Quote:
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Originally Posted by 007
Weird. As a person not residing in the UK I find the whole situation weird. Seems you can't do anything right there anymore. Doomed if you take into consideration all religions/ethnicities , doomed if you don't.
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.....THAT REMINDS ME OF MY EXPERIENCE AT SCHOOL, 1983/4 (not sure exact dates, juniors/primary school)
NOT RELEVANT TO THIS, BUT AN EYE OPENER TO ME
WELL, THIS IS WHAT HAPPEN:
...BACK THEN YOU NEVER HAD VEGETARIAN DISHES COOKED SEPARATELY, EVERYTHING WAS MADE AN SERVED IN ONE AREA, SAME UTENSILS....SAME COOKING POTS, WASHED OR NOT WE DON'T KNOW..
.....I MUST HAVE BEEN 8/9 AT JUNIOR SCHOOLS, I WAS TOLD TO ALWAYS ASK THE INGREDIENTS AND CONTENT BEFORE I GOBBLE ANYTHING DOWN AS A KID..DON'T RELY ON WORD OF MOUTH...
I WAS STANDING IN THE DINNER QUEUE, AND THE DINNER LADY WAS ABOUT TO SERVE ME RAVIOLI..
I HAD NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE..SHE DUMPED IT ON MY PLATE...IT SMELT GOOD...
AND BACK THEN, IF YOU WAS INLINE IN THE QUEUE, THEY JUST DUMPED WHATEVER ONTO YOUR PLATE AND YOU HAD TO EAT IT..THEY HAD 6 TRAYS AND EVERYTHING WAS ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVA BASIS....NO QUESTIONS ASKED...
I ASKED HER: "WHAT'S THAT" AND SHE REPLIED, "ITS RAVIOLI..."...I THEN ASKED, "WHAT'S IT MADE OF?" SHE THEN REPLIED "RAVIOLI. STEW"
I THEN SAID: "YES, BUT WHAT'S IN IT"
SHE THEN SAID ..."BEEF"
.....I THEN REFUSED TO HAVE IT ON ME PLATE, (since religious beliefs..I'm not allowed to eat beef..& from what my mom told me) ...SO I TOLD THE DINNER LADY, THAT
"I DON'T WANT IT, CAUSE AM NOT ALLOWED TO EAT IT." BY NOW SHE HAD TAKEN A SPOONFUL AND DUMPED IT ON MY PLATE.....AND I LEFT MY PLATE THERE, SHE REFUSED TO REMOVE IT..
THE DINNER LADY GOT ANGRY
SHE ACTUALLY GOT ANGRY... AND CALLED THE HEADMASTER, HE WAS STANDING BY THE CANTEEN DOORS... LIKE HE USUALLY DOES ORGANISING THE QUEUES..MAKING SURE THE KIDS DONT SCREAM AND SHOUT AS THEY WAIT IN LINE.... HE THEN CAME OVER AND SAID, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU" ..VERY LOUD....HE WAS ONE OF THEM STRICT TYPES...
AND HE ORDERED THE DINNER LADY TO SERVE THE RAVIOLI ON TO MY PLATE, AGAIN....AN SAID: "YOU'LL EAT WHAT YOURE GIVEN"
......THE KID IN FRONT OF ME WAS GIVEN IT, HE WALKED OFF WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED, HE WAS HINDU (same as me) HE LIVED 2 STREETS AWAY FROM ME...KNEW HIS FAMILY..
..BUT EVEN AFTER THE HEADMASTER GRABBED ME BY THE ARM, YES...HE ACTUALLY GRABBED ME BY MY ARM AND DRAGGED ME OUT OF THE QUEUE..
DRAGGING ME TO THE SIDE, SO THE DINNER LINE COULD CONTINUOUSLY FLOW.., YELLING AT ME...
I STOOD THERE SAYING "IM NOT EATING IT, (avoiding eye contact or looking at him).. AND NOW THAT ITS ON MY PLATE, I'M NOT TOUCHING MY PLATE"
.. I JUST STOOD THERE...
AS I WAS STANDING THERE...EVERYONE WAS LOOKING AT ME...LIKE I WAS SOME SORT OF TROUBLE MAKER...ALL I REMEMBER HEARING WERE ECHOES AND VOICES IN THE DISTANCE....WHISPERING...
MY FORM TEACHER CAME RUNNING,...HE'S THE ONE WHO ALWAYS ENCOURAGED OR STOOD BY ME AT SCHOOL...HE WAS A WHITE GUY...
