Weird News

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Ibby

Because there have been rumors that she was already suffering from workplace discrimination, like MANY people of Indian and Pakistani descent working in Britain do. There isn't major anti-polish sentiment in Britain, and not nearly as much anti-chinese sentiment as anti-Indian, either. It was the ridicule and racism connected to her screw-up on the phone that pushed her over the edge, supposedly.

Not quite that simple. Different Indian and Asian communities are treated quite differently and face different levels of discrimination. There's a broad colour based discrimination which might hit anybody of Indian descent, but that kind of discrimination is as likely to hit someone of Chinese descent also. Of the various ethnic groups, people of Indian origin are second only to white british in terms of employment levels and economic status. The relationship between 'British' and Indian cultures and communities is a complex one.


Pakistanis almost universally face discrimination and outright hostility in mainstream culture. Anti-muslim violence generally, and anti-Pakistani and Kashmiri more specifically is rife. Much of what does exist of anti-Indian sentiment is actually a confusion of terms and a spill-over from this anti-muslim stance. Even the BNP draw a distinction between Indians (they claim to have a Sikh writer on their political newspaper, and they have definitely had Sikh members) and Pakistanis.

Poles on other hand are now facing rising levels of mistrust and racism because of the influx of new workers from the EU. Most of the 'they're taking our jobs' type muttering now is directed at Central and Eastern Europeans.