Ahahaha I didn't know that! I knew he was bankrupt himself, which made me laugh my arse off. And apparently as a result of going bankrupt the colossal wanker is publishing a pamphlet for his constituents giving advice on handling debt. Amazing.

Oh, yeah. The UK has the same issue with Rupert Murdoch and his rich Conservative cronies. The Daily Mail is pretty much owned by rich racists, and it's managed to become popular by showing celeb bikini pictures on its website too. I keep telling Jezzie writers to stop linking it and they won't listen! It's so…

Italy is responsible for a fair bit of Scotland's obesity problem.

I've just realised you've started a thread full of Europeans falling over ourselves to tell you how racist our countries are. That is hilarious.

Ah, no worries. As I say I don't think it was common outside of "entertainment" but I can imagine for a POC watching even a few people doing that shit, it would feel like an onslaught. Sorry, didn't intend to upset you or anything over the misunderstanding! It's an ever-changing nation, and that is hard for some…

Nah, that was Bulgaria. She was related to the famous Womble.

Was it? Oh bugger me, that's awful. I don't know a lot about it (because why on earth would you want to look into it, let's be honest) it just comes up on documentaries about racism and immigration, and shows talking about Lenny Henry's career. My parents etc never watched it, to be honest I don't know anyone who was…

Class definitely comes into it. You only have to look at shit like "Benefits Street" to see that, and the hatred directed towards Eastern Europeans reflects the classist bullshit. However, "most white Brits wore blackface"? Noooo. I don't mean to be insensitive, but that statement makes little sense. I actually don't…

Thanks! Kittens and Romania are interesting conversation topics too I reckon. :-D

I'm sorry you've had a rough time in other parts of Europe. But based on some of the things I've seen on Jezebel, I don't know if we're getting anything terribly helpful from the US either. Of course you're in a better position to know than I am, so I'll follow your lead there. :-) We have different issues when it…

Some nuggets voted the BNP in as our MEPs over here in the UK. I can sympathise. When the economy went to hell politicians decided to blame immigrants, the media joined in with gusto... Aaaaand hello racist knob end Nick Griffin trying to convince everybody that he's a proper politician and not just a jumped-up parish…

Actually thinking about it, that sounded like I was having a pop at all of Italy and there are many nice people there. What I meant is, get your shit together and stop electing racists, Italy. The UK got stuck with Nick fucking Griffin and David Cameron because more idiots and racists voted than anyone else. Learn…

It's part of Europe, so they represent it just as much as we do. No point being rude to the nice Italians because of this guy, that's like judging us on Nick fucking Griffin.

Yes. Yes it is.

Ah, I wasn't sure if that was something you were aware of and reiterating or you just thought that dreadful fuckery hadn't made it over here. Sorry. It can be hard to tell on the internet! Our racial issues in the UK/Europe differ from the US and some people think that means they aren't a thing here. Sigh, if only.

Actually there is a history of "minstrel shows" using blackface as recently as the 1970's, at least in the UK. One of our most beloved comedians, Lenny Henry, rather embarrassingly appeared on an episode of "The Black and White Minstrel Show" at the beginning of his career (his family's Jamaican, I believe). Don't…

This kind of bullshit shames all of Europe. I'm from the UK and I'm utterly fucking mortified that this arsehole could be considered in any way representative of us. Dammit Italy, get your shit together.

Yay, I'm glad. :-D

In the UK you don't get to see any kind of doctor who looks at your ladybits without a nurse being present. I once injured myself under the panty area (razor slipped, couldn't see too well and was scared of infection) so I made a GP appointment. The male GP told me he wasn't able to look at it because there were no…

Aw sweetie, don't cry. I've agreed with everything you said in this thread and I fail to see how any of it supports rape culture. There are just some people who don't understand that agreement and discussion operates on a scale: it's not "I LOVE RAPISTS" on one end and "FEMINISM IS GOD" on the other. We all have…