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It's really difficult to notice things that don't happen to you.

If you don't believe institutional or systemic racism exists then you clearly haven't heard of the Windrush scandal, or read up on stop and search statistics. Systemic racism is still very much a problem in the UK.

I can completely empathise with Greg about sending time with your family & little one, and then only really being able to settle down to a game late at night when you’re absolutely exhausted! It certainly does make gaming tricky at times. Wow I thought my backlog was large, but I do feel a bit better knowing it’s nothing compared to the N-E Cafe team and many of the forum users! The digital vs physical discussion was interesting and I like hearing what others currently do. The proportion of digital games has certainly increased over the years. I still enjoy physical copies mind, especially the joy of peel the plastic Nintendo seal off a case! 😃 I do like to sell & buy older second hand games too, so I won’t be sticking to a digital-only solution yet given the choice.

You're right, it does. But as the stats I posted show, minorities are more likely to be born into a "lower class" and have less opportunities. They're still recovering from the racism of the past. Just because the actual racism is over (which I'd argue isn't the case, based on the police treatment of black suspects vs white, amongst other things), doesn't mean the effects aren't still being felt. And saying things were worse before (or elsewhere for that matter) doesn't make things great now. I'd argue this case is wholly irrelevant. You've picked very specific, hypothetical examples. Of course a middle class person is going to do better than someone with the odds against them. That's not the point. The point is how likely you are to be born into either of those scenarios. Again, just because it's worse elsewhere, doesn't mean things are perfect here. You just need to read about the treatment of black people by police to see that things are far from great. Also, as a general point about this thread and not aimed specifically at anyone: calling things "nonsense", "bollocks", "pathetic" or "fools" is just abrasive and argumentative. Try to keep things civil, yeah?

I just wanted to share the following quote which I saw recently: "Systemic racism in the UK goes beyond policing and the criminal justice system. It is deeply embedded into our education, our housing, our medical care, our immigration policy. The country likes to emphasise its ‘tolerant’ attitude to minorities, expecting applause, and it is almost as if tolerance does not imply begrudgingly putting up with people you would rather not have in your country but cannot avoid. Tolerance does not call for anti-racism."

I must admit that I'm genuinely shocked that I'm seeing people claim that systemic racism doesn't exist. The idea that our society, which was never built to support those from countries which we took over, fundamentally treats everyone equally is quite eye opening, especially given that issues such as Windrush have been so prevalent over the last few years. Granted, our issues are nowhere near as severe as what is occurring over the USA, but we're still a long way of getting to where we need to be.

This is honestly disgusting and absolutely should not happen. It's extremely disheartening and depressing that it does and that you had to experience it. I can understand completely why people would want to dismiss it and wouldn't want to go through the hassle of trying to sort it out in a legal manner. This is one area that could absolutely be addressed using pressure and changing laws to make it easier for people who've experienced this kind of racism to come forward and have the infringements on their rights dealt with. This is what I want to see too. I hate the fact that we seem to have moved backwards (in my opinion) in recent years and started to focus much more closely on colour and heritage, especially at a time when things seemed to be changing albeit slowly. I always judge people based on the content of their character and would always expect others to do the same. I think that's the least anyone can ask and people who don't do that should be called out on it. Race should be the last thing on anyone's mind. I appreciate your in-depth, nuanced post and agree wholeheartedly with many of the points you have raised. This is what I find most distasteful about most of the BLM activists. And the rioting. And this: The fact that open Marxists are at the head of this operation has me extremely sceptical about their real intentions, and given the way the past month has gone, I find very little of what BLM has had to say actually have anything to do with improving race relations or the situation of Black people in either the UK or the US. I don't think they've got it all wrong, but I do think they're taking the wrong approach, mainly for the reasons mentioned above. I believe I can use this example because if the U.K. was a racist country, the makeup of income / relative success would likely be much different. The stats regarding crime and police brutality are widely available. If I've got it wrong, I'd be happy to be proven incorrect. The point about longer sentences may be a valid one as I see it. And something obviously needs to be done about it. Of course, all factors need to be taken into account (such as historical criminal records), but if this is the case, then pressure should be applied to the judiciary to change this. So how long should it be and what other methods do you propose we judge this by? Number of BAME people in government? Number of BAME people in high positions? In the Police? In the media? Should it be more than the proportional percentage of population numbers? The same? Is having fewer BAME people in such positions evidence of systematic racism? Focusing on ethnicity before anything else, such as ability, ideas and intelligence doesn't seem all too smart to me. Progress is being made, this is undeniable. Is it too slow? How can we make it faster in a practical way? Changing your behaviour or thinking is far too loose of a method, in my opinion. I could think of some practical solutions, but I'll maybe post them later as I'd need to properly sit down and think about them more deeply. Where did I declare that racism was solved? I clearly said racism still exists, and it does, but that institutional or systematic racism doesn't in America and Britain. So if we can't discuss issues, how will we solve them? It seems to me that some people have decided "racism" is to blame for all society's ills. Growing up without a father IS a cultural problem. It's also a problem that affects Black communities in the UK and US more than any other community. I hate to break this down to skin colour because I don't believe it's a "skin" issue, it's a cultural problem, which also affects whites and other minorities. So please, hold off on labelling me as a racist, because I most certainly am not. Who do you think has the biggest issue with policing? Is it a real issue or perceived? Do we have any evidence for it? I believe it's perceived, but I'm again glad to be proven otherwise. If you finish school, work hard and don't have kids before you get married, you will be able to live a good life. This is true for all races. Again, much more difficult if you're coming from a working class background, but in no way is it impossible. The American Dream does not just mean being super rich, it also means being able to live your own life in the way you choose, free from government interference. Of course they do have such laws, but these are new democracies that haven't had the time to develop as ours and the US's have. Corruption still exists in many structures of government and law enforcement in these countries, especially in Hungary. I think this chart is quite telling (only shows Poland and Hungary) https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/03/14/around-the-world-more-say-immigrants-are-a-strength-than-a-burden/ So while these countries have "Western" law and democracy, attitudes are still a long way behind the West. It could be argued that this makes situations like those @Animal experienced far more common. In addition, as these countries are much more mono-ethnic than the UK or US, victims of racism are, I would argue, more unlikely to find any social or public support, even if the discrimination happens at an institutional level. Latvia, for example, where I live, discriminates openly between citizens and non-citizens. Both of these groups happen to be white (ethnic Latvian and ethnic Russian). For an ethnic Russian to get citizenship, even if they were born in Latvia before 1991, they must pass a language test, a history test and swear allegiance to Latvia. Without citizenship, they are not entitled to work in government positions, not entitled to certain benefits and cannot travel abroad outside the EU, Russia and a handful of other countries. This is systemic racism (maybe discrimination is more apt) in my view as there are quite clearly two systems for two different types of people. And this is in modern day Europe. Is it ignored because the victims of this system are white? Who knows. However, from the other side of the coin, Latvia is a relatively new democracy with an extremely brutal and troubled past where Russian communists occupied the country for almost 50 years. It makes sense for Latvians to protect the interests of the state and to at least try and build a monolithic culture in what is a very small country, which has a sizeable minority population (30%) of a nation which was a former occupier. Ethnic Russians do have the means, funds and support available to them to assimilate if they choose to. Some do, some don't. They have three options: stay here and become citizens and enjoy all the rights afforded to Latvians, remain non-citizens and get by as best they can, or go back to Russia indefinitely, which the vast majority would rather not do as they know life in Russia would be much, much harder. The hard truth though, is that the country openly discriminates against a minority of people. I'm pleased that you had this experience, genuinely. We're all on this board because we fell in love with a Japanese titan. It's always been my dream to go there. Unfortunately, I know of other white people who have not been afforded the same luxury. In the early 90s my uncle was not allowed to marry his Japanese girlfriend as her father wouldn't allow it. He left the country permanently soon after having lived there for five years. Anecdotal, yes, but still disgusting. I also wonder how Japanese people treat ethnic Korean or Chinese people, whether they would treat them in the same way they treat a Westerner? Edit: forgot to add the part about statues and history here @will'. I'm in 100% agreement with you there.

