Has to be Racist Surely

[Russ]

Originally Posted by andyl

LTSB are launching an account targeted at people who may wish to send to or invest money within India - which has it's own banking regulations. I think we have established, or I thought we had, that there is clearly no racist intent in launching this product, just a practical, commercial inititiative framed by relevant legislation.

Anyone would think you're under the impression I'm calling this offer 'racist'

Originally Posted by andyl

I think there's a bag of McCains on your shoulder with regard to your comment on this being more acceptable because this product is targeted at ex-pat Indians and their descendants.

Next time you feel you may be disadvantaged because of your race, I'll be sure to accuse you of having a chip on your shoulder too

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by andyl

Well again, absolutely nobody I know has mentioned this. Plenty of political issues and ideas bouncing around, but not this one. Those with a racist agenda may pick up on it I guess but that's their problem.

I am in the situation where I cannot mention it at the moment!

There is one from Indian and another from Pakistan, sat within a few feet of me. If I were to bring it up, I'm sure I would be seen as racist.

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Escapee

I am in the situation where I cannot mention it at the moment!

There is one from Indian and another from Pakistan, sat within a few feet of me. If I were to bring it up, I'm sure I would be seen as racist.

Frankly, I am at a loss as to why anyone would want to bring it up (given what has been established in this thread).

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by danielf

Frankly, I am at a loss as to why anyone would want to bring it up (given what has been established in this thread).

Because its a topical subject!

I am making the point that its a taboo subject because anyone who has a negative viewpoint and disagrees will be classed as a racist. the big problem is some people do not see the argument as being un-baised, they just see it as an excuse to have a go at a certain group.

[danielf]

Originally Posted by Escapee

Because its a topical subject!

I am making the point that its a taboo subject because anyone who has a negative viewpoint and disagrees will be classed as a racist. the big problem is some people do not see the argument as being un-baised, they just see it as an excuse to have a go at a certain group.

I agree, it is a topical subject (or was at the outset of this thread) but given what has been established in this thread, my feeling is that it is a complete non-issue.

Originally Posted by Escapee

I am in the situation where I cannot mention it at the moment!

There is one from Indian and another from Pakistan, sat within a few feet of me. If I were to bring it up, I'm sure I would be seen as racist.

I don't see why particularly, although if you were to say 'look at this racist bank' you might

Your Pakistani colleague is unable to open an account in India BTW, so could spark an interesting debate in the office!

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by andyl

I don't see why particularly, although if you were to say 'look at this racist bank' you might

Your Pakistani colleague is unable to open an account in India BTW, so could spark an interesting debate in the office!

It would probably open an interesting debate or start a war, cos they dont actually speak to each other!

The Indian guy is the traditional type, and the Pakistani has integrated. Whilst I get on very well with both of them, the Indian is a very strange person indeed. He has today been trying to scrounge an old PC monitor because his own at home is faulty, I find it very strange cos he has been contracting with our company for a large hourly rate and has been taken on about 12 months ago for around 32K. It seems from what he says that any money the family members earn is put into a large pot to be shared equally, and thats why he is driving around in a 13 year old car/banger.

It is very funny to sit in the middle of these two and chuckle to myself when they clearly hate each other because of their different beliefs. I chuckle mainly because I suppose I am the white guy sat there who could be classed as the "stereotypical racist" because I say it as it is, but on the other hand I am tolerant of their beliefs and talk to people even if I dont agree with them.

I read some of these posts today, and thought better of mentioning it though

The Indian guy has a very stern look on his face when I mentioned last week that I was going out boozing and womanising for the weekend. I suppose thats the difference between us, I wouldn't give him that sort of look if he said he was going to spend the weekend praying.

[Kliro]

I dont like how we cant even discuss these types of subject anymore!
Because of people who are racist and really have a go, overly sensitive people from other cultures (probably because of racism) and the sympathesisers who call you a racist if you say the slightest thing about anouther race.
I myself am not racist, I can see why the account is only for Indian people, as it is required by Indian banking law.
The real question here is should a bank supply a service that is discriminatory?
To be honest I dont really know, it probably makes the lives of Indians in Britain much easier, but I think that people should not be allowed to offer services that everyone cannot access, as it is discriminatory.

