# Where's the most racist/xenophobic area in your country? In the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067 "2010-07-17T23:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ignoranceaintbliss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@ignoranceaintbliss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignoranceaintbliss)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/41 "2010-07-25T03:43:09Z")
I live in New York City and contrary to the popular White vs. Black racism, I observed that Blacks and Hispanics are very racist against each other. For example, When I first went upstate where the white population is much greater than the Latino/Hispanic population, I was often the only Latino student in my class, yet nobody demonstrated any racism against me. However, back in the Bronx, where more than half of the population is made up of minorities, many young black people would attack latinos and vice-versa. I have even heard conversations in which both sides talk about how much they hate each other. Shows you how racism is not exclusive to only a few races; every race has racists. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/42 "2010-07-25T09:24:21Z")
In Europe, Denmark and Austria seem to be very xenophobic (don’t think that’s identical to racism) at times, almost wholly directed at Muslim immigrants. I’ve seen Northern Ireland called the most racist place in Europe or the world somewhere. It started with decades or centuries of oppressing Catholics, then they moved on to immigrants and such. The UDA had links with neo-nazi groups for awhile. It’s not just paramilitaries though apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/43 "2010-07-25T10:21:56Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > > [@Quartz](#): > > > > There’s moderate anti-English racism in Scotland, and due to my accent, I’ve been a victim, which is ironic because my family hails from there. > > “Moderate”. Well, that’s one way of putting it 😃 Half my family hails from there yet I have also been on the receiving end due to my accent. I’ve also been on the receiving end of Irish anti-English racism, which was in a weird way amusing as my Mother’s side of the family eventually is Northern Irish Catholic, so it was my ancestors that were getting the shit from the English and/or British in the first place. Really? Reports of anti-English sentiment in Scotland always surprise me, as living here for 7 years I’ve encountered none of this to my face (the grafitti in Edinburgh university library toilets had some, but then again, the English gave as good as they got). Do you mind if I ask where you were? I also have a feeling that most of the anti-English sentiment in lowland Scotland isn’t particularly anti-English, but class based, with the English (especially those from the south) assumed to be “rich”. Do you or **Quartz** have a notable southern accent? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/44 "2010-07-25T15:07:45Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I’ve seen Northern Ireland called the most racist place in Europe or the world somewhere. It started with decades or centuries of oppressing Catholics, then they moved on to immigrants and such. The UDA had links with neo-nazi groups for awhile. It’s not just paramilitaries though apparently. It might be worth asking \*\*Irishgirl \*\*her perspective on this. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/45 "2010-07-25T19:17:49Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > > > I’ve seen Northern Ireland called the most racist place in Europe or the world somewhere. It started with decades or centuries of oppressing Catholics, then they moved on to immigrants and such. The UDA had links with neo-nazi groups for awhile. It’s not just paramilitaries though apparently. > > It might be worth asking \*\*Irishgirl \*\*her perspective on this. Oh yeah, I’m sure someone has stories for/against, and this seems to look at prejudice instead of outright cross burnings. [This looks like the same survey](http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/odd-numbers/2007/07/26/the-most-racist-country-in-the-western-world), although I don’t know if it’s at the same website. A few of the links are broken, and I can’t find the dropdown menu they’re talking about, so I can’t figure out how to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/46 "2010-07-26T00:01:47Z")
If Mecca doesn’t allow non-Muslims in the city I think that qualifies it as the most xenophobic city in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/47 "2010-07-26T00:49:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If Mecca doesn’t allow non-Muslims in the city I think that qualifies it as the most xenophobic city in the world. I’m not sure that counts- you’re allowed to visit Mecca as long as you’re Muslim. And even if you weren’t born a Muslim, you can (as with most other major religions) choose to become one (ie, convert) and then you can go to Mecca just like any other Muslim. On the other hand, people can’t change their ethnicity, so if you’re an African, born in West Africa, then there’s nothing you can do to change that and if you then decide to move to Hicksville, Alabama (perhaps to take up a job as Head Surgeon at the local hospital, or Chair of Humanities at the local university) then the unfortunate reality is that there are going to be people who don’t like you purely for being a member of an ethnic minority. