Why would this be any part of not racist?
@Jackalyn (7559)
Oxford, England
March 27, 2017 4:13am CST
I am white caucasian. A black lady sitting opposite me at the dinner table at a gathering wants my phone number. Then she takes a picture of me to go beside the number on my phone saying,
"All you white people look the same to me!"
Now, if I had done that to her?
13 people like this
15 responses
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
27 Mar 17
@Jackalyn I can't help thinking that some of the things people make such a fuss of here being politically correct, is just normal elsewhere. For example to look at a 'coloured' (and aren't we all some sort of colour?) person the wrong way in Britain is offensive and racist, but you can bet that if you, as a white person, visited somewhere like rural Vietnam or Malawi or any place where 'white' people are not so common, you would be stared at, followed about and commented on.
5 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
27 Mar 17
@Fleura I have lived in other cultures and often been that person. However, when therevI respected and took care not to offend the people of that culture
If you visit my country and live in it, then you do not have a right to use terms or say things that would be not br offensive in yours, just because of where you come from.
Of course, mistakes can be made, but I have found people who continue to speak as if it is their right not to respect my culture. The assumption is often that as a white person I cannot experience racism or discrimination. We do.
Nor can people assume a God given right to insult my country or ethnic origin because of the past.
Whatever country you are in, you respect it.
3 people like this
@Daljinder (23231)
• Bangalore, India
27 Mar 17
Personally, going by her words, yes but if the tone and intent are taken into account then depends.
4 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
27 Mar 17
No! However it was done it is an offensive remark. You cannot excuse it. If I cannot do it without it offending her culture she cannot do it to mine. This is the point I am making. Racism can be experienced whatever culture you are from and is not acceptable one way and not the other.
4 people like this
@Fleura (29114)
• United Kingdom
27 Mar 17
@Jackalyn You should have said something like 'Oh how funny, I never have any trouble telling people apart no matter what colour skin they have'; maybe it might have made her think twice.
Was she a local person or had she recently come from somewhere different?
3 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
27 Mar 17
I agree that it would be considered rude - but, I think, not really 'racist' in the way I understand the term - if you had said that to her.
In your position, I might have smiled in a friendly manner and said "I know what you mean, I have the same trouble with you Jamaicans" (knowing that she was clearly not from there) ... but then I'm wicked like that! 
3 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
3 Apr 17
@owlwings It is interesting though how we assume things. I have no idea if she was African or Jamaican. I get asked if I am my grandson's childminder which really makes me mad.
It is very possible to upset a British born black person asking what country they are from here. There is no easy way around this.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
27 Mar 17
Oh my God!! Seriously????? See, it's not the WHITE people causing racism, is it @Jackalyn !!
2 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
28 Mar 17
@JamesHxstatic It was not. It could have been in a different context.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
28 Mar 17
Couldn't it be a joke with that line we have heard so often?
2 people like this
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
27 Mar 17
She wasn't having a little joke was she? I'm really good at joking but the joke coming out very seriously, so the humour gets lost if you don't know me well. If not, then yes. Racism. I'm unsure why it is that people assume racism only exists when it's aimed at black people.
3 people like this
@Jackalyn (7559)
• Oxford, England
28 Mar 17
She was not joking. She just thought it fine to say it.
@TheHorse (205608)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Mar 17
@JamesHxstatic Bummer. She hasn't gotten to our "joke" inquiries yet. I want video!
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Mar 17
Wow, that's very rude....I would take my number back...
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
28 Mar 17
She could well have been making a joke with that line. I think it is funny.
1 person likes this
@asfarasiknow (3341)
• Bournemouth, England
28 Mar 17
I suspect that she was being ironic and saying something to a white person that other white people often say about minority ethnic people. Unfortunately the humour is completely lost when the person she directed her comment at is not racist themselves and would not say such a thing.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205608)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Mar 17
No, I think the humor would be more appreciated by someone who is not racist. If a black African said that to me, with a twinkle in his eye, I'd laugh with him and we'd probably wind up having a conversation about moving to new places and adjusting to the culture.
1 person likes this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
27 Mar 17
When I worked in a pharmacy, most of the people were Asian. Being Caucasian, I was often the stand out. It was never a problem for me. One customer, though, tried to get in touch with one employee but couldn't remember the person's name. The person she flagged down was tall (...relatively speaking) and thin. The person she wanted to speak with was shorter and a little chubby. I wondered how she could have confused these two people.
Also, once when I was out walking in the same shopping center, a customer addressed me by another employee's name. I was surprised. The other employee was full-blood Navajo and I didn't think we looked at all alike. Even when I told the customer I wasn't who she thought I was, she said, "I believe you, but looking at you, I'd swear you were her."
That being said, I am a bit of a smarty pants. If the woman who made the comment to you had made it me, I might have responded with a comment to the effect of, "If that's the case, maybe you should get out more."
2 people like this
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
27 Mar 17
Wow I would have been offended by that! It happens all the time though no matter the race.
2 people like this
@chrissbergstrom (10767)
• Banks, Oregon
27 Mar 17
It irks me when people say things like that about any race, i have heard it about all races though and it's just not true... how rude.
1 person likes this
