so
happy. However the council's paranoid anti-racist stance has
actually forced her to leave because she felt so intimidated and
segregated and funnily enough is considering suing for racial
harassment.
It all started with the black coffee and how
it was racially offensive. My sister explained that it
didn't bother her but she was told it was racist and she would
be put on a disciplinary for racism if she said it again.
The council loved diversity the only things
they could talk to her about was how it was great how apartheid
ended in South Africa and how they always wanted to go to Africa
despite my sister's father coming from St Kitts. They said how
they loved rap and r and b and spoke about nothing else but
'black' things. They told my sister that it was offensive if an
office worker said 'bad egg' cause it could be construed to be
calling her an offensive word. One staff member was
on the phone and used the word 'nitty gritty' 7 times and was
fired and ordered to apologise to my sister despite my sister
saying she didn't understand what was going on. Apparently it
has its origins in the slave trade. So thank you PC brigade -
your anti-racist policy has done more harm than good.
|
Alex
Cardiff
02.11.05 |
I
accompanied my daughter to our local swimming pool for a special
swimming class for babies - my grandson being around 3 months old
at the time. When I tried to photograph him I was presented with a
form asking for my particulars. I was 67 years old at the
time and walking with the aid of a stick. I came away
feeling I had been assaulted. I have not been back since and
neither has my daughter.
|
Mary
Wiedman
Hemel Hempstead
02.11.05 |
I
recently went to apply to the Surrey Police Force but was met with
this - "We have temporarily frozen recruitment until further
notice due to the high calibre of applications received.
Surrey Police would, however, welcome interest from the following
under-represented groups: Ethnic Minorities, Gay, Lesbian and
Disabled."
|
Steven
Surrey
30.10.05 |
|
I work in a school as a Learning Support
Assistant. Two weeks a go a boy of Afghan background vandalised
a door and his classmates were asked to identify him. A very
responsible girl wrote a statement in which she named the
culprit and described him as Pakistani. The very PC head of year
gave the girl a detention for 'racism' as according to the PC
teacher the girl should have said south Asian....I kid you not.
A member of the technical staff who witnessed the
boy vandalize the door told the boy off and described his
behaviour as 'idiotic'. The boy had also verbally abused the
technician and used anti-white racist abuse and made a threat to
'beat up' the technician.
The technician was disciplined for the use
of the word idiotic and had to apologise to the Afghan who
had verbally abused him and used racist anti-white
language.
The Afghan on the other hand was let off
with a warning. He was withdrawn from certain subjects he
disliked and was assigned a culturally sensitive support
assistant to 'help him' overcome been called idiotic.
|
Anna
Hillingdon
29.10.05 |
I
recently attended a Sunday morning school rugby game in which my
sixteen year old son was playing. I, like a number of parents, was
taking photos when I was suddenly asked by a bearded middle-aged
wonder if I would give him the film out of my camera as I was
committing an offence under the Children's Act. Horrified, I
exclaimed that I was merely taking pictures of my son but he
retorted that not only was my son in the picture but other
youngsters (players) as well. Incensed that I should be considered
a pervert I offered him the chance to take the film from me but
that the film and the camera may end up in a place where the sun
rarely shines to which he hastily declined my offer and went on to
harass the next parent. Amazingly, it is this man's job on a
Sunday morning, to go around all sports pitches telling parents
not to take photos of their sprogs, what next, a law that says you
must never make eye contact with anyone!!!!
|
Lyndon
Harris
Devon
19.10.05 |
| As
a member of an Housing Association Tenants Committee, we have been
told to favour people from ethnic minority groups before the
normal applicants. I think this is unfair and is racialist. |
Name
and Address Supplied
Pembrokeshire
17.10.05 |
Working
alongside many ex-armed forces colleagues in London Ambulance
Service at Romford Ambulance Station we were saddened and
disappointed when our station manager recently removed the Royal
Navy Ensign, The RAF Ensign and the Army flags from the male
changing rooms.
|
Details
supplied
Romford
17.10.05 |
The
following happened to me in WH Smith in Newcastle:
"Please could I have some blackboard chalk?"
"It is not blackboard chalk - it is chalkboard chalk"
"Please could I have some chalk then?"
"Do you require WHITE or COLOURED chalk?"
Have you ever known anything so ridiculous?
|
A
Robinson
Newcastle
11.10.05 |
| I
|
