77 upvotes, 5 direct replies (showing 5)
I've discussed it before, but, as a Polish man with a pronounced accent (been in the UK for half my life, but I can't get rid of it), the prejudice I face is less about *being* Polish, but more about the fact that a lot of people take it as a sign of me being working class and treating me as such.
The thing is, class-based prejudice in the UK is so huge a problem that it completely eclipses the immigrant aspect of the social issues I've faced with living in the UK. They are still there, but they mostly boil down to interactions with xenophobic individuals, rather than systemised classism that makes life difficult for both myself and my English friends in equal meassure. Even the latest proposals to change higher education have roots in this mindset— they are attempting to reduce its value to a single objective of maximising productivity of UK's population, thus perpetuating a system where those who have money and connections will get to live more aspirational lives than those of us who the state "has to take care of".
The only time where being Eastern European has been a problem that went beyond an individual that took issue with my heritage would be in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, where a significant chunk of Leave voters interpreted the result as a tacit permission to treat foreigners as scum. Whether it was dealing with Home Office at the time, or looking for work, the difference was palpable in how I was treated BEFORE the vote. Thankfully, that sentiment seems to have fizzled out.
EDIT: Some people have taken me sharing my *personal* experiences with prejudice as proof that classism is somehow more important than other socio-economic inequalities in the UK. I did not share my story for it to be weaponised against people facing other forms of prejudice. This very subreddit had plenty of stories in the last two months that would be unlikely to happen to me on the basis that I'm neither a woman nor a person of colour (or at least am not treated as such, until I open my mouth). Nor is it okay to say that we should abandon other causes, such as trans rights, just because you determined classcism to be bigger, or affecting more people. I have never been denied healthcare or other rights on a basis of my class, the way trans people are denied them on a basis of their gender, and to argue that their plight is less important because it statistically affects less people completely misses the point of fighting prejudice and inequalities. This isn't a zero-sum game, where a discussion of gender will mean that a discussion of class will no longer be had, and an attitude to treat it as such leads only to groups that should be allies in the effort to fight said inequalities, to fight against each other instead.
Comment by [deleted] at 18/05/2021 at 06:22 UTC
26 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by madpiano at 18/05/2021 at 07:29 UTC
5 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Yes, the class system in the UK is baffling and horrible. But how can we change it?
Comment by Europoorz at 18/05/2021 at 06:24 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Where do you live? because in London you are definitely facing some level of systematic oppression if your accent is working class.
Comment by University_Onion at 18/05/2021 at 09:38 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I think you've hit the nail on the head here. It feels like many of the same kind of stereotypes that were applied to the Irish years ago.
Comment by fulltimetaxevader at 18/05/2021 at 11:55 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
but more about the fact that a lot of people take it as a sign of me being working class and treating me as such.
How the majority of discrimination in the UK works, class, not race