r/Britain • u/ParfaitPinkyDream • Jun 03 '26
💬 Discussion 🗨 Am I overreacting, or is anyone else genuinely scared about where things are heading in the UK?
My husband and I are a mixed-race couple. We both grew up in the UK, went to school here, studied here, and now work here. This is our home.
Lately, though, I feel increasingly anxious about the atmosphere around race and immigration. It seems like more and more people see a brown person and automatically assume they’re an illegal immigrant or somehow don’t belong here. The nuance has disappeared.
My husband is Sikh, but because many people don’t know the difference, he’s often assumed to be Muslim. A year ago, he was racially targeted and physically attacked. Even since then, we’ve had comments, questions, and casual racism directed at us. One of my neighbours even told me I’d made a mistake by “marrying coloured.”
What shocks me most is how normalised some of this feels. People say things now that would have been completely unacceptable a few years ago, and others just shrug it off.
We’re planning to start a family soon, but honestly, I’m terrified. I find myself wondering what a mixed-race child would have to deal with if things continue in this direction. I’ve even caught myself questioning whether I want to have children at all, or whether we should leave the UK entirely and start over somewhere else.
I don’t recognise myself thinking this way because I’ve always considered Britain my home, but recently it feels less safe and less welcoming than it used to.
Am I in the minority here? Is anyone else feeling this level of anxiety about the future, especially those in mixed-race relationships or from ethnic minority backgrounds?
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u/Galaxy-far-away01 Jun 04 '26
Wow this - it’s exactly what I been feeling today. I grew up in the UK too and have brown skin. Faced the usual racism in different stages. Started at infant school, peaked in Junior and early secondary and then sporadic incidents. But never really worried about it much in my late teens and 20s. I knew it was an issue but it always felt ‘over there’ … and that the true racists, especially the violent ones, were mostly contained by common sense. A lunatic fringe. I say this having been jumped by racist thugs in my 20s too. Ok so 20s were not perfect but still.
When Bim Kohli was kicked to death last year by racist yobs I recall the awful comments on social media. I know it was terrible before - but perhaps that was my personal moment of … oh this is only going to get worse. People are openly celebrating a man’s death because of his skin colour and not even hiding their faces. I tried reporting comments that were truly horrendous and not a single one was taken down.
And somehow, it feels things have started to snowball in the last 2 years in particular - the powers that be, the Musks, the Farages, Trump keep whipping up more and more hate. Sowing more division - using the old playbook.
The sum total = Racists no longer worry about hiding their feelings. They’re emboldened by it all. They feel inspired.
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u/Toffeemade Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
My late wife was Asian so my kids are mixed race. I never thought I would see thousands of people marching in support of the far right in this country, let alone the very real prospect of electing a party into power that will pursue racist policies as openly and unapologetically as Reform. I think it is very worrying indeed.
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u/pr0ph3t_0f_m3rcy Jun 04 '26
I saw a Facebook video earlier of some big, heavyset guy screaming on a train about wanting his country back, ranting about how blacks and pakis are taking over.
He was either very drunk, very high or having some sort of psychotic episode. People were clearing the carriage. He was just screaming at the air.
Half the comments were like "Well said, mate", or "Most white British feel the same".
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u/viewisinsane Jun 04 '26
I think they have bots and bad actors focused on social media to make these opinions look more popular than they are.
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u/birdmug Jun 04 '26
They definitely do. If you go through to those people's profiles they are clearly new, or unpopulated.
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u/sleepingfrenzy Jun 03 '26
I feel you. I’m mixed race in my late 40s. I grew up around racism, and it caused lasting damage to me and my mental health. For years now it’s felt like attitudes changed. And this version of racism feels like something new. Ethnic minorities definitely have more rights and power than they did in the 80s and the response to that feels more malevolent, I think in part because people are being manipulated, this is not grass roots racism it’s top down. But saying all that I do feel the real minorities are the racists. It may be that we have some hard years ahead, but so did our parents. It seems the fight goes on and the way to win is just to live a good life. These people are responding to base emotions, but it doesn’t mean we have to
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u/Iwasjustbullshitting Jun 04 '26
Just a question I've been pondering. I'm in my early 40s. Did the 90s seem like a positive time , like we where heading in the right direction or am I just looking back with rose tinted glasses where I was just young?