It doesn’t sound weird at all, I’m sure there are many people for which this is bringing up similar feelings. It’s super interesting (and very sad) to hear that you put so much of what you experience to the back of your mind to the point you will say you’re lucky, then when explaining it to friends it actually shocks them the things you’ve been through. I hope that this forum is a place you feel you can open up and share these things and gain something from those of us on the other side of things to make a positive difference. I’m quite embarrassed to say my initial reaction to Black Lives Matter was all lives matter, I’m pleased that I had people around me (including here), to point me in the right direction and start taking more meaningful action on things. I agree with you completely on the historical figures thing. It’s so hard to deal with the two sides of the people in question and what the right direction to move in is. One thing I’m sure is that you can’t just erase them from history. We do need to work out the right way to frame the good things with the lessons of the bad, and hopefully use them to be an even better lesson for future generations from all backgrounds. We definitely don’t want to end up in some weird 1984 style scenario where we all pretend nothing bad has ever happened and we’re all equal to the point of having no personality or history at all.

I find this reply thing hard to use because I don't know how to separate the quotes to talk about the different parts of it nor do I know how to put this text on the top because it won't let me so I'm just going to label the points as clearly as I can for each line. This is going to be lengthy but I also believe it's important and didn't want to completely ignore the points and posts being made so if you don't want to read this, I totally get it. There's simply no offence meant to be caused by this so don't read it that I'm writing this in an angry or defensive tone because I truly ain't. Also, I'm going to try and explain myself as best as I can so forgive me if you can't understand it too well. "This is nonsense. Class, culture and work ethic have far more to do with how well you do in society, not colour." I agree and disagree with this. I think it depends entirely on where you do, it's a grey area. I don't know if you've read it before but I have genuinely worked in a place where a staff member higher up than my position treated me differently because of the colour of my skin. To be quite honest with you, even though I've said I've always had a fair chance at everything, it is quite possible that the reason why I never got the promotion to assistant manager was because of my colour (referring to "GOT YOU, YOU BLACK BASTARD" incident) mentioned above as I was quite dedicated to the job (as I am with any job- even though it was a crap job) and I was the best in my shop at selling stuff and training the staff whilst the other guy, who was white and the racist one I was talking about, who got it even admitted he wasn't as good and didn't understand why. Now I'm not saying that this is true, which is why I simply dismissed it, but I am saying it's a possibility but then it could also be a possibility that the manager wanted me to focus more on sales. I don't think there's a clear cut reason for anything but it's under a grey area and I think it's that grey area that needs to be addressed- as in I think it's the fact that there's even a possibility of it in the first place that needs to be addressed. "Institutional racism in the U.S and the U.K has been over for years. That doesn't mean that people can't be racist, and many certainly are. But compare that to the 50s. Progress is being made, and there is still a long way to go, but you can't end it in a day. I think this whole movement is going to end up having the opposite effect that it desires" I wouldn't say it was absolutely over. Is it better than the 1950s? Yes it is but that doesn't mean it's entirely over. Some parts of the country are worse than others. These things can go on in secret. You can hire a POC because of the whole "Equal Opportunities" thing to make it look official but then be treated completely different when you have the job, off-the-record. "Maybe before handing out a special day to people to make them (and white people by proxy) feel good about themselves, we should actually get to the root of the issue of poverty, be it white, black or any ethnic group. Of course that would require undoing 30 years of telling people to "just do whatever you want, screw personal responsibility", rewriting marriage and benefit laws and would most certainly be absolutely, 100% racist. Just like celebrating people because of the colour of their skin." I'm going to try and explain myself as clearly as possible but I'm afraid of coming across this the wrong way. I'll give it a shot. I totally agree that we should get to the bottom of the issue when it comes to poverty as I think it's very bad for someone to live under such conditions. However, I do think it's important to celebrate our skin colour and also different cultures because that's what makes us us. I'm not saying to celebrate my skin colour but if I were to have a different belief or culture and I had the choice in celebrating it, I don't see the harm in it because it's where you can learn. It's like I've always said, I don't want people to celebrate my colour, not because I'm not proud (because I'm White and Black Caribbean and I love it and I believe everyone should love themselves too) but because it's literally part of who I am. It's like getting a medal for being something I can't help being. However, I do 100% believe that people can learn more and grow more and I do believe that talking it out with other people about their experiences and their past and listening to them is the way forward to change their views. You won't change everybody but even if you change a few minds, that's better than changing no minds. This is why I think it's important to have things such as Black History Month or spread awareness for anti-racism. "I would say the issue you run into is having a massively wide definition of what racism is, with a huge overlap on prejudice and I’m not sure you can easily work on either of them like this. By putting power on the other side of the equation you get a clearer delineation between the two and don’t have racism being something any joker can pull up as something they’ve suffered from" This is the thing- there has to be a fine line of balance. I know several black people who don't trust white people at all because of slavery just like I know some white people who don't trust black people because of stereotypes that have been spread about such as selling drugs, being nothing but troublemakers, they all carry knives, they're on the rob, etc. I honestly think that there is racism around and it shouldn't be like that but it's going to take a very, very long time for that to be completely gone. Dare I say I won't even live to see true equality. "Wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge these differences but for that to be totally OK and not something to judge the character of your person by? If we wipe out recognition of all the differences we have we may as well all go about wearing grey suits being totally boring. At the extreme end I think it would marginalize people even more to get to a point where we just ignore all differences and consider everyone the same" This, entirely! I think it's good to acknowledge differences and be okay with that but we live in a world where people judge others very easily. For instance, I've had people ask me about racism, my encounters with it and what they could do to help. Whilst it's good that they're interested in anti-racism, as I had stated before, I can't help but feel like it's this latest fashion thing. I see hashtags floating about everywhere, especially on a few people's pages where they "jump on the latest trend" to do with changing the world (you know, like if there was suddenly a month dedicated to saving the whales, they'd set up a JustGiving page even though they've never mentioned anything about it before) and I can't help but wonder if they are authentic. I think, with something like this, it should be handled correctly. Whilst I do think Black Pound Day can be beneficial, I also do think it can create issues in diversity in such a way that people would see it as unfair and would want a day dedicating their small businesses due to their skin colour and would be seen as "handing money to someone based on them being black and not because of their skill", which I understand. The way forward, for me anyway, is to talk and to actually give a shit about their experiences. At least, for me, that's all I want. For people to listen and see I'm the same as you. I don't want special treatment. "Sorry to hear about how you feel over the past month, @Animal. Do you think the current highlighting of these issues is at least working in a positive way?" For me, honestly, it's just absolutely highlighted my skin colour more to a point where it's hit home. This sounds super weird, I know. I knew I was mixed race and that I had different skin colour and I've been through a few incidents but I've somehow always managed to put it to the back of my mind and not focus on it until now. I've actually sat down and spoke to people about racism and it's hit me hard. I remember the first time talking about it about a month ago when the protests started and it was to my friends on Xbox and we were having a talk. I remember saying "I've been lucky because I haven't really had a lot happen to me" and they wanted to know what I experienced. I started talking about it and I was halfway through it and they said "Wow, you've really been through it, haven't you?" and I remember sitting there for a silent minute and then answering "yeah and the weirdest thing is that wasn't even all of it or even the worst of it" and I carried on. After I finished, they asked me "I thought you said you were lucky?". The problem is that I could bury my head in the sand and forget this but I couldn't and I shouldn't. I agree with some things that are happening and I disagree with some things happening. It may be seen as attention-seeking, like "if it's affecting you, why talk about it on this thread/post about it sometimes/etc", but it's because it's just as hard for me to not acknowledge it as it is to dismiss it when people want to know, if that makes sense. I don't want to deny people communication because they're engaging in a dialogue with me to learn and that's a positive thing as I believe it's the way forward. So yeah, I've grown up in a white family who have treated me no different, been taught in a mostly white school where the majority haven't treated me different (it's been a handful of white kids and a black teacher who have) but it's when I left school is where it all started. I believe it's positive for people to talk about this and have different views, even if I do disagree with them. (This is NOT an attack on anyone but) a controversial thing for me is when people say "All Lives Matter" because they don't understand "Black Lives Matter" because they're not understanding the meaning behind it. Obviously some understand and hit back with "White Lives Matter" meaning it in a different way. I've had several friends who have purely seen "BLACK Lives Matter" as only black lives matter and nobody else does, which is obviously not the case. All it takes is to calmly and rationally explain to them and 9/10, they'll understand it. The problem I see, and it's common, is people are very ready to shout "RACIST" to anybody who disagrees with a view to a point where the word will lose it's proper meaning. I understand I'm in a minority here but I don't really agree with the whole Winston Churchill thing either and the removing of the statues thing. I may strongly disagree with their views back then but at the end of the day, you can't erase history. Edward Colston did make money from slave trading but he used the money to start schools and hospitals- the schools are still here today. Will parents who disagree with Colston now take their children out of the school and stop teaching about him? Also, Churchill was a man who led the country to victory in World War II and yes, he may have had racist views, but people are forgetting the era of when it was. I think to erase it and possibly not learn from it is dangerous. People would learn from this. If someone looked at a statue and saw Edward Colston, they may Google it and read up on it. Same goes for Churchill. Whether you like it or not, this country was full of men like this back then and they changed the country. "I think this is quite a common view, but imo wrong. Things were easier to ignore before because things were “fine” - now we’re talking about it and realizing everything isn’t “fine” and it’s quite difficult for a lot of people to come to terms with. All of the initiatives taking place are not about driving divisions. It’s about highlighting differences, educating people and allowing everyone to live together no matter their background or choice of life to lead. It’s very easy to say “I’m not a racist” or “I don’t see colour” or “I don’t judge you by your sexual orientation”, but actually working towards a society where these things don’t matter is not as easy as that." This is something I agree with. Whilst I understand what I have said is a bit baffling, it's also good to highlight a difference but realise that in the end, we are all the same. I might have different skin to you but I eat, drink, piss, shit, shag, breathe, speak and have thoughts and opinions just like you. The best thing everyone can do is to treat other human beings the same and base them entirely on their personality. If you hate me, hate me because you think I'm a cunt, not because of my colour. . Back to earlier stuff @Jonnas appreciate much of your response - but to clarify I was talking a bit lightly(no indians have really about faced me after finding out :p) and I had framed a lot of my post lightly conversationally to aim it towards @will' in part but also for other 'privileged white folk who feel they dont understand/see it'(as it were :p) - I imagine the bits of subtle racism both within and between ethnicities may not be something often seen/experienced by those in such a position." It's weird you say this because some of the racism I've faced has been from minorities. It's crazy how it happens. You'd think that they would be more understanding. "I don’t think anybody should be too proud of the progress that has been made on this. Personally I think if you take the 50’s as the example then the fact we’re as we are now, 70 years later, is pretty shit to be honest." It really is rubbish. The fact that it's this long is awful, especially when we're living in a world where things are more accepting now. You'd think that it would be a Hell of a lot more different to what it is now. "I think you’re just ignoring the issue. Just because we’ve got laws to stop these things doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I also think you’ve misinterpreted your data as for the most part it’s quite clear there is a huge advantage in being white in western society. It’s not about some particular race doing well, it’s about always feeling safe and having whatever opportunity you want - something white people benefit from every day." I do agree with this. As I've stated, all I really want is for people to see me as me and not as a brown person first. I don't think that will end any time soon though as I do think that there are people who will judge me for my colour before judging me as a person. Like I've stated before, I don't think (to my knowledge, at least) I've lost out due to my colour and I think I've had a fair go at most things but it's the way people are that I'd like to change. I get judged for being mixed race and because I sometimes get mistaken for being Asian, I get judged on that too. I just want people to not see a walking stereotype and to just see me. I expect everyone else feels the same way too. It's just a weird world. I totally agree with this. It's crazy how things are, isn't it? I think it's good to open dialogue and hear different views but only if they are respectful. I know people who agree and disagree with BLM and the way it's going and I respect that. If I'm honest with you, this conversation has been one of the few where there's so many different opinions but everyone is respecting it rather than shouting over each other or trying to "cancel" each other. I'm genuinely enjoying people's viewpoints, even if some do differ from mine. I genuinely do think everybody here in this discussion is coming from a good place and means well, which is such a welcome change. I agree that there isn't so much of a head start but I think everything goes back to different times. The times back then have paid for how it is now but I think change is coming. It's a slow burner but it's coming.

