Unimaginative Racism is Unimaginative

[nanila]

My message to Virgin Trains Customer Relations:

Hello,
I was on the [HH:MM] on Thursday, 7 July 2016, from London Euston to Birmingham New Street. I had booked Seat [XX] in Quiet Coach [Y]. Just above my seat on the Quiet Coach sign, someone had written "BNP". Someone else had tried unsuccessfully to scratch it out, but the graffiti, as shown in the attached photo, was still clearly visible.

As a mixed-race British citizen, I found this unsettling. I did not particularly enjoy sitting underneath a blatant piece of unimaginative racist propaganda for the entirety of my journey. Would it be possible for the sign in the coach of that train to be replaced? I presume there is a way of identifying which train was running that route at that time?
Thank you,
[nanila]

Comments

[cmcmck]

Sadly, I suspect this stuff is only going to get worse.

I'm already seeing an increase in anti semitic stuff and given my own family history, that hurts.

[nanila]

I completely agree that it's going to get worse. See my next post. This is the second thing in a week.

[cmcmck]

Seen!

Arseholes!

All those buggers need is a bloody confederate flag!

[perennialanna]

Confederate flags are a common sight across rural Norfolk and Lincolnshire, and my Northern Irish friend reported seeing a lot there too. The kindest interpretation is that the US Civil War is seen as a struggle between small poor farmers and urbanites who do not understand them (which does have certain contemporary resonances) and the whole slavery thing has been overlooked as a mere detail. I do not entirely buy this, and I have never not found the flags frightening.

[nanila]

The first time I noticed confederate flags in this country was when the bloke & I went camping in Stratford-upon-Avon. (It turned out there was a vintage American car rally & hence they were probably Dukes of Hazzard-inspired.) But when we first drove up to the campsite, I was terrified, because for me, confederate flag == imminent danger, do not engage, REVERSE. It took him quite a while to convince me that it was OK to sleep in a tent there that night.

[miss_s_b]

That's very polite and precise. Well done.

[nanila]

Thanks. It took a not inconsiderable effort to write it that way.

[miss_s_b]

I'm sure it did.

[recessional]

fyi, the picture won't show for me. (Not that I'm THAT keen to see racist graffiti mind, but I thought I'd note.)

I am likewise impressed with your reserve and precision.

[nanila]

I was trying to use LJ Photos as a host. Pretty sure it can be seen on the LJ entry, don't know why it doesn't work on DW, don't have the patience to sort it out right now.

Thank you.

[recessional]

Np; as noted, just thought it might be something you'd want to know.

(Also having switched to computer, it shows up fine there, just not on the iPad. WHO KNOWS.)

[tree_and_leaf]

That is a good email. I'm sorry you had to write it.

I'm alarmed by the number of people who are sticking their heads in the sand about racism at the moment.

[perennialanna]

Or who treat it as an insult if you suggest that any particular area might have high levels of racism...

I had been complacently thinking that while Yarmouth is bad, Norwich was sort of alright. But there was an arson attack on a Romanian grocery in Norwich last night. Bad and getting worse.

[tree_and_leaf]

Oh God, yes, I got completely flamed on FB for that a couple of days ago. (And, as a bonus, mansplained at about how the three specific incidents I cited which have happened in my town in the last three weeks 'didn't count' because they were 'just anecdotal.')

It's not the same as being on the receiving end of racism, of course. I'm very worried about how we can stop things getting worse - or, sadly, more realistically, at least make things a bit better :(

[perennialanna]

I saw, and that was part of my thinking (I got a similar slap-down on another forum when I was tallying up bus racism I have heard since the vote. I've been travelling on buses in this area for over 14 years, and the atmosphere has noticeably changed in the past few weeks. Suddenly outright racism, as opposed to the nudges and "you know"s and shifting seats, has become acceptable).

I'm slightly unconvinced by the safety pins, but silence is not enough.

[nanila]

Thanks. I hope I get a response (from an actual human, rather than the automated "Thank you for your e-mail" message).

I am alarmed too. Especially all the "these are unrelated/anecdotal" rebuttals. Somehow people are managing to miss the bit where the National Police Chiefs Council have reported a five-fold increase in the number of hate crimes since Brexit. Five-fold. That'd be a pretty staggering "unrelated" correlation.

[tree_and_leaf]

And that's the reported ones. I know at least two of the incidents I'm aware of round here weren't reported, because the victims suspect it was one of their neighbours and are scared to report in case it escalates :(

I'm trying to find out about the procedure for making our church a hate crime reporting centre. It's not much, but it might help a bit.

[nanila]

I'm trying to find out about the procedure for making our church a hate crime reporting centre. It's not much, but it might help a bit.

It's a wonderful idea. I hope it makes a difference.

[tree_and_leaf]

On a side note, I hope this doesn't happen again, but these days most train companies (I'm not sure about Virgin, but I think so) have started displaying individual codes for each carriage with a message saying something like 'how am I looking? Tell me if you're not satisfied.' That would give you a unique identifier to refer to.

[nanila]

Oh, thank you. I will look for that sign next time, so I can note it down.

[davidgillon]

Ugh, this is horrendous. It needs stamping down on hard and fast, and even if they do that, it's likely to hit every area of hate crime.

[nanila]

Indeed, it does. I'm not holding out much hope that it will be, though.

[davidgillon]

No, it needs more than Parliament doing {concerned face}, but they're too busy tearing each other apart at the moment.

[nanila]

Yeah, it's the Bank of England (aka Mark Carney), currently running the country. Much as I appreciate the mitigating effects, I'm also rather glad they're not attempting to run the civil service as well.

[weaverbird]

Good for you for speaking up (and for sounding so calm as you did so). I hope you hear back from a real person with a proper answer.

[nanila]

Thank you. Me too. I'll update if/when I do.

[redsixwing]

Good for you; and well written.

I hope they fix it.

[nanila]

Thank you. Me too. I'll update if/when I get a response.

[gwendraith]

A well written letter, I'm sorry you had to write it :(

[nanila]

Thank you. I haven't had a non-automated response yet. :/