Are Eastern European countries racist?

Soldato
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I would guess its mainly down to the fact there are very few black people in these countries so they are seen as a bit of a novelty by the citizens of these countries.

Probably that, exposure to other races should (you'd hope) make people less racist as they get to know people from other cultures and realise that we are all the same really rather than the stories they hear in the media or down the pub.
 
Caporegime
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In my town one of the areas that used to be a predominantly Pakistani area is now majority Eastern European and from what a few Pakistani taxi drivers have told me the area is pretty bad now. Someone also once mentioned that police have opened a small station there due to increase in crime. Whether Pakistani families left due to racist incidents or just general increase in crime who knows but they don't seem to like one anothers company if that area is anything to go by.
 
Caporegime
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I would guess its mainly down to the fact there are very few black people in these countries so they are seen as a bit of a novelty by the citizens of these countries. Or is it something totally different?

Pretty much. If they’ve barely had any contact with people of a different ethnicity then there will probably be more chance of some racism. That isn't to say that they're all racist or that a majority are racist but you'll probably find a larger minority of openly racist people than you would in a more multicultural society.

It's hardly confined to Eastern Europe though - you'll find it in plenty of societies, African countries can be rather openly racist for example, likewise South East Asian countries can be too - low level open racism is tolerated in Japan for example, they'll have Japanese only bars etc.. no "gaijin" allowed. Likewise places like Thailand will terms like "Farang", Hawaii has "hapas"... if you go to the Middle East you're generally an "infidel" though if you're a (white) Western European or American you'll only be one step below the local Arabs... muslims from the sub continent aren't treated too well ditto to other migrant workers... British Indians/Pakistanis can be fine, so long as it is clear they're holidaymakers or expat professionals from the West not migrant workers. Black people can get a very raw deal in Asian/the Middle East regardless - negative stereotypes perpetuate.

I guess that's another difference - if a black person is to experience racism in Eastern Europe then it is more likely going to be from some football fans or some weird looks from some uneducated scumbags in the street, it isn't generally at an official level or from businesses etc.. a western black or Indian tourist will be absolutely fine to enter a top night club/bar/hotel etc.. they know full well you're a western tourist with money etc.. I've been on holidays/stag dos with black and Indian friends in Eastern Europe and they've generally had an awesome time... in fact the only other black person we saw in the whole of one trip was the DJ in one of the best bars in the city. This was quite a few years ago - my mate had people crossing the road to shake his hand because they literally had never met a black guy and when we went to a club he had a lot of female attention.
 
Soldato
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I had my Stag Do in Sofia. There was a black guy and British asian guy in our group and we [they] didn't experience any overt racism for the 3 days we were there.

There was a more innocuous thing where we did a wine tasting session in a shop and had some cheese with it. One of the cheeses was Paneer, and the shop owner suggested that the Asian guys parents would likely have made it. That was just naiveity, not really racism.

From the footage they looked like actual football hooligans who were part of some white supremacist group.
To be fair you're in a capital city. If any place in a country is going to be tolerant to outsiders it's the capital, because it will naturally attract the most outsiders.

Case and point a uni friend is an ex-pat in Bratislava, he plays for a local football team. Any teams they play in or near the capital, no problem, the second you move out to smaller towns/villages, you get racism left right and centre, and not just at non-whites, they're racist towards you because you're white English or white French or whatever. Just if you're not a white Slovakian they will target you for it.
 
Soldato
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Following on from the England game last night(along with previous incidents in nearby countries)and the racist abuse aimed at black players i started to wonder why this happens in eastern europe

Look at the main reason behind the Brexit vote. So we cant question why it happens in eastern Europe when its just as bad in the UK.
 
Soldato
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You would have thought people would have changed by now though surely.

I mean, really.

It is 2019 FFS and people are still banging on about it.

What on earth does someone's skin colour have to do with anything.

go into a few a few schools, will you he surpised to see that teasing/bullying still goes on? Its 2019 why does that still happen
 
Man of Honour
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Case and point a uni friend is an ex-pat in Bratislava, he plays for a local football team. Any teams they play in or near the capital, no problem, the second you move out to smaller towns/villages, you get racism left right and centre, and not just at non-whites, they're racist towards you because you're white English or white French or whatever. Just if you're not a white Slovakian they will target you for it.
Slovakia is, according to multiple studies, one of the most racist nations in Europe. The Czech Republic arguably even more so.

This isn't a slur on Slovakia, it's just an observation. I love Slovakia. I have many Slovak friends and extended family in law. I have a Slovak partner. That does not change the above.

Watch a Youtube video called "The Worst Things about Slovakia" for an amusing look at Slovakia, from a Slovak. I'll not link it due to the colourful language.
 
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Soldato
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Following on from the England game last night(along with previous incidents in nearby countries)and the racist abuse aimed at black players i started to wonder why this happens in eastern europe.

I would guess its mainly down to the fact there are very few black people in these countries so they are seen as a bit of a novelty by the citizens of these countries. Or is it something totally different?

Probably.

I think a lot of world war 2 history plays a part in how accepting certain behaviour is.
 
Soldato
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I played games with 2 guys from Bulgaria, casual use of the word monkey to refer to black people was just the norm, this was 10+ years ago mind
 
Soldato
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Racism is more common in the majority of Europe than the UK.

Ive seen in in Barcelona where our mixed race mate was straight up denied entry to a bar but the rest of us were allowed and he even got chased through the street by someone there.

We also met some Swiss girls who openly in public repeatedly called my white but very suntanned friend ''n****' and his name like it was completely normal
 
Man of Honour
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Look at the main reason behind the Brexit vote. So we cant question why it happens in eastern Europe when its just as bad in the UK.

When I suggested to my wife that a lot of “Leave” voters voted that way because of the fact that they’d heard Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and Latvian spoken in Tesco she went ballistic.
She said, “I voted “Leave”, if I’m xenophobic, how come I put up with you, you quarter French berk, and all your eccentric French relatives?”
 
Caporegime
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Correct. Football hooligans with some additional organisation with political nuances.

BTW, do you know which countries SAVED their jews in the WWII?

The USSR which simply went on to send them to the Gulags instead, hell they sent the Warsaw revolutionaries to their death after trying to get rid of the Nazi's hoping the USSR would actually help them.

I think Eastern Europe is messed up for obvious reasons, it's an area of extremes without much in the way of moderation and unfortunately easily manipulated by their corrupt leaders, it's no surprise their youth escaped as soon as they could to better countries when they joined the EU (Which is a double-edged sword obviously, but you cant really blame them for finding a better life).
 
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Caporegime
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Britain is pretty special tbh. Growing up with 200 years of empire has culturally and racially integrated us, to some extent. The class system helped too. No matter what colour you are you are still subjected.

Racism is utter stupidity.
Being aware of other cultures failures, lack of tolerance and political mistakes is utterly acceptable.

Although today you will get blanketed as "racist" because we live in very stupid and strange times.
 
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Man of Honour
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We also met some Swiss girls who openly in public repeatedly called my white but very suntanned friend ''n****' and his name like it was completely normal
This is the same in Austria - I was pretty shocked first time I visited, especially when friends talking amongst each other use the same word to mean "poor" or "skint".
 
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