Inequality is also massively prevalent in white populations in the US and UK. The relative success of Asian communities shows that neither country is racist, or that they are only racist against some non-whites, which is unlikely. Again, foreign born or not, success is related to culture and attitude, not race. As I mentioned, people can be racist. If someone experiences racism through an institution, they have the law on their side for protection. As for the police being institutionally racist. Blacks are actually less likely to be killed by police, despite black males committing proportionally more crime and having more interactions with police. Such sweeping change doesn't happen overnight. I would argue these things take generations to be fully eradicated, which is unfortunate, but also human nature. It's not perfect, but Western society has made huge strides to address issues of racism and has been largely successful so far, as evidenced by the data. Compare the incomes of different races at 10 year intervals since the 50s and it will be clear that racial barriers to success have been removed. How am I ignoring the issue? I'm offering an alternative viewpoint that is backed up by the data. How exactly have I misrepresented it? If institutional racism existed, whites would clearly be at the top. This isn't the case. The issue is not race, it's a variety of other factors, which historical racism can play a role in, but not the main one. The police data from the US and UK shows that black people do not need to feel singled out by police. This is a cultural problem again, where hating and fearing the police are often values widely held among some certain minority communities. The founding idea behind the US is that with hard work and the right attitude, people can change their circumstances in a generation. This also largely rings true in the U.K. Yes, being born poor can affect your chances of success, much more than race, but anyone can still become successful or rich, regardless of skin colour. Having two parents in the household is much more important than ethnicity in defining your chance of success. Things are better than ever before. As for treatment by the police, see my earlier point. I picked an example which said class and family structure is more important than race in defining success. Being born poor is a disadvantage for anyone, but one that can be changed, again, with hard work and the right attitude. I never claimed things were perfect. The treatment of black people by police is not an anomaly. They are afforded the same treatment as anyone else. 9 unarmed black people were killed by US police in 2019. Statistically and proportionally fewer than white people. Where's the racism? No black people in the U.K were killed by police in 2019. So despite commuting a proportionally higher number of crimes, they are less likely to suffer from police brutality than any other race. Why are other races not being targeted by police if this is a problem? Again, it's a cultural issue, not a racism issue. People who are born middle class have a societal head start over working class people. A black person has gone on to be president and they statistically less chance of being killed by police. The issue is not race. Most Eastern European counties are far more racist than Western ones, socially and institutionally. Their views on immigration are 50 years behind the US and UK and the default view among many people is that non-white = bad / suspicious. Hungary and Romania have extremely huge issues with Roma people. Russian police use racial profiling to target people of Central Asian origin and society as a whole is deeply rooted in racism towards immigrants. China is an extremely racist country, especially towards Black people. This was highlighted by them being prevented from entering certain spaces and being locked down at home during the early days of COVID-19. Absolutely disgusting how they were being treated, purely for being of African origin. You've lived in Japan, how would you say you fared as a white person there? Were you afforded the same treatment as a native Japanese? I apologise for that, it was uncalled for.