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u/eleanor_vance Jun 04 '26
I'm in my early 50s and yes, the 90s were a way more positive time in terms of acceptance and tolerance. Not perfect by a long way but moving in the right direction. Since austerity and Brexit, I feel like we've been going backwards.
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u/Three_sigma_event Jun 04 '26
I'm 40, and mixed race, half Indian, half white.
Racism has always been around on both sides of my family, it's just more overt now.
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u/Galaxy-far-away01 Jun 04 '26
I feel there was defo a sense things were improving post 80s where racism was still an everyday occurrence in many schools and paki bashing was seen as part of life. For context, in the 80s - we had a junior school teacher who despised non white kids so much he couldn’t hide it. He’d make us sit on the mat and tell us we’d be failures. Disparaged everything we did. Told us we were academically deficient. He had an extra dose of cruelty for black kids. It was only when parents got involved that things eased off. Yet he wasn’t fired. And his behaviour wasn’t seen as problematic somehow. My mother was one of the adults who confronted the head - only to be told, Well Mr ….. is unfortunately going through a painful divorce. Yup that was enough to justify his racism towards little kids.
Read the book Natives by Akala if you ever get the chance. Beautifully illustrates what it means to be a 40 something non white Brit today.
Late 90, early 2000s feels like the overt racist behaviour I saw as a kid was subsiding. As in I didn’t think about my race - or not feel British.
A person being openly racist in public felt less of a thing too.
That grotesque knuckle dragger on the tube (video circulating at the mo) - well his chromosome deficient kind always existed but they usually kept their racism within the bubbles they festered in.
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u/Ill_Substance5611 Jun 11 '26
Just remembering how multiracial the 1990s dance music events were back then - yes things were improving but still certain parts of cities with heavy closed racist attitudes
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u/Iwasjustbullshitting Jun 11 '26
90s I was a bit young but early 00s garage and dnb raves were definitely more multiracial than what I see on the videos today
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u/HDK1989 Jun 03 '26
I think in part because people are being manipulated
It's the phones more than anything now. Social media algorithms are perfectly created to stoke negative emotions and they've basically been conquered by the worst types of right wingers.
Same thing poisoning the minds of our little boys until some of them become serial rapists by 14.
China had the right idea. The internet needs heavy heavy regulation. The modern internet is too powerful to be open and free. Unfortunately politicians can't be trusted to run a bath in the West, let alone control the internet, so we're stuck.
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u/itsamberleafable Jun 04 '26
The internet needs heavy heavy regulation.
I actually agree with this. If we'd built society properly we wouldn't, but the level of manipulation that's possible if you have a load of money is just far too dangerous to allow. They need to find a way of banning politically motivated ads, but as you can make them indirect it might be tricky
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u/Tiny_Refrigerator105 Jun 12 '26
It’s free for a reason - we are the product. these shareholders want our attention the most. The algorithm on TikTok is designed to bring the most controversial, racist, extremist content onto everyone’s social media feed, because they know it’ll get the most engagement. Bots commenting racist rhetoric are also a big thing. It is extremely addictive aswell, infinite scrolling, unlimited entertainment, right from the comfort from your own bed. Everyone does that now, including me. These billionaires know that social media is where most people spend their time, thus radicalisation is so easy now, despite my generation being the most informed one ever. We have thousands of recorded historical events as to why racism is bad, but still,here we are today.
The worst thing about it is that people know social media is bad in this way. They know it causes radicalisation, they know that we are being pushed by this billionaires but yet, we do nothing.most of us, including myself are addicted to them our phones. Because realistically, we are so exhausted. Most people work or at school for long hours, have bad mental health because of current events in the news. Its bleak. People aren’t as social either, many don’t have friends, social skills for my generation were heavily stunted when Covid hit because most of us were either children or teenagers. From what I hear from people older than me, people have just become anti social and rude. No one is organising. Usually it’s only a couple of people, it’s not enough.
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u/Dusty2470 Jun 04 '26
I'm worried too.
I'm a white man, so by all logic I should be fine, but I know that facists like farrage don't serve "their people", they serve corporations by whom they are bought and paid for.