HE CAME RUNNING INTO THE CANTEEN........AND STOPPED THE HEAD FROM HAVING A GO AT ME
HE LITERALLY STEPPED IN, AND STARTED REFUTING AWAY...
....AND SAID, "HE DOESN'T EAT BEEF, HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO"
THE HEADMASTER SHOOK HIS HEAD AND WALKED OFF IN DISGUST AT ME NOT EVEN WANTING TO UNDERSTAND WHY I REJECTED THE FOOD...
IT WAS AFTER THAT DAY, THE HEADMASTER ALWAYS GAVE ME A LOOK OF DISGUST WHENEVER I WALKED PAST HIM... AS IF I WAS A TROUBLE MAKER...
...MY FORM TEACHER TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IT... HE TOOK ME BACK TO OUR CLASSROOM, LEFT ME THERE FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES WITHOUT A WORD..
... HE CAME BACK WITH SANDWICHES FROM THE SHOP, WHICH HE HAD BOUGHT FOR ME FROM HIS OWN MONEY...
I KNEW THIS BECAUSE I SAW THE PRICE LABELS FROM THE SHOP WHICH ALL THE KIDS RUN TO AFTER SCHOOL ENDS....ALL GO TO WHEN SCHOOL ENDS. .IT WAS A FEW YARDS FROM AWAY FROM OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL..
I DIDN'T ASK HIM, NOR DID I SAY I WAS HUNGRY...YET HE WENT OUT TO THE SHOP AND CAME BACK WITH SANDWICHES...THIS WAS ALL TAKING PLACE DURING LUNCHTIME. WHICH LASTED ABOUT 1 HOUR...FROM 12pmTILL 1pm..
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HOME TIME: MY FOLKS WERE PROPER STRESSED AT WHAT HAPPEN...
THINGS WERE DIFFERENT BACK THEN...THERE WAS NO ONE TO COMPLAIN TO..YOU JUST DEALT WITH IT AND GOT ON..I COULD HAVE GROWN UP WITH A CHIP ON MY SHOULDER FROM THAT EXPERIENCE AND MANY OTHER ODD THINGS...I REALISED THAT IF THERE'S 10 ASSHOLES IN THIS WORLD...THERE'S ALWAYS ONE WHO WILL DO THE RIGHT THING AND STAND IN YOUR CORNER...I LEANT A LOT THAT DAY, A LOT...
BOTH TEACHERS WERE WHITE....ONE JUST LEFT ME STANDING THERE HUNGRY, AND THE OTHER DIDN'T.......EVEN SPEAKING AGAINST THE HEADMASTER BACK THEN, A TEACHER COULD LOSE HIS JOB...
I STOPPED HAVING SCHOOLS DINNERS AFTER THAT DAY...I WOULD WALK HOME 15MINS BACK AND FORTH OR SOMETIMES BOUGHT IN A PACKED LUNCH...
I ACTUALLY STARTED THE TREND OF BRINGING IN PACKED LUNCH AT THE TIME IT WAS A BIG DEAL...ORIGINALLY IT WAS JUST 3 OF US SAT IN THE CORNER ON A FEW CHAIRS EATING AWAY...
THE MUSLIM KIDS STARTED TO BRING IN THEIR PACK LUNCHES...AT THE TIME I NEVER UNDERSTOOD, WHY THEY WENT HOME FOR LUNCH EITHER..HALAL FOOD WAS NEVER SERVED APPARENTLY..IT WAS NON EXISTENT...
SOON THE HEADMASTER SET UP A DESIGNATED AREA FOR THE PACK LUNCH KIDS..YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT IN QUEUE TO ENTER THE DINNER HALL...
FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IT WAS NOT RACISM BUT LACK OF UNDERSTANDING...WE WERE THE FIRST WAVE OF "BRITISH ASIAN CHILDREN" AT THAT SCHOOL, MOST THE OLDER KIDS SIMPLY WENT ALONG WITH THE NORM...
EVEN LATER ON IN LIFE, I PREFER TAKING SANDWICHES....(for lunch breaks)...BUT I STOPPED STANDING IN QUEUES ASKING THE COOK FOR INGREDIENTS. IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, I WONT HAVE IT..AND IF I HAVE DOUBTS, I JUST STICK TO THE VEG PORTIONS...
....ALL PEOPLE DO NOW IS DEMAND THEIR RIGHTS TO BE HEARD...THEY ROCK THE BOAT AND MAKE EVERYTHING AWKWARD..
IF THIS KEEPS UP, THINGS WILL GET VERY MESSY IN THE FUTURE..
.....OK, THAT'S ME DONE...BACK TO MORE GEEK STUFF