Ronnie you remain the fool you always insist on being. BLM is about highlighting systemic biases. The economic system is one if the most fundamental in the world and has a clear bias. Suggesting we help blacl businesses etc. by putting money in their pockets(ie the money that makes the world go round) given they are constantly robbed and disadvantaged by the system is not a bad thing. Unless you're white and suddenly scared Black People are getting power in one of its rawest forms in society especially in a time of pretty dire global economic positions - the power of money. Can't say I expect less of you though. You basically came in here and tried to 'All Lives Matter' the convo. So I think on that front here with you I am done. Also enjoy YOU being the one who thinks he has the write to decide what black folk may or may not find condescending...rather than letting them tell you themselves... Back to earlier stuff @Jonnas appreciate much of your response - but to clarify I was talking a bit lightly(no indians have really about faced me after finding out :p) and I had framed a lot of my post lightly conversationally to aim it towards @will' in part but also for other 'privileged white folk who feel they dont understand/see it'(as it were :p) - I imagine the bits of subtle racism both within and between ethnicities may not be something often seen/experienced by those in such a position.

I think you're interpreting it all wrong/twisting the message. It's not "Buy from black people because they're special", it's "Rather than your usual habits, why not check out some black sellers/authors/suppliers etc to support the black community?". No one's forcing you to "buy black" so to speak, it's just reminding people that they're there. No, I'm saying that consciously people need to address the subconscious racism and bias that currently exists. White people have a societal head start and until a conscious shift is made, treating everyone equal won't change that. Racism isn't always a conscious process. It requires definite, conscious action to force people to rethink their habits and how it may perpetuate bias. I can't comment myself, as I've never been a black business owner. But if the black person who created it deems it necessary, I'll trust his judgement. My own opinion is that black and minority people are more likely to come from a poorer background, so may not have the same resources to set up and market a business as a white person would. By giving black and minority businesses a bit of free advertising, it could help level the playing field and bring us one step closer to actual equality. TLDR: When something is unequal, giving both sides the same treatment doesn't fix it. Redressing the balance does and in this case it means giving black and minority businesses a bit of free advertising IMO.

This is amusing. Bravely Second reaches second in the charts because of the Argos stock clearence. What's sad is that it sold three times as much as it did when it actually released. This also means it doubled its lifetime sales.

Sure, it's gotten better, but I do not think we are at the point where we can claim that it's not systematic yet. If that was the case, then the chart wouldn't be showing such a major difference. (It even says that Black people are 3 times more likely to be arrested, why is that?) I'm not even going to begin to claim that I know the answer to this, that would be foolish beyond belief. I can't even claim to understand why it happens, but there is clearly a lot of things wrong here.

Well, that's a bald-faced lie. You've been spending too much time on the Last of Us II subreddit. Those people are delusional.

I think it can exist but maybe it's not as bad here as it is in other countries. Like I stated, I think "officially" it may not exist using the Equal Opportunities form but being hired to avoid trouble because of your skin colour and to add to the diversity count within a company is another thing and it's not even with white people either. There are people about who truly do not trust others outside of their colour/race and is more seen as a threat and that's honestly kind of terrifying. I think it does exist because you can find other people who will think the same way. Most friends will find something to have in common. I would hang out with mainly geeky people and I would see it as normal. Racists can find the same thing too. When you hear a racist talk, the way they are against you and how they judge you, it's so normal to them. I do think it exists but maybe not as massively as it does in the U.S. Honestly, this. Like, it's starting to become a thing for me where I feel a little...annoyed? It's great that people are finally wanting to do something but this falls back on what I originally said: I would want to get a job fairly from my "ability, ideas and intelligence" but I don't want to use my skin colour as an advantage because it's not. It just so happens that the colour of my skin is brown. Same can be said for white people. I would want them to get the job fairly judging from their "ability, ideas and intelligence" but I wouldn't want them to use their skin colour as an advantage. I'm not asking people to "not see colour", I'm asking people to not judge me from it and give me extra benefits from it. My skin is not a Morrisons More card.

No harm done, I should have explained myself more clearly.

Yeah, it's so weird. It's like I never actually sat down and thought about it properly before until very recently. I was talking to them and I was like constantly saying "Oh and there was this other time when..." and "Oh yeah, then there was this time when..." and I kept remembering more stuff. It was like a box in my head just suddenly opened and I sat there like "Oh shit, this is a lot, really". I actually really like this place. Everywhere I talk, whether it's social media or in real life, people are very quick to jump and defend and you find yourself saying "It's not an argument, it's an open dialogue" but you can tell by their tone that they're so fast to be offended and they feel the need to defend. But here, I do actually feel like it's very different and I'm actually grateful for that. Like even with BLM, I was talking to one of my white friends about it and he was wondering if I was going to the BLM march and I said "No because Covid is a thing and I honestly don't think it would solve anything at this current moment in time" and he was saying stuff like "You, of all people, should be going!" and basically preaching to me how I should be marching alongside him for change and stuff, basically making me feel bad and I'm like "Look, there needs to be a unifier, a spokesperson with a clear message on how to change things and there isn't one. There's no Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, who lead peaceful marches. This is just holding a banner saying Black Lives Matter with, let's face it, what feels like people are doing it because it's different, because they've spent months cooped up in their house with nobody to interact with and it's a day trip. No doubt there's people there for genuine reasons but you'll find that people marching will be like "We want change!" and when they get asked how they could do it, they're stumped. Also, I haven't stayed indoors for months to then go out and risk my health alongside people who may not follow social distancing" and then he just carried on by saying I should fully support it and commit to marches. We also had a big disagreement with Bo Selecta and Little Britain. He didn't understand why I wasn't offended. I'm like "Humour is subjective and it was different 20 years ago to what it is now. For me, I like humour that takes the piss out of stereotypes. I like White Chicks too, why is nobody mad about that? I'm not offended at all. Bo Selecta is taking the piss out of celebrities, there are black celebrities. If they were black, how can he portray them as a white, ginger man? In that respect, I don't completely understand why he should feel like he has to apologise. With Little Britain, they took the piss out of absolutely everybody including the lower class, fat people, etc. I'm not offended at all." and he said "Well, I'll be offended for you", which is my absolute pet hate. I know people will say he means well but it pissed me off because it made me feel like I can't have a brain or an opinion of my own or something. I think it's getting out of hand a little, for me. A couple of my friends say "All Lives Matter, including Black Lives" and for me, I honestly feel that's fine. People tend to disagree with me on this but it's purely because they're being equal. They don't dismiss anything that has happened and they want a change too. I think, for me, it's about listening to other people's perspective on things. If they come from a good place, I'm all for it. If they started arguing saying "We have it bad too" and "This is false" and stuff, then I can see there's a problem and it's their choice whether they'd want to discuss it or not. But even like you've said, people pointed you in the right direction through discussion, showing that dialogue can change people's minds, which is something I think would be far more effective than defacing and destroying statues. Exactly. There's good and bad in history but no matter what, it's history and we are here, in the place we are now, because of history. Are we going to stop learning about Henry VIII for his sexist attitudes towards women because he killed two of his wives for being bored of them? No! Are we going to stop learning about Adolf Hitler because of the stuff he done? No! Shit rolled like that back then and it's important for us to learn about how everything had happened, why it happened, how lives were lived back then, etc. I think shaping and changing the future is one thing but to try and change history is another and can be dangerous.