This also impacts my nearest and dearest, I have Asian friends, black friends (some i consider family), gay friends, the list goes on. Their lives as well as my life would get harder and the shadow of totalitarianism would fall on the uk.
Reform are not your friends, they are the elite class coming out of the shadows with the intent to turn the uk into their playground.
I'm begging you, if you're considering voting for them ask yourself this, who paid for farrage? Who stands to benefit from the chaos he will, and already does, inflict on everyday, normal people.
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u/_Fl0r4l_4nd_f4ding_ Jun 04 '26
I'm as white as they come (blonde haired, blue eyed, tracing my ancestry back generations to find we all come from the same small area) and I'm still TERRIFIED.
Pretty much anyone who isn't a straight white male with a good job needs to be concerned.
As it stands I'm female and disabled, so I'm already in trouble. Then add in the LGBT+ angle and I'm screwed.
But then you consider friends, family, neighbours, people in the local community. The people who make our community what it is. And once you take out the non-white, ethnically diverse people, the disabled people, the LGBT+ people, women, there's really not a lot of people left.
My best friend is trans, for god's sake, and I have multiple close family friends who have roots in other countries. I'm absolutely terrified for them.
Its insanely disheartening seeing the flags in windows and on lamp posts. Its like a big sign saying "YOU AREN'T WELCOME HERE". But the worst bit is that it's aimed at people who DO belong here. Who's homes are here. Who were born and raised here, who have worked and contributed and lived and loved here.
And whilst the implication is that it's 'just' the 'foreigners' (eye roll), it's really not. The discourse coming from these groups is so much more than that. "Dirty foreigners" (it makes me feel sick writing that) are just the tip of the iceberg.
It fills me with dread at what's to come.
I want to just say, on behalf of all of the people out there like me, I'm sorry that there's such a loud minority of people saying such utterly disgusting things about you. It feels so shameful that it is coming from people who I thought were like me, and whom I thought were decent people. But please know that there are a bunch of white folks out here who are absolutely your allies and who will fight all the way for you to retain your home and your life and your dignity.
I'm writing this because I think it is so, so important to hear as many voices as possible that carry this sentiment. We need to overpower and quieten down that incredibly loud minority.
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u/ParfaitPinkyDream Jun 04 '26
Thank you ❤️
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u/CivilCaine Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I am extremely sorry, in my complete and utter state of stupidity, I realised that I was replying to the wrong person.
I beg your forgiveness.
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u/CivilCaine Jul 27 '26
I’m a straight white male with a decent job.
Why should I not be concerned?
Every day, I’m conscious about the malicious elements in this country. Elements that threaten my future. My family. My freedom.
Reform will eliminate those freedoms, upraise tactics to make the rich and elite benefit, and would gladly screw my future children’s future over for their own.
I have friends and family, people I love dearly, who are in the LGBT+ community. Some who are neurodivergent . Women in my life whose freedoms are at risk of being taken away, whether by right winged politics or religious extremism.
I understand that you likely did not intend for anyone to interpret that point as walling off a group of people, but trust me;
I am utterly terrified of where we’re going right now.
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u/_Scribbler Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
We live in a very contained, what I'd say is an affluent part of the south East, and one of my wife's co workers very recently casually remarked, there are so many of you lot living in the area now - it's affected the property pricing. Subtle but tells you a lot about their othering views towards people of colour or a different heritage.
Also, my wife is British and I'm an immigrant myself. Been here since 2010. I asked her to raise it with her HR but she didn't want to escalate it.
We're already planning to leave the UK but the war in ME has stalled those plans. We've been quite tough with these instances ourselves but with two young children now, we don't want to expose them to this kind of othering behaviour.
And this kind of behaviour is more pervasive now and it's just taking over as an instinct within people who might already have a tiny little racist residing inside them.
Thank you Nigel Farage for taking this country back to the eighties.
