Acts of racism and discrimination

I have been trpped up sooo many times on the Train, Tram and the bus that i cannot believe it. Has anyone got something more.

I would love to hear worse than some of the things that i have gone through , it would make me feel much better.

@Brandy - you are Asian or Afro-Caribbean, right?

There's been a lot of talk on this site about the racism in Germany and Munich. As an English-speaking non-white person you must be in a bit of a situation. Most non-whites that I meet are West African. You feel a bit left out?

Do a search for old threads and you'll see what these forumites think.

All the best.

Why do you think these are acts of racism?

I'm not sure this is racism, Brandy. With some exceptions, the locals only think about where they want to go and are oblivious to anyone who might be walking or standing in their path. They sit down on shared tables in restaurants and light up cigarettes withut asking and barge thru doors leaving them to slam in the faces of those behind them. And I actually thought it had improved. Back in the past I used to carry my umbrella horizontally to protect myself if I had to walk against the "current" of rush-hour people. Even now, when I pass thru a narrow space the local coming towards me never waits to allow me space, they just push thru. I guess this kind of body contact doesn't bother them - they have thicker skins than I do. I suspect what you are experiencing is perfectly normal - such as Persil-whites like myself experience everyday. If it were racism, I think they would avoid any kind of contact with you and leave a wide margin when they passed you. Treading on toes is quite normal here. I have given up expecting good manners. Hope this makes you feel better.

hm. a few thoughts:

1) racism can take many forms - acts of hostility such as tripping is one, ostentatious avoidance is another. Both of those forms are equally racist.

2) Brandy, you wrote about being tripped on public transit, not about being jostled in rush-hour pedestrian traffic. fwiw, I am white, not noticeably "foreign" until I try to speak, and I never get tripped on public transit. I don't think we can exclude the possibility that the tripping is an act of hostility, since it obviously doesn't happen to everyone.

3) I cannot speak for people of color, since I am not one, but it is my impression that one of the problems with racism is that a victim can't always be sure if that was the cause of an incident or not. An advertised job is "already filled", an apartment "already taken", and you just never know if that's the truth or if you're being discriminated against. I think that would get really tiresome after awhile.

In sum, without solid evidence to the contrary, I believe Brandy if she says she has been the target of acts of racism. I have heard racist comments, I have seen and read about racist behavior here in Bavaria, but she is in a better position than I am to know just how pervasive it really is. I would trust her instincts on this.

this thing happened to me sometime back in the u-bahn.

I was getting into the train behind a young woman (who was dressed very professionally, in a suit) and was about to sit beside her in the seat. She suddenly got very upset and said something in german/bayerish which i didnt understand; got up and went to the far end of the carriage and sat there. I didnt understand the comment she made, but the old woman sitting infront of me was really surprised about it and told me not to care about what she said.

i'm wondering still, what pissed her off so much...

A little unrelated, but a nice story.
I was sat on a train on friday. Two old dears got on, and sat next to me. I had a few bags with me, and was getting off at the next stop, so I thought I'd get up and stand by the door, and they started saying some stuff in krout but it was ace - they were almost offended that I had got up and were saying that there was plenty of room etc.

I havent had a bad experience and U dont need a brain to notice im a foreigner. Ofcourse i have been robbered a couple of time but i dont think its linked to racism.
Though once i had a manager who was said something like this"India is a place that does all the dirty work for europeans!We do the intelligent work(we have brains in other words) and then send it over to the poor indians who do the dirty work and put it together for us!" stupid as he was.He did get a mouthfull from me.
But overall people have always been overly friendly and always pick up a conversation! I guess, just smile your way though and life gets better!

It depends on how you define racism. I wouldn't say there's open racism, but there is a hidden form that you can't do much about.

Example: Though I am German I don't look it and have a foreign sounding surname. I'm pretty sure that's why I had a hard time finding a nice apartment, I suspect the nicer ones typically go to Aryans.

I wasn't racism. There is definitely racism here. Germans are not used to seeing coloured skin - and certainly not used to seeing people in high positions with coloured skin, like for instance doctors in London etc. etc. However, I just wanted to point out that many of them, especially older ones, are rude and oblivious to others, so it is hard to tell what's racism and what's normal for them. Only solution is to have one's own fun and friends and know why one is here.

About a month ago I got of an Ubahn and there were tons of people waiting to get on. As the doors were closing I saw one woman rushing like crazy to make the train. In her haste she caught the foot of a woman who had just exited the train. The woman fell to the ground and her head whacked the cement (it was a nasty whack) and she was unconscious. As a crowd started to gather around the woman on the ground, the woman who was responsible took one look at the woman on the floor, one look at the closing train door and bolted for the train leaving the poor unconscious woman lying on the ground.
Both woman, were white, middle aged, middle-class women. I was appalled and even though I am not sure what the pusher could have done for the faller, I felt it highly selfish to run off like that.

So getting tripped in the Ubahn doesn't always have to do with racism.

Thanks for all your contributions.
I do not know how to persive it and can only ask work collegues and german collegues if this is normal. Nearly evry other day i expeerience 2 counts if this weird behavouir. Therefore let me giev you 2 examples:-

1. Sitting down on tram. Old guy come on, ploks himself down next to me.
Shuffles in his seat next to me as if to say that he is uncomfortable or needs me to move up a bit. This would be OK, only that i am sitting next to the wall of the tram. When i get off i have a preminition of him tripping me up as it has happened before. I get up and there is the bent leg, slightly out foot turned up. I see it and go over it but he raises is ankle. I turned around and stamp on it and point in his face and say i will put a curse on him. Ha ha

2. On the U-Bahn with fiancee. Buggy and mum come from behind me to come off, i am standing at the exit facing the exit. Because i did not see the buggy coming, by the time she has come past there is no space for me to move. I have had to raise one of my legs too let the buggy pass. An old lady comes on and shouts at me in German. I thought she saw this and was slagging off the mum. I said ' i know, i can't believe it.
She said NO i saw you try and kick i, - and then she proceeded to tell nearby passengers to where she is sitting now. They all looked at me, as though to believe her. I turned to her and said what had happened but she kept interrupting and would not listen. My fiancee who had been visiting laughed and said pointing at her that i should know better and why am i so upset with her behaviour.