And another thing...

This is the third race related thought I've had in a week. Maybe I should go in to politics...

I was listening to the news last night, and they were talking about faith schools. Apparently there is some government initiative to do with opening schools of different faiths, the proviso being that they must admit 25% "non faith" (i.e. 25% must be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, in a Muslim school). All very well, though it does seem that we are becoming a "faithless" country, in that we have no national faith, and so the debate rages about the separation of church and state (as far as I understand it, in my hazy knowledge).

However, a Muslim school in Leicester (I think) is opening up soon, following the 25% rule, but is insisting that the non-Muslim girls also wear the hijab. I think this is ridiculous, but the man who was arguing this said it was uniform policy and therefore there was nothing the government could do about it. I'm sorry, but if the sight of 25% (or even smaller as the rule only applies to girls) of the school population with their head bared is going to cause mass uproar in the classroom then we are living in a very strange country indeed.

I went to a "faith school", I suppose, in that it was a Catholic comprehensive. We didn't make non Catholics wear crucifixes, although everyone was expected to attend Mass. It was up to you if you accepted the Eucharist though, it wasn't forced upon you. I agree with believing what you want to believe, and showing your faith in the way you feel appropriate. I don't think that children should have religion forced on them, any more than I don't want to be preached to by the man on Oxford Street who tells me not to shop because Jesus loves me. I know He does, it just doesn't mean that I don't need a new pair of shoes....(I'm not being flippant, I'm just trying to make a point)

If I wanted to send my children to the best school in the area, and this school was going to force my daughters to wear the hijab I wouldn't send them there. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel.

I really must do some work and stop having prejudice discussions on the internet...

Is it 'cos I'm white?

This started as a comment on Elsie's blog, and then became a bit of an essay, so now it's here! Elsie's post was about people being racist in this day and age, for those who've not read it...

I've recently moved to North London, and as a white, female, middle class-ish person, I am finding it hard to get used to being a minority where I live.

Weirdly at the bus stop the other day a guy came up to me and started a polemic about "where have all the white people gone" and "Muslims don't integrate with society". He was quick to point out that he wasn't being racist, it was just a "respect" thing (when did "respect" lose it's original meaning?). The thing is he was, (as Elsie's acquaintance would put it) well, black.

Obviously, there is no problem with him mouthing off at me, as he obviously needed someone to rant at, but it lead me to the realisation that I had been singled out for my colour - he thought he'd get empathy from me. Whislt I didn't entirely emphathise, I nodded politely and breathed a sigh of relief when the bus came.

What made it worse was, because I was nodding at him, I looked like I was wholeheartedly agreeing with him (instead of nodding in a "scary person, nod and smile" kinda way) at a bus stop full of Muslims. So now I was the only white girl in the area, agreeing with a man who was basically saying "get rid of the Muslims". A very very strange situation...