Back in the 50's and the 60's it was commonplace for those who rented out rooms to openly discriminate against those whom they did not wish to rent their rooms to, eg "No Irish" would be added to some room for rent adverts.
Move forward many decades and such blatant discrimination is both illegal and would be, quite rightly, frowned upon.
So everything is now hunky dory then?
Not quite, for you see there seems to have been a reversal whereby the anti discrimination rules are being flouted by certain landlords.
The BBC reports the following:
"Today overt racial discrimination is both illegal and socially unacceptable.I wonder whether Nanny will intervene to put a stop to this?
But it is now possible to find advertisements seeking tenants for rented accommodation which specify race, or other characteristics, in a way which some experts believe breaks the law.
Newsagents in different areas of London carry adverts saying:
- "Double bedroom available… Asian only"
- "Double room to let Gujarati (Indian) only"
- Close to the station and bus stops (Filipino only)
- "Professional single lady or Sri Lanka professional couple"
- "House for rent… only Asian families""
Even if Nanny attempted to prosecute these people for discrimination, she would fail in the long run.
People can simply get around the law by placing an advert on a site catering for their own group, eg students, Indians or feminists. They can put a notice up in a foreign language, thus excluding anyone who eg can't read Hebrew, Bengali or Polish.
Failing that, they can also simply wait for the responses and filter applicants.
Nanny has yet to learn that you cannot legislate against private hypocrisy and innate/silent prejudice, she can only legislate against blatant and open/vocal prejudice/hatred. The innate/silent prejudice will only be overcome when people learn to live together and recognise/respect each others' shortcomings and strengths.
Sadly we may have to evolve into higher beings, free of religious, racial and sexual tribalism, before that becomes commonplace!
Visit The Orifice of Government Commerce and buy a collector's item.
Visit The Joy of Lard and indulge your lard fantasies.
Show your contempt for Nanny by buying a T shirt or thong from Nanny's Store.
www.nannyknowsbest.com is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Visit Oh So Swedish Swedish arts and handicrafts
Why not really indulge yourself, by doing all the things that Nanny really hates? Click on the relevant link to indulge yourselves; Food, Bonking, Gifts and Flowers, Groceries
To play devils advocate here:
ReplyDeleteIs it not better for a prospective renter to know the culture of the household at an early stage, prior to making further enquiries?
For instance, if one did not follow the Islamic faith then being called to prayer every 6 hours in a devout Islamic house could be rather intrusive. Or, sharing in a house where the principle language spoken is Polish would be very difficult for someone who only speaks Hebrew.
In a few weeks England will use the Olympic stage to show the world just how cool and multicultural it is, but in reality it is just a small country full of foreigners that we know little or nothing about.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, despite having an enormous Asian community, many of whom are in the service industries, are there any English people that know how to say the simplest words in their languages like please and thank you?
Are there any Londoners who know a single word of Polish? Can many non-Jews name the important Jewish holidays?
The fact is that all these different races that we have been forced to accept are far more racist, and far less welcoming that the indigenous English have ever been.
Tolerance should work both ways, and those that blatantly discriminate against white English people should be prosecuted the same way as we would be, if we discriminated against them.
How about adverts for none smokers!
ReplyDeleteIt must have been 30 years ago when I was the manager of a branch of a large company in East London.
ReplyDeleteWe advertised for staff and appointments for the applicants were made.
The day after all of the interviews an Asian guy turned up at my office, a day late for his appointment. I can’t remember what excuse he had for not being at his original interview, but I do remember that he looked like he had slept in his scruffy clothes and that he stunk. By his attitude I could tell that he had absolutely no interest in securing the job.
Part of the proposed work involved driving a company car and I asked a co-worker to take him out to assess his driving, which was part of the interview process. The driving test was cut short by my friend who said that the Asian was positively dangerous on the road.
A few weeks after employing another applicant for the position my company were approached by the Asians’ legal representatives who said that they would pursue a case of discrimination as we had employed a white person instead of their client.
Despite the fact that my branch had several Asians already working there, and despite the fact that I myself am married to a half-caste woman, my company settled the case out of court by giving the Asian a cheque for £2,000. A huge amount of money in those days.
Incidentally, my wife is from the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. Jamaicans dislike all ‘smallies’ (people from the smaller islands), and most other Caribbean’s dislike Jamaicans.
There is racism everywhere.
Exactly. I see "NO smokers" all the time. Yet no-one says anything about that.
ReplyDeleteI'd wager that if one placed a notice along the lines of
ReplyDelete"Single room to rent, White (or English) only" the equality and race relations industry would come down on whoever placed the advert like a ton of bricks! Yet the silence from them in the above cases is deafening. They are a bunch of left wing hypocrites!
"Despite the fact that my branch had several Asians already working there, and despite the fact that I myself am married to a half-caste woman, my company settled the case out of court by giving the Asian a cheque for £2,000. A huge amount of money in those days."
You shouldn't have given him 2p! He couldn't take the trouble to turn up on time, had questionable personal hygiene, and was clearly totally unsuitable for the job.
Mr A said: "Exactly. I see 'NO smokers' all the time. Yet no-one says anything about that."
That, it might well be argued, is another matter, as smoking is a matter of personal choice. Whilst one is perfectly entitled to smoke, if you are renting out a room or a house, one is surely equally entitled to choose NOT to have to suffer the foul smell of tobacco smoke in your home.