I’ve been getting a lot of emails from the States from everyone that read or heard about the racist crap I had to go through in London. For the record, it didn’t happen in just Bath.
One thing that I have a hard time tolerating are people that are intolerant of others just because they are from a different race or culture…or they’re not 100% white.
Right after I had posted up the last entry, a couple of women sat down at the table next to me. One of the hotel staff workers came to their table to ask if they wanted anything to drink. The ladies had this horrified look on their face and said, “No, we’re just waiting for the manager so that we can book our Christmas dinners.”
He then left and went back into the next room. Then I heard it. The two old bats decided to talk about his race and how disgusted they were that he even came over to their table (they sat down in a bar…someone came over to serve them…I don’t understand how it was inappropriate). The one woman facing me was doing all of the talking. I kept looking at her in complete disgust rolling my eyes, getting ready to yell at her, “He’s feckin human you stupid twats.”
I have to say that the ONLY people that were nice to me in London were the ones that were not BRITISH…or were of a different race, color or culture. There was not one single white British person that was kind to me. So I will say this…London is filled with a bunch of racist assholes.
I’m so glad I never moved to London.
In all honesty, what I really would have told those two ladies…it is highly inappropriate to talk like that. The fact that a young woman half their age would have to tell them that they were being highly inappropriate is no different than me telling a guy how inappropriate it is for him to follow me a block at 11:45PM to talk to me. He’s two seconds away from being maced.
Extremes of each other? Yes, but the fact remains…someone is about to be (or was) victimized because how you look is being pointed out just to target you.
Now, if you’re still confused about the guy at 11:45PM, I’ll fill in the rest of the details…I live in a rather upscale community. I was walking the two blocks from the train station to my apartment. This guy was across the street, on his phone, walking in the opposite direction. Next thing I know, he’s following me and then comes right up next to me and puts his umbrella over my head (mind you, I have my own umbrella in my hand).
He then started talking about, ‘oh, you’re such a pretty lady….blah blah blah.’ I just looked at him in complete shock and disgust. Seriously…it’s 11:45PM and you are trying to get fresh with a woman in an upscale neighborhood? I stepped away from him and told him how highly inappropriate his conduct was. His response, “I don’t understand.”
If you’re that stupid…will you still be stupid after I mace you?
Every man in the universe knows not to approach a woman like that unless you plan on harming her. Don’t be shocked if she a) maces you or b) (in my case) beat the living shit out of you to the point she breaks your bones. Blame college for all of those rape aggression defense courses they made me take after I was sexually assaulted. Never mess with a woman who would rather kill you than allow you to victimize her. Seriously.
Now that I’ve scared off every guy I know…
Back to London. After the two twats realized they were annoying the hell out of me with their racist talk, they stopped and went back to planning their Christmas dinners.
I decided to make best of what was left of the day and take those London photos I needed to take along the River Thames.
I tuned out the Brits and just enjoyed the day along the Thames.
When I came out of the Westminster underground station, I came out and saw the great London Eye. It was so big and majestic! I was taking photos when an Indian man stopped me and asked me if I would take a picture of him with the London Eye in the background. I said sure.
He explained he was traveling by himself and just needed someone to help him with the picture. I understand…that’s why Henrik the Duck and Marty the Duck travel with me around the world. I take the photos of them since it’s hard to take the photo of myself with monuments in the background. I could ask someone to take the photo of me, but as my friend says…I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to this stuff. I want my photo to look a certain way, with certain moments captured. As she says, I only know what moment I’m looking for through the lens. A stranger wouldn’t understand what I’m trying to capture if I handed them my camera and asked them to take the photo of me.
I took the photo of the guy and handed his camera back to him. He looked at the photo and all he could say was “Wow.” It was apparently a great photo. He thanked me and I turned around to witness Big Ben in his magnificence.
All I can say is Big Ben is one of the most beautiful monuments in London. He’s so majestic and beautiful. There’s so much amazing detail that makes Big Ben one of the most famous clocks in the world.
I walked over onto the bridge so I could capture Westminster and Big Ben in one shot. That’s when the Indian guy found me again and asked if I would take a picture of him in front of Westminster. I said sure. He then asked me if I was an art student. I said no, I wasn’t. He was shocked at this. He then said, “I’m sorry. I thought you were, because the photo was so good.”
I should be flattered he thought me so young, right?
