“Kia Ora!

I really liked your post Shelly, nicely put. But when I lived in Wellington I know some Maoris further north would complain all the time about how they were treated and could not get on with their life or ever move on (but you can get that anywhere). It's also great that your kids will learn about both sides of their heritage, so much to learn eh! I wish more people had a great view like your husband. It's a shame there will always be people who want to put others down about one thing or another.”

“David

How can you tell me that it was not meant as a racila insult.

Did you not watch the clip.

The term coconut is a racist comment.

I am very in touch with my heritage a spend regular vacations in Jamaica so that was the poorest defence of racism I have ever heard.

You prove my point exactly you have assumed because I have white parents that I know nothing of my culture.

This is why black people continuosuly under acheive due to the servere chip on there shoulders.

We live in England so I speak English here.

When I visit Jamaica I talk patois.

If I visit France I speak French.

What a ridiculous waste of writing space David.

Well done for outing yourself as a racist.

Oh and a funny thing is that none of my family who come from various parts of the world and have various skin colours, including Jamaican's have experienced any racism because they learnt how to fit in with the society around them.

It really doesnt surprise me that you didnt get a job if you spoke patios.

Oh and Mr I know my roots you will also know then that you are even more unlikely to get a job in Jamaica if you are a black Jamaican there is more racial discrimination there.

Give the excuses a rest.

Racism is racism”

“oh! bit of a rant. Especially with all the grammatical errors etc

Sorry all!”

“David

Firstly I like being niave. It allows me to think that no matter how bad things are there is always awy to 'fix' them!

Secondly I understand what you are saying however you are assuming that my whole family is English. This is not the case My husband is from New Zealand and has been living in the UK for about 15 years no. Although he is a Kiwi he has fully embraced a UK identity. He has been subjected to racism on many occasions usually by way of crude jokes and assumptions that he has heard numerous times. These people think they are funny but they are not.
He is proud of his heritage but at the same time accepts the culture he is in now and doesn't feel the need to hark back to his ancestors and their treatment by others. I have been talking about this thread with him and his comment to me was;

"First and foremost I am a human being and I treat all other human beings with the respect and courtesy they deserve. However these traits are not always reciprocated and in these cases then people reap what they sow. I never use my heritage as an excuse for behaviour be it good or bad and I don't expect it of others either. If you live in a country you abide by the laws of that country. you become part of it. If you don't like it then leave and find your roots or whatever. People who are not native to the UK (by birth or by heritage) often think that the grass is greener well in that case go home. that's what I will do if I have to. Better that than turning in to a whinging hypocrite who takes what he can while bemoaning a country that has welcomed him in!"As for my children they are being taught to be proud of their English and their New Zealand heritage. One doesn't take precedent over the other. I'm sorry your children feel pressured into describing themselves as mixed anything I hate that term with a passion its almost like having to apologise for not being pure of race our precious children are already being labelled by society and if we want to rid the world of racism perhaps we need to start here. I hope this makes sense. I'm not trying to cause offence to anyone I just think we need to find the things we have in common and focus on those rather than accentuate our differences.

Thirdly, I really don't care if Cllr Brown is the only black councillor. I don't judge someone by their colour (in fact I couldn't tell you what any of my local councillors look like let alone what colour their skin is) when I vote I look at their ability to do their job properly. Cllr Brown should not be held up as an example of what the black community can achieve as the black community should be aiming far higher than an ignorant woman who resorts to offensive behaviour. she should be held up as an example of how not to behave. David you are an intelligent man capable of rational thought (unlike most men!!!) perhaps you should stand up and be counted and run for office yourself give Bristol an example of a positive role model because all Cllr Brown will do is put Black people off getting involved with politics and then we will probably be left with the laughable alternative of 'positive' discrimination (Don't get me started on THAT one!!).
Lastly, I know what you are saying about comments placed by others outside the region however this is an open forum and no matter how much it irritates people have freedom of speech. The difference is we in the local area are in a position to change what goes on here and by doing so we send a message out that in this instance Cllr Browns ignorance and offensive behaviour is unacceptable.

can I also say to everyone who has commented how great it is to be able to have a debate without people using these comments to make personal attacks on other users.”