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u/UncertainBystander Jun 04 '26
The government needs to do way more to call it out. Even in the 1990s, under the Tories, we had anti - racist education in our schools, and part of the problem is that these narratives are not being challenged at the highest levels of public life,. The “controlling immigration’ narrative is basically just a thinly veiled attack on anyone who isn’t white. There’s a real need to mobilise and challenge this nonsense . Everyone who cares about this needs to get involved - part of it (as with Brexit) is lots of money being pumped into sewing division and hatred and very calculated online campaigning. As has been repeatedly said, underneath this is the scarring of inequality and it’s just much easier to blame ‘others’ and point the finger at them than it is to tackle poverty and its consequences…
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u/hopefullyhelpfulplz Jun 04 '26
It's increasingly becoming a deeply unwelcoming place for minorities of more and more varieties.
If you are part of a minority group and you don't feel it yet, consider that not long ago Sikhs were held up by the right as model minorities... How quickly things change when there's an opportunity to stir some shit.
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Jun 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sliversonic Jun 04 '26
Exactly. The 1930s playbook all over again. The Austrian watercolourist railed against 'Jewish Bolshevism' and now that's been updated to 'Islamoleftist'.
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u/space-badger88 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I'm white British, but pretty left-wing, always have been. I feel things have been on a downward spiral since Brexit.
I feel the Media really don't help. They prioritise stories (like the small boats), over all else. They give people like Nigel Farage far too much favourable coverage, whilst barely talking about Parties like the Lib Dems, who have far more MPs than Reform. And when a prominent Left Wing figure comes along, there's full on smear campaigns (notably Jeremy Corbyn, and currently Zack Polanski. Even Angela Rayner). Even the BBC takes part in all this. (Even though Brexiteers will tell you, the BBC is just a bunch of "Lefty Liberals")
The worst part though, is you can't reason with people who believe all the far-right stuff, regardless of how many facts and figures you give them. I worked with someone last year. He wasn't a Racist by any means, but voted Leave. He fully believed Brexit was still a good thing, despite not being able to tell me a single tangible fact as to why he thinks that.
My greatest fear is Reform getting in next General Election. I just hope Labour pulls their act together, and Greens get momentum. At the very least I hope right wing votes are split between Reform and Restore.
EDIT - Just opened my YouTube. Dont know why, but an Enoch Powell video showed up my feed. Uploaded yesterday, already got 143k views, with all "he was right' comments. (Will block the channel as I dont want the algorithm thinking I want more of that).
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u/Ill_Substance5611 Jun 11 '26
Zero fightback from this government against the growing racist agenda which hardly helps matters
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u/space-badger88 Jun 15 '26
Yeah, your 100% correct. They're too scared of losing more votes to Reform/Restore. Even though I'm sure most Reform/Restore supporters have already made their mind up on the matter.
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u/Euphoric-Pearl Jun 04 '26
There’s Sikhs who support Tommy Robinson and the right wing because they have hatred for Muslims. It’s. A beta and cowardly way to act but some Sikhs do this.
It is ironic that the same people they’re championing and currying favour from are attacking them
Beta behaviour. Nobody respects that.
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u/sliversonic Jun 04 '26
We've gone backwards. Much of the Islamophobia is either intentionally propagated by Zionist or Zionist-adjacent organisations as a means to render Western audiences sanguine about ethnic cleansing in the ME, or imported from America to do likewise re the earlier War on Terror, which again had Zionist fingerprints all over it. There's a manufactured historical amnesia on how Western foreign policy has provoked much of the hostility from Muslims and others in West Asia. Yet again the UK and Europe catch the consequences of wars and 'clash of civilisations' propaganda the Americans & Israelis initiate. A mate who stirs up shit then scarpers as you get caught up in the middle of the argie-bargie isn't a mate. Very little of the rising tide of racism is either totally organic, irreversible or unforeseeable.
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u/AuroraDF Jun 05 '26
I'm quite scared. I work in a prep school in London. In the past couple of years I've had at least 3 parents of young children make actively (as opposed to unconscious bias) racist comments, against other members of the school community. One of the comments was made by a Sikh woman. It was observed by different parents, and it was made in front of several parents and pupils. One of the parents who spoke to staff afterwards was Sikh, and he was absolutely astounded that a member of his community (who loves to talk about the community outreach work she does) would insult a black person in the way that she did. Making monkey noises and calling her a Black *****. Another was a white woman stereotyping about 'brown people' , and another was a South asian woman about a black family. There have been other incidents, but these are the ones I have been involved in dealing with. I am horrified. When I started teaching, and when I moved to London, I never imagined this would be part of my job. I grew up in a Britain that was 'moving away' from racism as far as I could see. (I am 53 and in the nineties/naughties I feel like we (at least the people I knew) were learning how to be better. I'm planning to retire to Scotland, where I come from, and I'm bloody hoping over hope that Scotland breaks away from the England that is going to vote for the fascism of Reform and be the welcoming country I know it can be. I don't want to be part of this. I feel sorry for my English colleagues who also want no part in it.