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by Kliro

I dont like how we cant even discuss these types of subject anymore!
Because of people who are racist and really have a go, overly sensitive people from other cultures (probably because of racism) and the sympathesisers who call you a racist if you say the slightest thing about anouther race.
I myself am not racist, I can see why the account is only for Indian people, as it is required by Indian banking law.
The real question here is should a bank supply a service that is discriminatory?
To be honest I dont really know, it probably makes the lives of Indians in Britain much easier, but I think that people should not be allowed to offer services that everyone cannot access, as it is discriminatory.

I think the bottom line is that it makes it easier for Indians to come to this country to work and freely transfer the money back home. Now you could call me racist for saying that, but surely people coming here to work from other countries should also have much to complain about.

This is nothing more than favouritism for Indians, and discrimination against UK citizens and other foreign people legally working in this country!

[me283]

Originally Posted by andyl

Thanks to anon for this link: http://www.k****ij.com/inr/inr6.shtml For info, Indian nationals are not permitted to hold foreign currency accounts.

Have I missed something here? I thought we were talking about UK national of Indian descent? Presumably foreign nationals are permitted to hold accounts in India?

[BBKing]

Is this racist?

http://www.ipswich-bs.co.uk/index2.htm

NOTE: Accounts are not available to new investors outside of Ipswich Building Society Branch region.
Investment applications can only be accepted from the following postcode areas:

CB (All Areas)
CM (All Areas)
CO (All Areas)
IP (All Areas)
NR (All Areas)
PE (All Areas)

You can't avail yourself of certain financial services at IBS unless you live in East Anglia. How is this different from being unable to avail yourself of certain financial services unless you or your ancestors lived in India? The only difference I can think of is that you can always move to the area if you want an account there, but you can't change your ancestry.

Would Spike Milligan's descendents be able to use the LloydsTSB scheme, do we know? He was born in India, after all. He didn't go to Ireland till he was 29, by the way, yet is still known as an Irishman. People have a nasty habit of not staying in the pigeonholes you put them in - sometimes it's best not to put them in pigeonholes.

Oh I am so fed up with people with Ipswich. They come over here, with there culture and expect US to change. Did you know that hospitals in the ipswich area are FULL of people of ipswich? Same with benefits. We should send everyone who lives in ipswich BACK to ipswich

[me283]

Originally Posted by BBKing

Is this racist?

http://www.ipswich-bs.co.uk/index2.htm



You can't avail yourself of certain financial services at IBS unless you live in East Anglia. How is this different from being unable to avail yourself of certain financial services unless you or your ancestors lived in India? The only difference I can think of is that you can always move to the area if you want an account there, but you can't change your ancestry.

Would Spike Milligan's descendents be able to use the LloydsTSB scheme, do we know? He was born in India, after all. He didn't go to Ireland till he was 29, by the way, yet is still known as an Irishman. People have a nasty habit of not staying in the pigeonholes you put them in - sometimes it's best not to put them in pigeonholes.

An earlier post detailed the criteria under which it is considered that racial discrimination is considered to have occurred. These include racial, religious and ethnic inequality... I don't think "not living in Ipswich" comes under the umbrella, as the offe appears open to all races, ethnice groups etc in those postcodes.

Last time I looked Ipswich was a geographic area as was India. Hope nobody out there would confuse nationality with race.

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by andyl

Last time I looked Ipswich was a geographic area as was India. Hope nobody out there would confuse nationality with race.

The big difference is that one is offering a service to people living in a post code area, and the other is offering a service to someone born in another country.

There is nothing wrong with offering a service to a specific area, but to a specific group of people is another issue. What would be the outcome if I opened a Cafe and only allowed white English and Welsh people to eat and drink in it!