I'm not sure when I'll ever get around to giving it a proper go but I've ordered Bravely Second from Argos for £2.49 It would have been rude not to at that price!

Isn't personal abuse against the forum rules? Can't say I'm surprised it's coming from you. Right back at you. Unfortunately I don't have a the phone numbers of every black person in the world for them to tell me themselves. All I can do is suggest arguments (not tell) as part of a debate, on a message board, meant for discussion and to be a talking point. Who'd have thought. From my own personal experience if someone started a "give some money to businesses run by gay people, they could use the extra help" I would feel patronised. I'm not one of these people who likes to be treated as different and special, but I guess some do. I'll try and sleep easily tonight.

Daisy selling for 90. Let me know if you want me to open.

I definitely see your point here. I would say the issue you run into is having a massively wide definition of what racism is, with a huge overlap on prejudice and I’m not sure you can easily work on either of them like this. By putting power on the other side of the equation you get a clearer delineation between the two and don’t have racism being something any joker can pull up as something they’ve suffered from. This part I don’t think is as valid. On each point: “it doesn't address racism between minorities” - it does, it just defines it as prejudices rather than racism. “we don't need a hierarchy of "Which race has power, in which order?"” - Definitely not, you just need to know who has historical power and continues to benefit from it - it isn’t any of the minorities. “It also promotes the "trap" that minorities can act nasty towards the majority, despite that being a very bad idea for discourse in general” - How exactly does it do that? It’s not saying that all other abuse and prejudice is fine apart from this specific part of it we call racism. It’s all wrong, including this specific part we define as racism. Wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge these differences but for that to be totally OK and not something to judge the character of your person by? If we wipe out recognition of all the differences we have we may as well all go about wearing grey suits being totally boring. At the extreme end I think it would marginalize people even more to get to a point where we just ignore all differences and consider everyone the same. Sorry to hear about how you feel over the past month, @Animal. Do you think the current highlighting of these issues is at least working in a positive way? I think this is quite a common view, but imo wrong. Things were easier to ignore before because things were “fine” - now we’re talking about it and realizing everything isn’t “fine” and it’s quite difficult for a lot of people to come to terms with. All of the initiatives taking place are not about driving divisions. It’s about highlighting differences, educating people and allowing everyone to live together no matter their background or choice of life to lead. It’s very easy to say “I’m not a racist” or “I don’t see colour” or “I don’t judge you by your sexual orientation”, but actually working towards a society where these things don’t matter is not as easy as that. I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said on the topic. I hope more people are starting to think like you after the events of recent months.

This is nonsense. Class, culture and work ethic have far more to do with how well you do in society, not colour. Asians earn more per capita than any other race in the USA, with those of Indian heritage topping all other ethnic groups. So saying white people have a head start is bollocks. The same is true in the UK https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/pay-and-income/household-income/latest Institutional racism in the U.S and the U.K has been over for years. That doesn't mean that people can't be racist, and many certainly are. But compare that to the 50s. Progress is being made, and there is still a long way to go, but you can't end it in a day. I think this whole movement is going to end up having the opposite effect that it desires. The main problem, as I see it, lies in culture, and I'm not referring specifically to "black" culture here. The link between being raised in a single parent home, regardless of race, is one of the biggest factors in determining success in life. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/demographics/families-and-households/latest No surprise that those high-earning British Asians have the lowest rates of lone parenthood. Black Brits have the highest. Ask yourself who's more likely to be successful - a hard-working black female from a middle-class two parent family, or a weed-smoking lazy white boy from a rough London council estate whose father's gone AWOL? Race doesn't even come into it. Maybe before handing out a special day to people to make them (and white people by proxy) feel good about themselves, we should actually get to the root of the issue of poverty, be it white, black or any ethnic group. Of course that would require undoing 30 years of telling people to "just do whatever you want, screw personal responsibility", rewriting marriage and benefit laws and would most certainly be absolutely, 100% racist. Just like celebrating people because of the colour of their skin. Britain is not a racist country and neither is America. Being treated equally, regardless of background, is enshrined in law. A conscious shift does not need to be made because the data shows that "white people" do not have a head start. If you want to see real institutional racism, real police brutality and real oppression of certain groups, go to pretty much any other country on earth.

Power/prominence in society affects how strong one's racism/prejudice can be once they engage in it. There is a difference between white people thinking black people are untrustworthy and, say, Indian people thinking the same: when looking for jobs, there is a strong likelihood your potential boss and/or workplace is predominantly white, and whatever preconceived view white people have of you will influence that relationship. White people's prejudice costing a minority a job is a more likely event than Indian people's prejudice costing that same minority a job, if only because white people are more common. On the other side of the spectrum, whatever prejudices Indian people have against white people are unlikely to affect their ability to find jobs. In the end, "power" is just an indicator of how much one's racism harms people, not on whether it exists or not. The issue with thinking that you need power to be racist, is that it doesn't address racism between minorities (and it's troublesome if it does: we don't need a hierarchy of "Which race has power, in which order?"). It also promotes the "trap" that minorities can act nasty towards the majority, despite that being a very bad idea for discourse in general (I remember Anita Sarkeesian using the argument to justify her own sexist remarks against men). I think you're overestimating how much of a boon a day makes. Unless black people get the day off work or something, these are usually just a marketing and/or awareness thing. What I do know is that things like Pride Month and Black History Month have encouraged a few youtube channels I follow to make videos focusing on queer and African-focused topics on those respective dates. If those months weren't around, maybe they wouldn't prioritise those topics. If having a celebratory month encourages people to talk and learn more about a neglected demographic and/or sub-culture, I think the impact is more positive than not. Just saying, I don't think Father's Day has brought division between fathers and non-fathers. It's only meant to promote fatherhood, and discussions on what that means or entails.

One single black person has gone on to be president but it doesn't mean black people have the same chance to become president. There are so many factors that will prevent many black people from ever even becoming a candidate. Also you are separating race from class when they are fact intertwined. If you are born into a black family you are less likely to even be middle class, and the way it's set up it's almost impossible for black people to be "upper" class aristocracy in this country. You say this country is not institutionally racist when it certainly is. Hereditary peers in the House of Lords for instance, are mostly white and pass on their positions to white children. Have to agree with you here, I was extremely shocked too to see anyone believing that. Mark my words there will be another scandal before long showing just how "dead" institutional racism really is.

"paste as plain text instead"

Played through Sleeping Dogs again. I think its easily the best GTA-style game. The world looks great. the plot keeps exciting throughout it all and there are lots of interesting side missions. The focus on fighting makes everything feel more personal, lots of moves and combos. Only having one gun at a time (and not being able to keep bigger guns) means that the gun sections stand out so the game doesn't turn into mindless shooting. It's a shame there were never any more.

Proof that the bad guy AI in ACNH is better than in COD: https://twitter.com/TwitDisser/status/1277317212437491712?s=20

Uhhhh... Am I missing something? Because I see a massive gap between the Black catagory and everything else? Especially in the stop and search chart.

F1 2020 Predictions Game!! So let’s give this a try with the announced eight races of the championship. To make your predictions go here: Predictions Game Guide: Select the Pole Sitter, Fastest Lap Driver and Top 5 Finishers for each race Select the Top Three in the Drivers and Constructors Championship Guess a few fun tie breakers Points: Correct Pole Sitter - 10 points Correct Fastest Lap Driver - 10 points Correct Top 5 driver selected - 5 points Correct Top 5 driver selected in correct position - points they score (as well as the 5 points originally earned) Select the winner in the winners position and you’ll get 25 + 5 = 30 points Drivers championship predictions 1st: 50 points, 2nd: 30 points, 3rd: 15 points Constructors championship predictions 1st: 50 points, 2nd: 30 points, 3rd: 15 points Tie breaker questions - 20 points for the correct answer, 10 points for the closest answer These will count to the total scores regardless of whether the others are a tie If there is any feedback let me know and I’ll clarify or tweak the rules.