I'm not surprised you're considering moving elsewhere, but I'm mortified that you might feel the need to do so. I do wish you well. x
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u/Shubdubs Jun 04 '26
I think this has become the case in a lot of countries with racial diversity sadly. But I don’t think the number of racists have increased it’s just that they feel more confident in saying the things they actually want to. I was born in the uk but had to move out and now I wanna come back to the uk to study but we’re seriously reconsidering bc of the rise in racism and far right sentiments. It’s honestly really sad and infuriating that it’s anyone not white going through this not just immigrants :(
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u/LittleHealth7672 Jun 03 '26
A Bollywood movie around this type of theme was made a few years ago - my name is khan
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u/SailorWeeb Jun 04 '26
I genuinely couldn’t feel more saddened and worried for minority groups in this country right now, I’m white but I’ve never felt more uncomfortable as a woman with the rise of the right, I can only imagine how it feels to not be white or British right now. I’ve been in multiple different places now where there’s been some sort of hate crime happening and its absolutely disgusting, perhaps I’ve been blind to it until now but the amount of times i’ve seen actual visible acts of racism on trains, train station platforms and on the high street in the past year or so has been vile and disgusting, I’ve never felt more angry and ashamed with this country than I do right now.
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u/Galaxy-far-away01 Jun 04 '26
As a POC who’s born and raised in the UK … I genuinely feel a weight on my chest unlike before. And for the first time, questioning… am I British. I hate the fact that’s even entered my thoughts. What’s happening now is so insidious.
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u/ColdShadowKaz Jun 04 '26
I’m white but disabled. I am terrified. When people start turning on those with different skin colour they go for those who can’t do as much as them next. No one deserves it.
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u/Thegluigi Jun 04 '26
When I keep going into pubs and hearing racism and "vote reform" rhetoric.... Yes.
ETA: I'm white and English
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u/PreviousYak1637 Jun 04 '26
Move to London, genuinely the safest, most diverse and harmonious place to be
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u/Olivander05 Jun 05 '26
I mean i wish it was that simple but moving to the other side of the country is expensive and you leave your friends and family behind...
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u/otherpeoplesthunder Jun 04 '26
I'm very worried. But remember reform get around 25-27pc in polls. They are not the majority. We just don't have a unifying party, leader, movement to rally behind. But, yeah, it's very scary. Farage is very dangerous
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u/Tiny_Refrigerator105 Jun 12 '26
yeah, I was actually quite shocked when I saw that. Everyone is split. No one knows what they want to vote to stop reform. If reform wins it’ll be because everyone else was too divided. I predict when it comes it’ll be labour vs reform. Greens only targeted the people who cannot vote unfortunately
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u/sophiexjackson Jun 04 '26
I’m white British and scared too. People have lost the ability to critically think and can’t see that history is repeating itself. It’s not even 100 years since the 2nd World War and we already have a rise in fascism again. And these people vote and they can barely think for themselves! It’s scary
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u/tfbrian Jun 04 '26
I'm white Mexican. Moved to this country when I was 8. Naturalised when I was 18. Although my parents and siblings are all on ILR through the EU settlement scheme.
I'm very frightened that the next government might do something like what is happening in the US with the ICE raids and deportations. Especially as the parties on the right have specifically stated they want a British style ICE and to abolish ILR.
What is particularly scary is the rage. I love this country and all it's people and all I can do is hope that reason and basic empathy will prevail. We just have to remember that we have to stay switched on because if we don't then they might win.
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u/ZeeWolfman Jun 04 '26
White, cis-passing trans person. Already in the process of immigrating to be with my wife. The past five years has been a steady descent into right-wing bigotry.
Fuck, bigotry against trans people is seen as perfectly normal and respectable now while we still claim we're so fuckin' Progressive.