“For god sake, we cant even call a chalk board a black board anymore, what is it coming to, A Coconut is a bloody coconut, exotic and tasty. There are lots of things that white people could be referred as, but you dont see anyone making a fuss about that do you, get a life and get on with it, lifes to short.”

“Shelley that was a good argument you gave, however the bit about being English first and heritage second is a bit naive. You are English living in England, amongst other English people. Therefore you have nothing to think about regarding your history, heritage and culture because your surrounded by it. However if for arguments sake you emigrated to Spain would you want your children to disregard your English heritage in favour of Spanish despite being treated with mistrust and perceived as an alien.
I was born in England but by definition am a British Afro-Caribbean or IC3. By creating these distinctions British ethnic groups, do not feel apart of the mainstream culture.
My grand parents moved here in the 1940's and 50's and over half a century later I still have to tick boxes to describe myself as British Afro-Caribbean. My children are also faced with this, by having to describe themselves as being from a mixed heritage. This is why we have the problem with racial identity because we have to fit into boxes. I am not condoning the bad behaviour of Cllr Brown, but in my opinion that's all it was. Cllr Brown is the only Black person on the council, and I get the impression that a large percentage of the commentators want her ousted because of that fact, rather than the mild insult. Lastly if this were just a local issue why have people from as far as California making comments?”

“David maybe no one has mentioned HRH because we wouldn't dream of even trying to defend his comments. Also it is not a local story like this one. Here is an opportunity to do something about racism in our own back yard and set an example for the rest of the country to follow. After all isn't that what happened with the Sam Mason thing?

There is no place in Bristol (I hope) for discrimination of any kind. Even if you don't consider the term 'coconut' as racist it was certainly meant to cause offence and Cllr Brown should be ashamed of herself for that remark. This is also something that needs to be discouraged. As someone has already pointed out her comment might have been received differently if she actually bothered to reside in Bristol. This woman is obviously so far out of touch with what's acceptable that she will soon be in danger of being the first person to discover alien life! She needs to go but first could she explain to us why it is so offensive to be 'white' on the inside (i.e immersed in British culture not in ancestral heritage) because as far as I am concerned I am English first and my heritage is a long way back in second place.”

“Just as well the 'bounty hunter' chocolate adverts aren't on telly anymore, how racist was that!”

“Laura why did you assume that I wasn't black. Did you assume because I articulate my arguments well I possibly couldn't be.
Well I am and I fully understand what the word 'coconut' means amongst the black community so spare me the explanation.
It is unfortunate that you were tarnished with this name as a child due to your upbringing. However the word is not used to deeply offend it's a term used to describe a person who has no association with their ancestral heritage. There are very distinct things about the British culture which identifies a person with the country. If a person claiming to be British didn't like football, drink tea and beer, or frequently talk about the weather one may question their Britishness or patriotism.
I have often heard white people call other whites a 'Wigger 'because they like rap music and hip hop culture.
The same rules apply within the ethnic communities, if you are from a Jamaican heritage like myself, one would expect you to be fluent in patois and know what ackee and salt fish means. I have personally experienced lots of racism over the years and have been denied several jobs because employers felt 'I may not fit in' or ' because the work force was nationalistic'.
You may be shocked, but this has been going on since the 1950's, which is why many young black men opt out of the mainstream in fear of rejection. In my view there are many good people living in Britain who see people and not colours,however as a majority we are very much divided. The council produces many statistics relating to the usage of public facilities and it has been long documented that public services are used least amongst ethnic groups. This is a legacy of people in the council 50 years ago deciding that it would be a good idea to create inner city ghettos and bundle all ethnic groups together into the most under privileged areas. So is it really surprising now that 3 generations on that the great social experiment has not just gone wrong, but failed miserably. I personally don't have any issues with race, my family is like a united nations summit, as I am related to a member from all four continents. However I am acutely aware that there isn't a level playing field, and there seems to be different rules for different players or was that colours. Not one person has even acknowledged what I previously wrote about HRH, funny that isn't it.”

“YAWN!!! I still think a coconut is something you eat,delicious on it's own or shredded on cereal Ummm. GET A LIFE”