OH! Okay, that would've made my life a thousand times easier, haha. I was like "WHY CAN'T I SEPARATE THEM?!" and getting so mad, lmao. I'm too used to the reply boxes from before! Thanks for telling me!

If you select/highlight the bit you want to quote, there should be a small popup that says "Quote this"

Yeah it's funny he mentioned that, and you posted this here today.. because I just bought some new turnips.. And found out I forgot to sell a bunch. It's not even the first time..

I can come over in about 15 minutes or so.

And what about black people? You think white people don't have a societal head start over black people? You think black people have the same chance of going on to earn as much money as white people given they are more likely to be born into more deprived areas? Same chance to go on to be Prime Minister or President? Same chance to not be killed by police?

I’ve seen the first episode and thought it was great, going to watch the second episode today and come back on here with some comments. My main takeaways so far are they it highlights society in general in a very interesting way, in that nobody sees themselves as a racist and does try to be equal, all while enjoying the benefits that their (white) race brings to them. Really looking forward to the next episode.

Asians in the US also have the highest level of inequality, with most of the wealth seeming to come from foreign born immigrants rather than Americans, (Source). In the UK there seems to be some level of the same thing though less pronounced. In either case the success of one race does not remove the benefit of being white. There is still a level of inequality in both societies that needs to be addressed. An institution is just a collection of people. If enough members of an institution are racist then that institution will be racist too. I think there has been quite a lot of news about the American police recently that would attest to this. You don’t have to have a written agenda of racism for an institution to not be racist. Even just continuing to benefit from previous racist policies should be seen as not doing enough to address the balance. I don’t think anybody should be too proud of the progress that has been made on this. Personally I think if you take the 50’s as the example then the fact we’re as we are now, 70 years later, is pretty shit to be honest. It’s definitely a huge problem, but who’s most likely to be in the worse situation? The histories of each race in Britain are very different and lead to very different positions in society in the present. If we truly had equality then none of these differences would exist. I think you’re just ignoring the issue. Just because we’ve got laws to stop these things doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I also think you’ve misinterpreted your data as for the most part it’s quite clear there is a huge advantage in being white in western society. It’s not about some particular race doing well, it’s about always feeling safe and having whatever opportunity you want - something white people benefit from every day. Which countries would you recommend? I completely agree with the point, just interested who you’d put up as examples.

But why? Why would I do that? I get that it's an optional thing, but it just seems pointless at best, counter-productive at worst. (I'd typed out the above before reading the rest of your post which goes into more detail, still not convinced but I can see your argument more now. I get what you're saying about it helping (potentially) less well off businesses but that seems a separate issue to me.) I can understand that but I don't think moves like Black Pound Day are the way to do that, and whilst I obviously can't speak to it myself, I can imagine many would find it pretty patronising and made to feel like a charity case. It's the same way when I pass by a sign at the local bank that says "we support the LGBTQARFFS+ community" I feel patronised. But again, unpopular opinion I'm sure, I think a lot of people these days want to be made to feel special, social media has a big part to play in that. Exactly. There hasn't been this much of a racial divide in decades. The sides feel like polar opposites right now and that's just sad, and I find it's being perpetuated on a daily basis with things like this that are frankly dripping with virtue signalling a lot of the time. Maybe not the creator of Black Pound Day but people like Etsy sending out emails telling people to buy stuff from black creators and the like. A lot of it just feels fake to me, which doesn't help. @Goafer will I'm sure say that this heightened division is a necessary step for long term equality but I just don't see it. I think things were organically getting there before all this blew up. Yes systemic racism in the US police is a big problem, hence black lives matter, but all the stuff on the periphery is doing more harm than good imo. Good to know! Your friend sounds like a smart guy.

And this is exactly how I feel about the whole situation right now with everyone making up different things. At the very core of it, I don't want people to see my skin colour as different and to not have a constant reminder that it is. Quite honestly, this past month or so has made me feel more different than ever before and honestly, it's depressed me a little because I've thought back on a lot of stuff that's happened to me over the years and realised how much people see my colour before seeing me. It's genuinely put me a little on a downer, which is not like me. (Also, by the way, one of my best friends who is a gay man hates Pride month with a passion because he finds it cheesy and, in his words, "overly stereotypical" so you're not alone). I am so torn with the whole Black Pound Day thing because I find myself agreeing with everyone's point. Personally, I find Black History Month and "Black Pound Day" to be two different things (although I haven't heard an awful lot about Black History Month in recent years). As @Ronnie has stated, one is educational and can be used to teach people and it would surely make more sense to have Black Pound Day in Black History Month (although I've just heard it's supposed to be happening on the 27th of every month?). Although I think it's great that local and small businesses would be getting exposure, I can't help but feel it's almost like it's out of pity because of what's going on or charity to make others feel good about themselves as opposed to helping a small organisation owned by a minority. I like the fact that people are starting to become more interested in anti-racism, of course I do, but the thing I fear (and the thing that has already happened) is that it's more of a fashion thing than anything. I mean, look at "how you participate" in Black Pound Day. You buy from the business, post a picture of the purchase on social media and hashtag "Black Pound Day". Whilst I understand that social media is made to share and spread the word and can help the business, I can't help but feel when I read about hashtags and stuff that it feels very much like a fad. It feels like one of those posts that says "Like if you're not a racist" or something. Maybe I've been reading too much into it or what have you but I just can't help but feel like it. I do also agree with @Goafer where he said about checking out black authors and such to support the community because I do believe it's important to get everybody's perspectives on different lives and how people feel. I'm not saying I'm against the whole "look for a black business" thing but I am against someone buying from them purely because they're black, if that makes sense. I don't know what to think. What I do know is that you're both coming at this from a good place, which genuinely makes me happy.

Absolutely hilarious! I love it so much. I've seen it countless times along with Only Fools and Horses. I love Harry Enfield and Chums. My favourites were always the randy old ladies and Wayne and Waynetta. Oh and the rich Brummies.

Black history month is at least educational and Mother's/Father's day isn't remotely the same situation as "hey, buy from black people because let's treat them as special and different from the rest of us for this one day", and I hope you can appreciate that. So you're saying that subconsciously teaching people to treat black people differently is the way forward? And that highlighting that division by shining a spotlight on the fact that black people are different is a good thing? I couldn't disagree more. We're supposed to be breaking down barriers, not putting them up. So you're saying that these so called "minority businesses" need help? Bit of a generalisation. It's tricky because I can obviously see the benefit of educational things like this. From my personal pov, I'm gay and I find the whole Pride month thing a bit embarrassing but I appreciate that's an unpopular opinion. I wish gay people would just be treated the same way as straight people in this country, and to not constantly be reminded that gay people are considered different. But I still consider the above months you mention to be different than "Hey give a few quid to black people on this day" like they're some kind of charity.

Really great fun! Thanks everyone. I was robbed on the best outfit round though. I donated 25k. Shame it doesn’t actually tell you who did and what amount.

Thanks again @BowserBasher + @Glen-i

The Retro Game Show N-E Partay was a great success! Pictured from left to right are: @Katie, @Ronnie, @RedShell, me, @BowserBasher and @Tales. Congratulations to @BowserBasher for winning the star prize! But in the end, aren't we all winners? Well, no. @BowserBasher got the 99,000 Bells. But hey, at least @Katie got a brand new car....d!