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/48 "2010-07-26T01:06:23Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Oh yeah, I’m sure someone has stories for/against, and this seems to look at prejudice instead of outright cross burnings. [This looks like the same survey](http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/odd-numbers/2007/07/26/the-most-racist-country-in-the-western-world), although I don’t know if it’s at the same website. A few of the links are broken, and I can’t find the dropdown menu they’re talking about, so I can’t figure out how to look at it. Well there are several things to note, Northern Ireland isn’t really a country for one, :).Also, none of the major political parties in Northern Ireland court anti-immigrant vote the way parties in other European states or statelets have. I know one swallow doesn’t make a summer but NI has at least one elected MLA (equivalent of MP or Senator or what have you) that isn’t of Irish ethnicity, Hong Kong born [Anna Lo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Lo). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/49 "2010-07-26T01:14:39Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > In the US? That’s hard to judge. There is out in the open racism and then there is the deeply buried racism that, IMHO, runs deeper. In the South we have the out in the open, casual racism (or at least that’s the way it was when I was a kid). In the North East you get the surface tolerance but the deep under the waters type racism. I’m not sure which is worse, but I’m going to go with the North East, because I think it’s really still there, just more deeply buried and so less obvious than the southern racism. > > Most racist country I’ve ever been in was probably Japan (it’s hard to judge, to be honest). Not only do the Japanese seemingly dislike ANYONE who isn’t Japanese, but there are types of Japanese natives who are also ostracized for some reason that never was very clear to me. The Japanese are very polite about it, but in general I think they are equal opportunity racists…doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Asian or anything else, it only matters if you are Japanese…and BORN in Japan, since a friend of mine who lived there was from full blooded Japanese stock (mother, father, grandparents back to time out of mind) who had simply immigrated to the US and so grew up here. She still speaks perfect Japanese (not that I’d know), and yet when she moved back she wasn’t exactly greeted with open arms. > > -XT The caste system in Japan is based on people who work with animals and hides. they are the “untouchable class”. Even people who sell shoes are members. I worked with Japanese translators who told me that. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/50 "2010-07-26T13:50:27Z")
Isn’t there an Island off the coast of India that outsiders have never been able to contact the inhabitants due to them throwing spears at them anytime they get close? I would think that is the most xenophobic by definition! ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/51 "2010-07-26T13:55:51Z")
Isn’t there an Island off the coast of India that outsiders have never been able to contact the inhabitants due to them throwing spears at them anytime they get close? I would think that is the most xenophobic by definition! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/52 "2010-07-26T14:36:00Z")
> [@julius blaze](#): > > Isn’t there an Island off the coast of India that outsiders have never been able to contact the inhabitants due to them throwing spears at them anytime they get close? I would think that is the most xenophobic by definition! The [Sentinel Islanders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese_people) are unfriendly, and apparently very, very large. The [Jarawa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarawa_%28Andaman_Islands%29) are not actually hostile, but shun contact with outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/53 "2010-07-28T10:09:23Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > I also have a feeling that most of the anti-English sentiment in lowland Scotland isn’t particularly anti-English, but class based, with the English (especially those from the south) assumed to be “rich”. Do you or **Quartz** have a notable southern accent? Yes, I do. I can sound pretty posh. Not so much in accent but in phrasing. But I’ve been discriminated against without them knowing my accent, so I’m confident that accent has little to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/54 "2010-07-28T10:16:24Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > > [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > > > I also have a feeling that most of the anti-English sentiment in lowland Scotland isn’t particularly anti-English, but class based, with the English (especially those from the south) assumed to be “rich”. Do you or **Quartz** have a notable southern accent? > > Yes, I do. I can sound pretty posh. Not so much in accent but in phrasing. But I’ve been discriminated against without them knowing my accent, so I’m confident that accent has little to do with it. That should read: ‘But I’ve also been discriminated against … so I’m confident that accent can have little to do with it.’ ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/55 "2010-07-29T02:02:45Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > - In the Cleveland, Ohio area, I’d say it’s the more blue-collar lower middle-class and middle-class suburbs of east of the city along the lake; Willowick, Wickliffe, Eastlake, Willoughby, Mentor and Painesville Twp. They’re very ethnic in a Rust Belt sense, and most residents of the area have their roots in neighborhoods on the east side of Cleveland that experienced rapid racial transition. It’s not overt, but people there seem very … well, cautious. Further to the east, towards Geneva and Ashtabula, where there’s a high percentage of residents that are just a generation or two removed from West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, you’ll see more Southern-style racism. There’s a growing population of Mexican migrants working in area nurseries and wineries, and thus growing calls for immigration shakedowns, complaints about hearing Spanish spoken in public, and the like. I agree that there is more “racial awareness” on the east side, but only because that’s where the black people live. I can’t think of a single nonwhite enclave on the west side, except for the new Latino area around W. 25th-65th. West of that you have to go all the way to Lorain to see any brown faces. Also, I found your comments about Geneva and Ashtabula odd. I grew up in that area and am “one generation removed” from West Virginia. I knew very few people with that background. Overwhelmingly they were ethnic whites who had moved out from Cleveland or Youngstown, with maybe a few descendants of the original Yankee settlers. I find the white ethnics to be far more racist than is typical of Appalachian whites. Also I think it is fairly well documented that Appalachian whites have much less rigid racial attitudes than lowland southerners. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/56 "2010-07-31T10:09:06Z")
I don’t want to live among racists, but I also don’t want to live among people who concern themselves with such questions as “who is most racist”. In fact, labeling a particular region as “most racist” sounds to me like an exercise in reverse bigotry. Not that I don’t think some regions are more racist than others, I just felt compelled to point out the hypocrisy. ---
**Author:** ![Acantha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Acantha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acantha)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/57 "2010-07-31T10:44:59Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Fred Phelps’s neighborhood. They hate everybody. I used to live in Phelps’s neighborhood, and it actually is _not_ the most hateful place I’ve ever lived, surprisingly. It’s bad, but I found Oklahoma and Florida to be much worse for racism. The people in Kansas sure have homophobia down, though. I live in Hawaii now and it is hands down the most hateful place I’ve ever been. All the races here self-segregate and they all seem to hate each other. Each race has slurs for all the others I’ve never even heard in any other part of the country. It’s the ugliest place with the most beautiful facade. The first day of school when we moved here was so disheartening for me. My children came home and told me how all the children split up by race, and certain groups would call others names on the playground right in front of the adults without getting in trouble because the adults felt the same way, apparently. I heard employees at the school we pulled them out of make comments about those same children who were singled out on the playground that were simply appalling. After living in a relatively progressive part of California, we were all shell-shocked by the change, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept this as ‘normal.’ It just isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Acantha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Acantha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acantha)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067/58 "2010-07-31T10:48:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > > [@Blake](#): > > > > It’s interesting that nobody has nominated any minority areas. > > > > Who do you think has the better chance of survival: a minority walking through the worst White neighbourhood in Alabama, or a White walking through the worst Black neigbourhood in LA or Washington? > > > > In my experience the most racist regions in any country, anywhere in the world, are the areas populated by minorities. > > :dubious: Racism is one thing, and crimes of opportunity are another. A white walking through a black neighborhood will with some justice be perceived as worth robbing. OTOH, an obvious bum or wino in such a neighborhood, though white, would be safe. My husband is a white boy who grew up in Oakland. He never had any problems whatsoever. As a general rule, POC have always had more to fear from us than we have from them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-the-most-racist-xenophobic-area-in-your-country-in-the-world/547067.md?page=2)