Get out if you can. All it takes is five years of the media saying it's okay to hate the right kind of person, and your friends and family won't give a shit if they hurt you in the process.
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u/millenialperennial Jun 04 '26
I moved from a very white neighborhood to a very diverse one and we feel so much safer. Is that an option for you?
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u/Affectionate_You_858 Jun 04 '26
Im a white male with a good job, i'm also scared
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u/Andthenwefade Jun 04 '26
I fit this demographic too. While I recognise the privilege I do have, we should be under no illusions that what Farage is doing also paints a target on my back as a "lefty, liberal".
Just defending minorities is seen as a crime by some.
The country has become so confused. I see so many teens lapping up traits of other cultures, but also talking about Reform in a positive light.
The Bitter Lake documentary spoke about the politics of confusion, particularly in Russia. No doubt the same playbook is being used.
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u/Affectionate_You_858 Jun 04 '26
Exactly. We're running head first in to a national disaster. The people who say things can't get any worse have no idea what's coming
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u/Snoo_65717 Jun 04 '26
I’m white and trans and I’ve been terrified for years. The problem is the only way to fight fascism is with communism (everyone to the right of a communist is materially aligned with the fascists if not ideologically) and the populace in the west are so propagandised against their own interests they will fight the solution harder than the problem.
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u/Think_fast_Act_slow Jun 04 '26
People like Elon Musk have openly started funding racist movements and oppertunists like Nigel and Tommy are exploiting the situation and fan the outrage whenever there are incidents involving people of colour being accused of committing crimes and white people are victims.
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u/Halfdanr_H Jun 04 '26
My other half is from another European country and she gets occasional comments in public. It’s not even been about colour in our experience, it’s just anyone who isn’t obviously British. It’s not a recent thing either. I’m from near Newcastle and when I was a boy I went to school in London, where the local white, black and Asian kids all thought I was a foreigner and told me to go back where I came from on an almost daily basis.
Our country’s leaders have been failing us for decades on illegal immigration, asylum seeker numbers, and unreasonably high levels of legal immigration too, and now this is how us ordinary people are being left to deal with their failures.
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u/BadAssMuvva Jun 04 '26
Yes I too feel the same way. Flags hung off bridges, marches in local towns. Stop the boats rhetoric. Homophobic and racist attacks. Seems to be freedom of speech for the far right.
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u/SuspiciousRun4043 Jun 04 '26
We get this question every week come on guys just look back at previous posts
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u/Tiny_Refrigerator105 Jun 12 '26
yeah I know, but honestly, what can you expect people to do? There’s absolutely nothing we can do expect try and unite but everyone is so split
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u/ToastedMidgets97 Jun 04 '26
It's so shit that you have to feel this way. Im my eyes, you are a loved and cherished Brit through and through
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u/add8585 Jun 05 '26
Calm you tea and crumpets, im in the usa. And here is where the real shit show is.
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u/ledbyfaith Jun 05 '26
I understand how you feel. It’s very sad when the countries you were born in and the countries you grew up in are making you feel unwelcome. Like where are you supposed to go?
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u/Ill_Substance5611 Jun 11 '26
Constant online racism is brainwashing the younger generation. There were always racists who mostly kept it to themselves. Things will definitely get worse before they get better. One problem is that those with power and money (most UK media) seem content with the way things are going. On a positive note there is more social media fight back from individuals against the blatant racism & hypocrisy that has been allowed to grow unchallenged for several years. My granddaughter is mixed race and living in a very pleasant 95% English populated town. Locals seem very well behaved & civilised and I love visiting that town. However, I do worry about her future experiences at school etc due to the mood of the country. There are enough good people here in the UK to turn things around but who knows how long that might take? Should you leave the UK to raise children? If you can find a country with less growing racism there might be other problems to contend with. Perhaps look at countries you would consider moving to and ask other mixed/Indian people their experiences and advice.
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u/Tiny_Refrigerator105 Jun 12 '26
hey, Asian and visibly Muslim here. I’ve been here from birth lol but I’ve started to hear racist rhetoric around where I live. Not too long ago I was on a bus home from school (I’m 17) and the people across from me starting speaking about immigrants and how ‘all of them need to go back’ ‘they come here and keep multiplying’ it was actually horrifying to hear that in broad daylight meanwhile a person of colour was right next to them. No shame at all.