It's weird because I didn't actually know this was a thing until I saw it on here. I'm in two views about it but mostly leaning on it being kind of counter-productive. Whilst I think it's a positive thing, as @Goafer indicated, I can also see @Ronnie's point of view too. Obviously it would be great for businesses to have a bit of a boost BUT I wouldn't want anyone to hire me as a Personal Trainer purely based on my skin colour, I personally don't think that would be productive to what I want out of this world. I would rather them hire me because they want to, I'd want them to hire me because they may see my results and see that I'm capable and skilled in that area and I could possibly make an impact in their lives. I don't know, it just feels a little bit like people are participating in it to feel good about themselves rather than doing it because it would benefit them (if that makes sense...I really am trying to word this as best as I can). Basically, I just want to be treated equally by everyone with no special treatments. If a white/Asian/Indian/Chinese/Japanese man was better than me at doing my job, I'd fully expect you to go to him. I do think the same thing as @Ronnie in the respect that this whole thing can cause more division, which is honestly something I said could possibly happen since the protests happened here. Hopefully I made a bit of sense, lmao.

It's highlighting black businesses and encouraging people to explore different options. How can that possibly be a bad thing? No one is forcing you to. It's like a "community highlight" day, highlighting options you may not have considered.

Somebody REALLY wants to make sure that Just Dance doesn’t get to commandeer the title of Last Ever Wii Game!

Here's the craziest thing: they did. It wasn't the first time I've had incidents like that. The manager, admittedly, was a one-off but she stood up for me when a customer started being racist towards me when a guy came in saying he didn't want to be served by my kind and didn't even want to acknowledge me. She said that if I wasn't good enough, nobody else in the store was and he would stand in the queue and wait until someone served him but then was about to leave. Before he left though, the guy demanded head office's number to file a complaint about the shop. The manager denied him the number and told him to find it himself but the assistant manager, standing next to her, overrode that and gave it to him (but she didn't really like me anyway). The worst I had in the shop was the supervisor that I worked alongside of. He was terrible. He used to come out with nasty things like he would line Muslims up and shoot them, he thought black people and white people should stick to their own, nicknamed me Sandy (which I never understood until much later) and was saying how black people are unattractive. I mean, don't get me wrong when I say I did nothing previously, we had words. I even pointed out that I couldn't believe he was saying this stuff to me, of all people, and he was like "Nah, you're alright, you're one of the good ones" and I'm like "Oh wow, thanks(!)" but the sarcasm wasn't detected. One day I just completely snapped and grabbed him by the throat and threatened him because it got bad and told him about himself. I'm really not at all a violent person but he got to me badly. He apologised then and even apologised later. Thinking back now, I should've reported him but then what evidence did I have? Only one other person saw this happen and one other person knew he was the way he was and she was Black too but she shrugged it off because she didn't see how bad he got. Sounds weird but he isn't actually a terrible person- he's just completely uneducated when it comes to stuff like that (but then I suppose most racists are). We both say hello when I go into the shop and stuff but very recently, I didn't actually acknowledge how really bad it was until now. Don't forget, this was only 5 years ago as well. At the same time that happened, I had a bit of a racist incident happen in a card and gift shop. My two friends worked there as the manager and assistant at the time and I applied for a job as I had worked for the company previously. She came out and said something along the lines of "I had to keep my eye on you, I thought you'd rob the place because...well..." and then looked at me. Now, bear in mind, that I was wearing a smart shirt, smart trousers, hair was neat and black shoes as I had been trying to look for another job (funnily enough to get out of the one above) and I was acting completely normal so because my mind was already insinuating everything, I left it. My manager friend insisted I went out with him to the shops so I did and he said "I just witnessed everything she has said just now. Do you want me to report it?" and I said "I wasn't sure if I was being a bit sensitive" and he said "No way, we don't condone that. Do you want to take it further?" and I said I did because I was genuinely disgusted. Anyway, after about a week, she spun the tale of we all tried to get her out so I could have her job and two other members of staff WHO WEREN'T THERE backed her up and then put in a complaint about my friends over something completely different and turned out to be false. So what happened was my friends, doing the right thing, got warnings for something completely different that turned out to be false, and the girl, who said that to me, got nothing and is actually still at her job to this day. I phoned up head office asking if the matter had been resolved and all I got was "It has been handled, we can't tell you what has happened". As a stand on principle, I've never gone into the shop again because I'm not supporting a company who would brush it over so easily. It's weird because over the last 10 years, I've faced it an awful lot and just never clicked on to how much I've seen it. I've had little incidents and then I've had blatant incidents. Even my mindset has changed. Like, I went through a moment where, because of the forms and had nothing to tick, I considered myself as White even though I knew I wasn't. It wasn't until I was older where I thought "Why should I only tick this box when it's not who I am? Why am I even thinking like this?" and ticked them both. I'm obviously mixed race, I knew I was mixed race, but because of my friends always telling me they never saw me as brown and thought of me as white (not in a nasty way), I kind of started believing it. Sounds so strange now I say it but it's true. But I think it was due to the fact I never really had a connection to my mother's side of the family and the fact I grew up in a predominantly white area that I never even saw myself as that. I call myself mixed race now though because it's been brought to light so many times over the last near-10 years.

That’s crazy, can’t believe there are people (both the manager and the other staff) with so little awareness of what they’re saying. In Singapore, this goes a step further and is actually part of your official documentation. It then plays into things such as houses you want to buy and other general life things that they decide what you are entitled to based on the race you have documented. I recently registered a child and put their race as “mixed” which was incorrect as that does not exist in their system, you have to pick from 5 or 6 very specific ones they have available with no flexibility. Really annoyed me! I think you’re right in very general terms - it does seem quite unworkable to have a particular word that is OK for one group of people to use and be completely unthinkable for another group. There has to be some consistency in how words can be used even just looking at it from a historical recording perspective. When it comes to this word and the connotations behind it that’s something very difficult to do. I actually quite liked that as a definition. The people in the US/UK who say white people suffer from racism too always sounded a bit ridiculous to me but I didn’t have a good way to say exactly why. Looking at it from this angle gives a good way to see it imo. Living in Asia there are always people defining me by my whiteness in a very casual way that if said to a black person elsewhere I would definitely consider to be racism. The difference is that they hold no power over me and nothing in my life could even come close to being impacted by it. It’s stupid, but it doesn’t make me think I have a reason to say I’ve been racially abused.

