3 ms·

Is this peculiar to London or do other places in the UK have the same problem?

irremediable 9y ago
So far it seems pretty peculiar to London (at least within the UK). Of course, London is a huge part of the UK: something like 10% of our population live here.
sprash 9y ago
This is a Pakistani Muslim problem. So avoid bigger cities. I lived for 10 months in Birmingham, I had to leave because even though I'm a grown man I could not tolerate the terror of people throwing rocks at your window at night. Besides the area around the main Concert Hall there is no particular "British" culture left in that city and acid attacks are definitely not done by local Brits. Nobody says anything because they are scared to be labeled as racists. It's a shame.
- sumedh 9y ago
  > I could not tolerate the terror of people throwing rocks at your window at night. Why, maybe to drive you out of the area?
  - clarabrooks 9y ago
    Some months ago, my mom needed money to purchase our apartment but she couldn't afford to get a loan as her credit score was low and this was so painful but luckily enough, after explaining the situation to my friend he introduced me to a very good hacker who then assisted her in boosting her credit score. A problem shared is truly half solved so don't hesitate to contact him cybershiff@gmail.com
- foop2 9y ago
  That is bullshit there are plenty of areas in Birmingham that have equally scummy white people in them. Also if people are throwing rocks at you, you are def in the wrong area, it's a city there are some places you can't go, it's a bit like walking through inner city LA and being surprised you got robbed.
  - Inconel 9y ago
    This is the first time I've heard this kind of argument here on HN. It sounds an awfully lot like victim blaming and I'm unsure why you think it acceptable that certain people not be allowed into certain parts of a city. Also, as a South LA resident, LA doesn't really have an inner city, or at least it hasn't been the area traditionally known for high crime.
    - rhapsodic 9y ago
      > Also, as a South LA resident, LA doesn't really have an inner city, or at least it hasn't been the area traditionally known for high crime. The phrase "inner city" is not geographical; it's a code phrase for a predominantly black neighborhood, or in some cases, a lower-income neighborhood.
      - Symbiote 9y ago
        Maybe in America, but in Britain it means the dense area surrounding the city centre. That can be wealthy, poor, or mixed. In Britain, we might say "local authority", "council housing", "council estate", but I can't think of a euphemism.
      - Inconel 9y ago
        I'm aware of the origin of the phrase, and how it relates to white flight, urban deindustrialization, housing policy, specifically public housing policy, and housing discrimination, particularly as it affected the urban core of major cities. It absolutely does have it's origin in geography, which itself can often be weaponized as a tool for segregation. LA has it's own set of problems regarding these issues, but I've never heard then described as "inner city" problems, that's all I was trying to point out. On the other hand, if the poster I was replying to meant to imply that you can't be around poor black folks without being robbed, I'd prefer they come out directly and say that, rather than hide behind coded euphemisms.
  - sprash 9y ago
    I agree there are "scummy white people" too. But they only get aggressive on alcohol after sport events. They are definitely not the ones throwing acid at people. This is just a different level violence. I lived in Selly Oak. I don't know if this area is particular bad. At least the rent was high enough.
- matthewmacleod 9y ago
  This is a sham comment and you are a liar. The idea that there is no British culture in Birmingham is bald-faced misrepresentation and you should be ashamed of it.
  - sprash 9y ago
    Meh. Birmingham is big I probably couldn't see more than 5% of it. And I agree there are "islands" of British culture left. But you have to specifically look for them. And I'm the kind of guy who visited a concert in the Symphony Hall almost every other week (even though I was probably the youngest person in the audience).
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      Wikipedia says Selly Oak "had a below-average percentage of ethnic minorities with only 15.9% of the population consisting of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general." What British culture did you expect to find, beyond the concert hall? I assume there are pubs, sports teams, museums and so on. In any case, the south Asian culture in Britain is also British culture. Example: Balti.

So far it seems pretty peculiar to London (at least within the UK). Of course, London is a huge part of the UK: something like 10% of our population live here.

sprash 9y ago

This is a Pakistani Muslim problem. So avoid bigger cities. I lived for 10 months in Birmingham, I had to leave because even though I'm a grown man I could not tolerate the terror of people throwing rocks at your window at night. Besides the area around the main Concert Hall there is no particular "British" culture left in that city and acid attacks are definitely not done by local Brits. Nobody says anything because they are scared to be labeled as racists. It's a shame.

sumedh 9y ago
> I could not tolerate the terror of people throwing rocks at your window at night. Why, maybe to drive you out of the area?
- clarabrooks 9y ago
  Some months ago, my mom needed money to purchase our apartment but she couldn't afford to get a loan as her credit score was low and this was so painful but luckily enough, after explaining the situation to my friend he introduced me to a very good hacker who then assisted her in boosting her credit score. A problem shared is truly half solved so don't hesitate to contact him cybershiff@gmail.com
foop2 9y ago
That is bullshit there are plenty of areas in Birmingham that have equally scummy white people in them. Also if people are throwing rocks at you, you are def in the wrong area, it's a city there are some places you can't go, it's a bit like walking through inner city LA and being surprised you got robbed.
- Inconel 9y ago
  This is the first time I've heard this kind of argument here on HN. It sounds an awfully lot like victim blaming and I'm unsure why you think it acceptable that certain people not be allowed into certain parts of a city. Also, as a South LA resident, LA doesn't really have an inner city, or at least it hasn't been the area traditionally known for high crime.
  - rhapsodic 9y ago
    > Also, as a South LA resident, LA doesn't really have an inner city, or at least it hasn't been the area traditionally known for high crime. The phrase "inner city" is not geographical; it's a code phrase for a predominantly black neighborhood, or in some cases, a lower-income neighborhood.
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      Maybe in America, but in Britain it means the dense area surrounding the city centre. That can be wealthy, poor, or mixed. In Britain, we might say "local authority", "council housing", "council estate", but I can't think of a euphemism.
    - Inconel 9y ago
      I'm aware of the origin of the phrase, and how it relates to white flight, urban deindustrialization, housing policy, specifically public housing policy, and housing discrimination, particularly as it affected the urban core of major cities. It absolutely does have it's origin in geography, which itself can often be weaponized as a tool for segregation. LA has it's own set of problems regarding these issues, but I've never heard then described as "inner city" problems, that's all I was trying to point out. On the other hand, if the poster I was replying to meant to imply that you can't be around poor black folks without being robbed, I'd prefer they come out directly and say that, rather than hide behind coded euphemisms.
- sprash 9y ago
  I agree there are "scummy white people" too. But they only get aggressive on alcohol after sport events. They are definitely not the ones throwing acid at people. This is just a different level violence. I lived in Selly Oak. I don't know if this area is particular bad. At least the rent was high enough.
matthewmacleod 9y ago
This is a sham comment and you are a liar. The idea that there is no British culture in Birmingham is bald-faced misrepresentation and you should be ashamed of it.
- sprash 9y ago
  Meh. Birmingham is big I probably couldn't see more than 5% of it. And I agree there are "islands" of British culture left. But you have to specifically look for them. And I'm the kind of guy who visited a concert in the Symphony Hall almost every other week (even though I was probably the youngest person in the audience).
  - Symbiote 9y ago
    Wikipedia says Selly Oak "had a below-average percentage of ethnic minorities with only 15.9% of the population consisting of ethnic minorities compared with 29.6% for Birmingham in general." What British culture did you expect to find, beyond the concert hall? I assume there are pubs, sports teams, museums and so on. In any case, the south Asian culture in Britain is also British culture. Example: Balti.