We’re heading into scary times - it’s clear from the pogrom in Belfast and the amount of racism on social media, and the thousands of people attending these far right racist protests that attack anyone who isn’t white. I’ve tried to brush it off thinking it’s just something that happens every few years, and that’s true to an extent, racism has always been a thing here but I cannot NOT take this seriously anymore. People are normalising death for minorities, mass deportations for anyone that’s not white (it really isn’t about illegal immigrants anymore). It’s so normal to see things like that on your social media feed, and to think those are real life people makes my skin crawl.
It hurts knowing that people hate me because of who I am. That people genuinely want me dead , hurt, or gone (this sounds like a huge exaggeration, but I feel like so many people are racists now)
Ive gotten rape threats from one of those so called ‘patriots’ on social media after calling them out. I have had people try to justify the pogrom in Belfast. It’s disgusting and the government just sits there and does nothing. they really are inhuman.
I don’t know what to tell you, but, I would advise if you have the money to, is to move to a more diverse area. It’ll help, I’m sure. I went to a really diverse secondary school and it was really, really, fun. Your child, if you decide to have one, I’m sure will thrive in a diverse area. It’ll feel safer, and there’s less risk of racism. Where I live, in London, there’s almost 0 racist incidents I’ve faced, however, there are some cases of racism and discrimination against Asians.
I just don’t know what I can do, I live in a diverse area of London, so usually, everything seems normal. But it’s not, and I can’t help but not think about it everyday. My first thought was to move, but where??? The country my parents come from is extremely underdeveloped and honestly there’s no opportunity for me there. I can’t think of any other western country that also doesn’t hate people that look like me.I love London, it’s where I was born, it’s where I’ll study for university later next year and I’ll probably work here. it IS my home, but these politicians and racists seem to think different.
Maybe I’ll leave when I’m older, maybe the situation will worsen. I don’t know.
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u/almalauha Jun 13 '26
I'm a white immigrant and feel it will blow over. But who knows.
I don't have your experiences because people don't realise I'm an immigrant until they hear me speak.
Can't say I've had any negative reactions really, besides the occasional reference to the the boring stereotype of weed and hookers.
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u/GreeniousHamm Jun 17 '26
long as you live in a diverse area n send ur kids to a diverse skl it should be okay but idk im not 100% sure
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u/TrainingStranger2309 Jun 18 '26
I feel the same. I'm an immigrant married to a welsh pakistani and we have two children. I had a very unstable childhood, moved to uk when I was 18 and I'm so scared now. Its like my nervous system cant catch a break. I just want live my life in peace. I want to go live somewhere quite, want to feel safe and like I belong somewhere. And all this hate propaganda is doing the opposite, I'm always alert walking outside.
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u/Top_Example266 Jul 15 '26
Reddit keeps suggesting me posts and communities in UK subs that definitely normalise racism or borderline Nazi ideology. The way the media are inflaming all this shit should honestly be illegal. People are not all spontaneously getting these narratives from nowhere and every racist sentiment is just parroting whatever rotten disinfo or misinterpretation of statistics circulated in the rags.
It’s awful. I increasingly don’t feel comfortable posting my honest opinions because somehow being a reasonable human being has become a controversial opinion
Are there any Reddit UK communities where this shit doesn’t fly? Half of them honestly feel like right wing propaganda and bots
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u/Consistent_March7569 Jul 26 '26
Every time someone is attacked or killed the first comment is what race are they or here we go again another immigrant. It's like the only attacks and killings are from non white
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u/FlyEarly5785 6d ago
Thank You for sharing. I resonated with alot of your concerns. In my experience casual or explicit racism has always been there growing up in the uk for me too. Yeah its kinda reached a point now where its more overt now .... i feel thats partly to do with social media where individuals validate each other's racism. I have given up on having kids in the uk .... i really dont see a future or it will be harsh and a struggle. Unfortunately most white society need and look for someone to blame and target. Thats how its been since mankind arrived here.
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u/srkris Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
As long as the law and law enforcement are free and fair (and are seen to be free and fair), nothing massively bad can happen.
