It surely occurs everywhere. Normally, some lie is conjured up. Though to be brazenly told she cannot have the room because of her race is quite peculiar to the Swiss.

Ex Miss Schweiz Nadine Vinzens is living in LA and she said in an interview people there don't believe her that she's swiss since for some reason she doesn't look like a swiss woman is supposed to look

They probably expect someone who looks like a viking.

This just reminds of a (Swiss) friend who looks much like a southern european or latino guy. After his vacation in the LA area he complained that some people there had treated him pretty badly because they thought he was Mexican...

MY CANADIAN HEROES !! take off, eh. you hoser! koo-roo-ka-koo-ka-roo-ka-koo!!!!

Hell Yeah! When I tell people back home that I am living in Switzerland they are all like "Really, in Stockholm? or in the country?" trying to be smart.

Same thing in Germany, when I tell people Im from Detroit and its right next to Canada: "really, so what country are you from? what country borders Canada?" Ive been asked this atleast 4 times. First time I said Mexico.

I fail to see any problem at all with being asked where I am from.

My spouse and I speak English together, so are often asked in stores and so on here where we are from (England & Switzerland), assuming we are tourists.

When I visit the States I was asked things like "That accent! Are you from Germany or Scandinavia?"

As a teenager (many years ago) I travelled coast to coast (and back) across the USA by bus. In those days many times people simply refused to believe I was English and thought I was putting on the accent. I assume this was because I wasn't wearing a bowler hat.

But I can't say in anyway that I found this racial or frustrating - just ammusing...

It isn't quite the same thing I know (sorry, Mods - off topic) but I worked with physically disabled swimmers for twenty years and I had to watch myself ALL the time, that no hint of 'I am in some way superior' ever crept in. And with racism it might be a similar subconscious reaction too, added to the 'fear' of the unfamiliar.

Wish I could be so sure of myself. The nearest I could get to that is something along the lines of
"I hope I take people as they think they come".

I can understand your frustration, I was in this situation practically all the time when I was at university. It was not racial, the landlords and me just came from two different parts of what once had been the same country. It was my accent or my family name that would usually betray me.

One landlady showed me her room, then said 'Oh, I would take you because you seem fine, but you really have to understand that I never rent to your people'.

Another said that she would not consider me because, although we shared the same nationality, it was highly probable I was not '100% ethnically acceptable'.

A colleague at university was surprised to learn after three years where I was from. 'But didn't you notice my accent?' I asked. 'No, I didn't pay attention', she said 'Because you were so smart I just assumed you were from around here'.

The result of this was that I did not feel at home at what was supposed to be my home. So when I moved to Switzerland, I was happy to be just another foreigner. Until I discovered that people from my part of the world were not terribly popular here either. Fortunately, in Geneva they often assume that I am Russian and I do not try to dissuade them. What does it matter after all?

Your race, nation of birth, religion of your parents etc are such silly stamps that one gets burdened with for rest of their lives. If I had a choice I would disown all these labels by which I get pre judged! There should be some symbol that makes clear that people like me are not patriotic, not interested in any nationality, don't follow any religion nor wave flag of any race. Maybe a devil's 666 tattoo on the forehead would do the trick?

In general there is nothing wrong but it all depends on the intention. If someone asks because they are being friendly and curious then that is fine by me. On the other hand if someone is asking to discriminate against me then that is not fine by me.

With 304 Million people, it's impossible to track all their conversations and correct them. As a matter of fact, NOBODY goes around correcting ANYBODY. Yet, we do come together when we need to.

Notice our Democratic candidate for President. Can you imagine that happening in Europe? I'd give that 20 to 50 years to happen.

Come together where? No place on this planet is free of racial tension thanks to small minded people. My point was that USA has plenty of racial problems of it's own and is definitely not a role model for anything involving race. As far as your Obamam example is concerned the fact that his race is even an issue shows that not all Americans are enlightened. Yes not all Europeans are enlightened either.