This is Mr. Sproukurai. Yes, I returned! And with a rather pleasing result, as far as my personal wishes are concerned.Which are also apparently Mr. Yabuki's wishes. I still remember how he absolutely styled on the winner of the ARMS Open Invitational as Min Min at E3 a few years ago, and I'm glad to hear he's still fond of the character to the point where he would tell Sakurai to use her for Smash. As thankful as I am, I still probably wouldn't eat any noodles he's been swimming around in, though... Anyway, it's a little late, but as promised, it's time for some self reflection on those predictions I made. @Glen-i has apparently already delivered judgement, but I figured I'd still offer my input. It's been a while since you've had to suffer a lengthy post of mine, so, enjoy? Or don't. Read what ya wanna read, pal. Fighter Prediction Results: Win Win! As expected, the first three alternate colours are the same alternate colours she uses in ARMS. Win Win! This was actually the main reason why I thought there would only be one fighter from ARMS. Whilst they all look like they perform the same, each fighter has their own unique traits, and as strong as the cast of ARMS is, it would have been a shame to strip them of their abilities just to cram more of them in. That being said, I admittedly expected the dragon transformation to last for as long as she isn't hit, rather than it having what I assume to be some sort of time limit. Not a completely faithful implementation, but I'll chalk it up to balance reasons. Win Win! I actually didn't expect you to be able to change ARMS on the fly, but to use specific ARMS for specific moves (I did expect the left ARM to always be the Dragon ARM, however, because she needed an ARM that could feasibly hold onto items or ledges at all times). Whilst everyone in ARMS is capable of using any of the ARMS, in my view the signature ARMS are part of that character. Min Mixed. It looks like Glen-i considered this correct, but that's because he misread "charge" as "change". In ARMS, players can charge their ARMS in order to power them up and add additional attributes to them for a few seconds. However, in Smash, these charged punches only appear in Min Min's forward smash attack and attacks from her Dragon ARM when her left arm is transformed.So whilst charged punches are in the game, they aren't quite as heavily implemented as I anticipated. Min Mixed. I'm being rather generous by saying it was mixed considering I was mostly off the mark, but I was at least correct that Rush is used. Just as a Final Smash instead with no Rush Gauge involved. It's somewhat of a shame, but considering the trade-off was having access to three variations of several attacks at any time, I think I'll survive. Giving her access to what would essentially be almost like a second Final Smash arguably would have been a bit much in hindsight. Mino No... I thought that this was such a certainty because you can grab both on the ground and in the air in ARMS, but instead it's just her regular grab (with comparatively shorter reach). Min Mixed. Again, I consider myself being rather generous here. Firing her Dragon ARM laser is possible with standard special, but she can do so much more. And unlike my claim, she fully extends her arm before the laser fires. I'm not even really sure the laser counts as a projectile, since you probably can't reflect it. Mino No... Whilst I knew a tether recovery for the up special was a very real possibility, I was somewhat hoping they'd go a different route considering two DLC fighters already make use of tether recoveries.That said, I like that the up special is different when used on the ground. It could prove useful to follow enemies extremely high up in the air. As a side note, I did somehow guess Ganondorf getting a new chest cavity. I guess Min Min prefers Ganondorf's Twilight Princess look. Min Mixed. Well it is a Rush attack, and it is cinematic, but there's no Hedlok involved. After further thought, Hedlok would probably be better suited were it in a Final Smash for Max Brass or Dr. Coyle instead. In any case, with six other ARMS fighters joining the action for this Final Smash I guess you could say that seven heads and 14 ARMS are better than two heads and 6 ARMS. I know it might look strange but I assure you that the numbers there are correct. Win Win! By the way, as I was trying to speak about an ARMS fighter in a general sense, I didn't really to go into specifics about how I thought Min Min's kicks would come into play, but the upward and downward attacks, as well as dash attack, were about what I expected. The Street Fighter styled tap or hold for different versions of jab attack came as a nice surprise, though. Kinda wish they implemented that into her forward and back air attacks as well, in order to include additional kick attacks directly from ARMS, with the forward air kick being a meteor smash like Snake's. Win Win! It bears repeating, but having three different versions of several moves, each with their own unique trajectories is pretty impressive. You can kind of understand how it took them so long to complete development of this fighter. Win Win! Well, not so much a win win if you're a Belmont... By the way, did you know that if you hit a wall with one of the Belmont whip attacks, that the whip will flail against the wall and it's hitbox will be cancelled, causing it to deal no damage at all? The whip was probably made that way so that you couldn't attack through walls, but for the whip to deal no damage as a result is somewhat tragic. Luckily for Min Min, she likely won't have this problem. Win Win! Doesn't appear to be quite as quick as when holding the Daybreak, but you can certainly walk and jump, just like in ARMS. Generally speaking, they've done a very good job of implementing most of the core mechanics of ARMS into Smash. Win Win! I certainly wasn't expecting that she'd be able to punch in both left and right directions, so that's a happy case of going beyond my expectations. With this, Min Min can cover the entire length of Final Destination with her punches! Min Mixed. Ahh, my win win streak is over. It looks like Glen-i said I was wrong on this one, but I'd argue that that isn't completely accurate. Whilst you can't disable Min Min's ARMS, what remains true is that it appears that Min Min won't be hurt if you hit her ARMS whilst she's extending them. So if you space your attacks well, you'll be safe from harm. I thought that disabling ARMS would be implemented as a way to balance the fighter's long reach in order to stop it from being too safe, but I guess they didn't see the need to go that far. Stage/Music Prediction Results: This is not the stage I chose personally. Mino No... Spring Stadium was my second choice, but I was a big fan of Sky Arena's aesthetic, and I figured Spring Stadium would end up being too similar to Boxing Ring. The reason for thinking that way is that I assumed that the ARMS stage would have more of a literal adaptation in Smash, and that's because I have the imagination of a brick. Luckily for everyone, I am not working on Smash, and my first impressions of this adaptation of Spring Stadium are pretty solid. I'm looking forward to giving it a try. Min Mixed. Correct that the ARMS Drone would appear to drop items, and that you could attack it to make it release said items, just wrong about the items being specifically from ARMS. Perhaps it's for the best... the thought of Isabelle being able to pocket a Fire or Shock Bomb is scary... Mino No... I'm honestly surprised that this wasn't the case, considering every single DLC stage prior to this one had these sort of cameos. They even have the models for some of them in Min Min's Final Smash! They may appear on a monitor in the background, but I was expecting a bit more than that. At least the stadium is packed full of supporters. If you look closely, you'll see they even have the Smash logo on their shirts. Win Win! Music from every stage in ARMS (including a couple of "boss" tracks that play when fighting on Sky Arena in Grand Prix mode), as well as the main theme, with only a couple of remixed tracks. Unlike my prediction about background cameos, this safe bet was actually in my favour. Misc Prediction Results: Mino No... Whilst I feel a little sorry that Biff was left out, with the way that the trailer played out, his commentary would have probably been detrimental to it, so I'm glad to have been wrong on this one. And speaking of the trailer, it sure was a great one! I'd put it up there with Robin's & Lucina's trailer for Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. There's something about having both a character a lot of people are expecting to join Smash getting snubbed and the presence of Captain Falcon being... well, Captain Falcon, that seems to be a winning combination for Smash trailers, and I for one am all for it. Min Mixed. More amiibo confirmed to be coming is great (except for your wallet), but it was explicitly stated that there's no guarantee that all remaining DLC fighters will receive amiibo. I do hope all four heroes are announced at somepoint, instead of just the one we saw today. Just think of how tiny Munchie would look! ...I wonder how problematic Min Min's ARMS will be if she gets an amiibo. Win Win! I'm Team Marie, so naturally Marie of the Squid Sisters was one of the characters I wanted in Ultimate. I pictured her with a moveset centred around Splat Chargers (with the occasional appearance of the Splat Brella perhaps), but her chance as a fighter has clearly come and gone (if she ever had a chance to begin with, that is). If there's another Smash game in the future, we'll have to see how the future of Splatoon is developing at the time when considering any newcomers from that series. In anycase, unless you're a fan of Heihachi, it looks like fans of third party franchises can collectively breath a sigh of relief for now! ...But there's five more Challenger Packs to go and a rogue Spirit Event could happen at any time. ----- So there we have it. It seems like I don't have what it takes to try and lie my way into looking like a reputable Smash Bros. leaker for five minutes of internet fame, but at least it appears I was fairly on the money in regards to how a fighter from ARMS would function in Smash. I feel like I may be patting myself on the back a bit much here, but oh well. ARMS was a game I enjoyed playing during the Switch's launch year, so I took quite an interest in pondering how someone from this game would function when the Smash announcement came around. And as mentioned, Min Min was my favourite character from it's great cast of characters, so once I saw Captain Falcon and Kirby slurping on noodles I was smiling from beginning to end. I'm looking forward to taking up ARMS again in Smash and trying her out for myself at the end of the month! 好吃! Captain Falcon, I know it's been a long time since your last game, but have you really fallen on such hard times that you needed a new job to pay the bills?