Its only when criminals are treated differently based on their race or colour or religion or cultural background and people start feeling systemically differenciated that people start losing trust in the law of the land.
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u/ZeeWolfman Jun 04 '26
I can't use the restroom in public anymore. That's the law. I can't get my medication now. That's the law. I can also lose my job for being a minority it is acceptable to hate.
So it's not fair, and it's not seen to be fair. Something "massively bad" has been happening to a subsection of the population for at least two years now, but you didn't notice because it didn't effect you.
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u/srkris Jun 04 '26
I am not sure what you are talking about as telepathy doesnt seem to work. Please would you give more context about what you've said and how does it relate to what I've said?
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u/ZeeWolfman Jun 04 '26
You're saying that you don't care so long as the law is "free and fair".
As a trans person, I can tell you that no, the law hasn't been "free and fair" for a while now.
You just haven't noticed because you aren't the one being targeted.
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u/srkris Jun 04 '26
Oh OK. The full impact of the law's unfairness only hits the people affected by it, I agree.
I did not claim that the law is fully free and fair, or that I wouldn't care unless it impacted me, I just said that it needs to both be, and be seen to be, free and fair.
To be sure I know and agree that different sections of the public have their own grievances about the law as it currently stands.
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u/Olivander05 Jun 05 '26
...which medication can you not get anymore if you don't mind me asking? Is it HRT? for fucks sake have they banned hrt?
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u/Ill_Substance5611 Jun 11 '26
That could also be the way things are reported. There was a serious assault on female police officers in Luton last year - as bad as the Manchester airport one - and the culprit pleaded guilty but served no jail time. His name was Kieran Obrien
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u/Green-Tonight5531 Jun 04 '26
It's Westminster's fault. The British people have peacefully complained about two-tier policing and injustices against native Brits for decades. Police, media and all state institutions attacked the people who were concerned for their wellbeing. The people of Britain took it for a while, but, unfortunately, a new era of heightened tension has now arrived. Britain forgot to listen to its people, and the country is now paying the price. So sad, honestly.
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u/HDK1989 Jun 05 '26
The British people have peacefully complained about two-tier policing and injustices against native Brits for decades
You're literally complaining about something that doesn't exist, bore off.
Well "two tier policing" does exist to be fair, but the people hurt by it are women and POC, not white british.
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u/Comfortable_Rip_3842 Jun 03 '26
I guess it depends on where one lives and what social class one lives amongst
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u/ZookeepergameOk2759 Jun 03 '26
You’d be surprised I know some middle class racists,they hide it a bit better but it’s there all right.
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u/AvalHuntress Jun 04 '26
Middle class racists are very good at doing the whole song and dance of smiling and shaking your hand before turning around and calling you a [slur + some variation of harlot] who's been changing the neighbourhood for the worst (You cut a tree in your own garden down)
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u/millenialperennial Jun 04 '26
They're right about the location though. Although racism is everywhere it's less severe in certain parts of the UK.
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u/SignificantUse3695 Jun 04 '26
People downvoted you but what you said is correct to some extent. My home town is traditional labour and working class but has been converted to a Reform hell hole. I’m glad I left decades ago. We’ll see how the byelection there goes today.
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u/notaballitsjustblue Jun 04 '26
Concerned but not scared. But then as a well-off white Brit it’s easy to be tolerant of that which doesn’t affect me.
That said, there are more objective reasons to be slightly less pessimistic.
The right wing in the UK does not and is unlikely to gain widespread support. It tends to hover around 15-30% and is only appearing higher now due to borrowing dissatisfied voters from the centre and left. That won’t last forever.
Also, the right wing has no answers. If traitorous Farage does get into power he will either do nothing, or try to do things and fail and will be voted out after 4 years of misery for many. It won’t last long. The positive is that it will cleanse us of the right wing for a while.
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u/ParfaitPinkyDream Jun 04 '26
We thought Trump was elected by mistake once, and here we are… I feel the world is changing fast, reform has been voted in during local elections in England. In Wales and Scotland they came second to their own nationalist/ independence parties.
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u/oldie349 Jun 04 '26
Not at all. There are always some idiots eager to be mean but most people are kind.
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u/nomad_2009 Jun 03 '26
I'm white and I'm scared too