Sure we have racial issues. Lots of them. I was just reading about the escalation of tension between black and jewish neighborhoods in NY. In California, hispanic and black gangs are going at as if they were racial cleansing. But we can put them aside when necessary to achieve mutual goals. Particularly when there is a common threat. There were American Indians who signed up in droves for WWII up to the Vietnam War. But where everyone really comes together is in pursuit of prosperity.

Martin Luther King's legacy is real. His dream is readily accepted by most Americans, though not all. We have streets and monuments named after him. We have a National Holiday, and he is recognized as a National Hero.

I grew up in a multicultural environment. It was kinda unique even for the 'states. But from my circle of friends; some were wealthy landowners, some were new immigrants, and some ended up in prison. We call each other racial epithets for fun, or when we got angry at each other. We would tease each other. But at the end of the day, we also made up as friends. We never really wrote each other off.

Racism is actually a pathetic thought pattern. It belies a sense of dis-empowerment. It's typically practiced by those who feel they have no sense of control over their own individual circumstances. It's a way of pointing elsewhere, rather than taking personal responsibility. Most of the expressions of racism come from the poorest socio-economic mindset, the most ignorant and unintelligent, hence it is not considered tasteful in our civil society.

What is your point Zuger with that Dave Chappelle clip? You think we don't have similar or better comedians in Europe? Is it supposed to demonstrate "coming together" of Americans?

People in Europe also know how to "come together" -

Was that suppose to be funny? Look, the point is that we all live together in the US. Even after Sept 11th no one went around looking to kick out Arabs in Detroit.

No place is perfect, but since I have been in Ch I have been kicked out of 4 places for either not speaking Schweizerdeutsche or being an Amrican. I was also kicked out of a Migro eatry. When my girl friend (whom I was waiting for) asked the security guard why, and yelled at him, he said he "thought I was Albanian"....... Thats illegal in the US and you would have your business burned down for that.

No matter how much people are differant we are not affraid to discuss it. Youre video was about people who dont live with each other, but people who she couldnt understand.

You will probably find it is also illegal here in Switzerland. The catch is that you have to report it because Switzerland is a bit short on "automatic racist detectors". Did you report it?

I think the Swiss are a little past burning businesses down but, hey, you might have got some satisfaction from the guy being warned or sacked or something.

ACTUALLY my girl friend had written a letter to Migro about it and we have never recieved any response. Be we now shop at coop. The other three places were self owned and I dont think it would matter if I reported anything.

Ive always tried to have fun with this kind of thing. I try not to take it serious. In Detroit we have a holiday called "devils night" and on the night before holloween Union members burn down the houses that belong to people who are either not in Unions or people who look Asian.

Thats to be expected from people who are slaves to GM and Ford. Thats not expected from people who rely on people of all colors and back-grounds to buy goods from them or provide a source of revenues.

Its just arrogant.

But that is British! I never thought any of the posts here pointed towards the UK. America and the UK are tight.



Aren't we?

You live together in each others house or something? You must live a very sheltered life if you are not aware of the discrimination Arabs face post Sept 11 in USA (rightly or wrongly) . Anyway US govt with the support of sizable population just went and kicked Iraqis in Iraq. How is that any better? Oh! and last time I checked Sept 11 had NOTHING to do with race nor Iraq for that matter.

Thankfully people here don't burn down stuff so readily. Why did you not go and see the manager? So I assume you are white if you were mistaken for Albanian? I speak only English I am non-white and I have been here 7 years. I have faced racism here just like rest of Europe but never been kicked out from anywhere so far and definitely not out of Migros. Sure you were not kicked out for being a loud mouth or something else?

She is a British comedian and lot of those races and nationalities (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Africans etc etc) DO live together in UK. Ever heard of "goodness gracious me" comedy series in UK? So please get off your US this US that high horse.

There are plenty of racist people in USA just like there are in Europe and rest of the world. While you are at it do some research on no. of blacks in US prisons. Was that part of Martin Luther's dream as well?

My point was and is that US is not superior when it comes to racial matters. Just having laws is not everything or enough if people are racist inside.