![\"\"](\"https:\/\/janeroutley.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_0021-1-e1564789027106-224x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIts 22.30 one Sunday evening and we are once again chivying people off trains and onto buses so that men can work on the tracks.\u00a0 We tend to do a circuit of the quiet station calling out,\u00a0 \u201cReplacement buses outside the station,\u201d to everyone because no matter how many announcements they make over the PA, someone always misses them and gets angry about there being – \u201cNo announcements!\u201d<\/p>\n
My Indian workmate is going down the escalators ahead of me and coming up towards us on the opposite escalator are an ordinary-looking elderly couple in their 60\u2019s \u2013 probably someone\u2019s Nan and Pop.<\/p>\n
\u201cReplacement buses outside the station!\u201d she calls helpfully to them as she goes past on the escalator.<\/p>\n
And the man turns and says calmly to her retreating back \u2013\u201cDon\u2019t yell at me, you black c**t!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m shocked, appalled and unfortunately speechless.\u00a0 I glare at them but they don\u2019t meet my eye as they go past. They are as expressionless as if he\u2019d said nothing \u2013 bored people on an escalator.\u00a0 Is saying such an awful thing just every day for them?\u00a0 Like shopping?<\/p>\n
I should have said something.\u00a0 But perhaps she didn\u2019t hear him and if I\u2019d spoken out \u2013 called him the racist bastard he was – she would have known what he said.\u00a0 And no one needs to hear that.\u00a0 But if she did hear it and I said nothing, what will she think then? That I agree?\u00a0 That would be awful!<\/p>\n
I say nothing to her and she doesn\u2019t mention it.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t seem upset.\u00a0 Maybe she didn\u2019t hear him.\u00a0 Or horrifying thought – she\u2019s used to it.\u00a0 We do get a lot of abuse on these bus nights and it must be even worse if you stand out as different.<\/p>\n
But I should have called this guy out as a racist bastard.\u00a0 Shoulda! Shoulda!\u00a0 I\u2019m so furious when I think of it.\u00a0 Why did my words fail me at the time?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Its 22.30 one Sunday evening and we are once again chivying people off trains and onto buses so that men can work on the tracks.\u00a0 We tend to do a circuit of the quiet station calling out,\u00a0 \u201cReplacement buses outside the station,\u201d to everyone because no matter how many announcements they make over the …<\/p>\n
On casual racism<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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