I took the photo of him with Westminster and Big Ben. He protested that there’s no way I could get Big Ben in. I told him I could. When I handed him back his camera, he just looked at the photo in shock saying, “These are so good. These are the best photos of my trip so far.”
I decided to do that man a favor. I took the photo exactly the way I would want my memory of being in a foreign country to last…with the actual monument in the photo behind me just as clear as I am in the photo…and not cut off.
From 2PM until 6PM, I walked from Westminster all the way down to Tower Bridge. I stopped at the Tower of London to eat fish and chips. I sat out on the big pedestrian block, with the Tower of London in front of me. I ended up feeding my dinner to the pigeons. It reminded me a little of Mary Poppins. Remember how he would pay to feed the birds? I felt like I needed to have that exact experience in London too…so I fed my chips to the pigeons.
Afterwards, I finished my walk towards Tower Bridge, snapping photos all along the way. Although, I forgot my memory card in my laptop. I was completely limited in what I could take. I made sure whatever I caught…it was good enough to keep and not sift through later.
After Tower Bridge, I headed over to my Jack the Ripper Tour. I knew much of the story, but to see the sites as told by a guy that is considered a professional, has done many a documentary on the subject matter, even has a book out there…it was fascinating…and then one of the guys fainted and had a mini-seizure.
The murder photo we had just looked at before he had the spell? The worst and legendary killing by the Ripper. You may have seen the photo…the one where the body could only be identified by the hair and eyes? Actually, I bet if you Google it…that photo will come up.
The tour guide told us…don’t look at the photo unless you can stomach it. Well, apparently he couldn’t and it took him a few minutes and then that great 6’4″ guy came tumbling down face first into the pavement.
I was on the other side of the group. I saw his leg start to twitch and you know what I’m thinking? Why does feckin hockey have to be a pre-cursor to my entire trip? [Note: Wayne Simmonds banana incident=racism bit; Mike Danton saving player who went into seizure on the ice by keeping him from swallowing his own tongue=guy on Ripper tour.]
Now I’m waiting for a homosexual comment or something to be said in my presence…
I will mention that I was the only American on this tour. The only people that were nice to me were the two French women. The rest were all Brits…and I swear that most of those girls were complete bitches to me. Why? I minded myself. The tour guide only pointed me out a few times because he needed to talk about serial killers in the States.
I have no idea why the Brit girls were such bitches. The guys were okay. They kind of took on the more protective role with the ladies since we were all on a scary tour. But the chicks…not sure if it’s an American thing or because I’m the only non-white in the group (as the Brits have pointed out to me so many times).
All I’m going to say was that the tour itself was very informative and interesting. It only cost 12 pounds. So not a bad tour to take for a low price. They even take you down Brick Lane where there’s one curry place after another. I wish I could have found my way back there for some curry…but an American woman on her own through these neighborhoods at night…not smart, so I headed back to the hotel.
So that concludes London. I have had so many people apologize to me for the behavior shown to me during my time in England. Considering it’s home of the 2012 Olympics…yeah…this does not shed England in a positive light. I have friends back in the States now asking me, “You’re not white?”
Apparently I’m not according to the white Brits. Compounded by the American factor…yeah, I totally hate London. I have to go back there on 10/15 for my flight on 10/16. That will be the last time I am ever in England. Although, my brother and I have been talking about heading to Scotland to visit our ancestral roots, I’m reminded of the stories my grandfather used to tell me about why our family headed to America…it was because we would have been wiped out. In order for the royal lineage to continue, they changed their names and moved to America.
The name changed all the way in London before they even boarded that ship to America. They had been hunted down through Europe for many years before they made the trip to America and everything changed. Now the stories are only passed down to the children.
I am the first person to return to the United Kingdom since my ancestors were ousted out of Scotland…all because they were kings.
All I can think about is that we are still persecuted even to this day…and they don’t even know who I am. Instead, they point out that I’m not white. My face may look white, but it’s apparent I’m not white. That’s the new oppression of England.
I do want to apologize to some of my followers from the UK. Not everyone is like this, I know. I’ve had many of my followers apologize that their fellow countrymen have treated me so poorly. Thank you. It is much appreciated. Like I said, not everyone is like that. But it is a problem when every white British person I encountered treated me like shit. I can count only two people that were nice to me. Only two. That should say something about your fellow countrymen. They’re worse than New Yorkers.
Next stop…PARIS.
