Read about our other Events

23/05/06
All Equal, All Different

Stonelaw High, Rutherglen

Show Racism the Red Card joined the very enjoyable All Equal, All Different day at Stonelaw High in Rutherglen. First year students took part in SRTRC workshops in addition to workshops from Sense Over Sectarianism and Glasgow University. Three students from Class 1C supported by their classmates, volunteered to write a report on their Red Card workshop.

Show Racism The Red Card

On Tuesday the 23rd of May Stonelaw was visited by a member of the Show Racism The Red Card campaign, he told us about racism in Scotland and that it occurs in younger people. He also showed us a video that told us about this campaign and what it does; it uses football teams (players) to let you know more about racism. I thought it was easier to understand with the video. It was good that they got football players to campaign because some footballers have been victims themselves!

The representative used a great example for us. It was ll the people with dark hair, gelled, long hair or with hair spray wouldn't get a poster, I was one of those people and it felt unfair and embarrassing to be discriminated like that, even though it was just an example. It made me think how people that are discriminated because of their colour, culture or religion. It is quite sad to think of these people because racial discrimination comes in many different ways from something as simple as not being picked for the school football team, not getting a job or even in some severe cases violence may be used just because you are different. Today made me understand what I can do about racism, what racism is, that when your young it may seem like a funny joke but it's not for the victim. You shouldn't be racist because even if peer pressure is involved it isn't fair because you wouldn't want any one to be racist towards you.

By Kate McAlister, Class 1C, Stonelaw High School.

Racism

Racism is a big issue in Scotland. There are many victims. We learned why some people are victims of racism and why some people are racist.

People are victims of racism for many reasons such as what colour of skin they have, what religion they are such as Jewish, Christian or Muslim. They are also victims of racism because of their culture. No one should have to live in terror just because of they have a different colour of skin.

Some children are racist because their parents are, their parents having told them their beliefs. Many Scottish schools are teaching primary and secondary pupils the harm that racism causes to peoples lives.

Show Racism the Red Card

Show Racism the Red Card started ten years ago. Since then the campaign has been very successful and is very well known all over Scotland.

Racism is a major concern in football. Many players have had racist comments shouted at them. Many have reported it but some haven't, this is also a concern, as people want it to stop.

What we learned

We learned a lot of things seeing how racism affects people and their lifestyles but also how it affects our lifestyles and what we can do to stop it from continuing.

By Rachel Brownlee,Class 1C, Stonelaw High School.

Show Racism the Red Card

Racism - a horrible word, suitable for it's meaning. A word attempting to describe the way people from different nationalities try to discriminate against each other, because of how they look or what religion they follow.

Most people didn't actually think much about racism until within the last 3 years or so, when the government started to properly tackle this problem. Yes, people knew what it was and that it wasn't right - but it wasn't tackled as well as it is today. Billboards, T-shirts, pencils - a full campaign to try to stop the thing we all call racism.

So what is racism? Name-calling? Laughing at someone because of who they are? The simple word for it is ABUSE. This can come in two forms - physical or verbal abuse. And NEITHER is acceptable, because the sad truth is, both can have devastating effects on it's victims.

Verbal abuse may not seem like much to many people - it's some name calling, just a bit of fun, right? The sad fact is, that if a person who has suffered from verbal abuse before was asked how it felt, they wouldn't see it as lightly. Verbal abuse may seem like such a small thing - but continued on for a long period of time, the victims can start to feel as if what they are being told is true - this can lead to such things as self-harming, or sometimes even suicide. A perfectly happy person can be turned into a nervous wreck, just because of a 'bit of fun'.

Physical abuse is just as bad, if not worse. Being attacked, punched, kicked. Sometimes if people can get access, knives even guns are used. People can be murdered - just because of the colour of their skin? Their religion? It seems unbelievable and yet it happens to people, tormented just because of their feeble reasons.

This is why the campaign, Show Racism The Red Card was set up. To try and stop these disgusting things from happening to normal everyday people.

How many people did that take? You may ask. The great thing about it is that it only took 1 man and now the campaign has been going for 10 years.

Show Racism The Red Card is a great campaign, which can teach people a lot about what is happening to others in the world. A representative of the campaign came to visit my school and showed us how horrible and damaging racism can be. The video we were shown focused mainly on football and told us about the problems racism can cause on and off the pitch.

It also mentioned an amazing number of racial reports, reported to the police. The shocking thing is, we were told the number was more likely to be 5 times what had been reported.

We were also handed out a magazine and posters of the Scottish men and womens football teams. The magazine had interviews with people with dark skin who had nasty comments directed at them because of how they looked, or because they were asylum seekers.

We were shown how horrible it can be for someone who is 'different'. How people can be so narrow-minded and can only see the outside of somebody. We were taught all this, in the space of 40 minutes.

So, would you be happy branded a racist? Would you be happy to degrade someone because of their skin colour, their religion, or their background? Would you be happy to damage somebody's life, just so you can have a laugh?

Do you think racism is just a 'bit of fun'?

By Chloe Manson,Class 1C, Stonelaw High School.

Show Racism The Red Card would like to thank Chloe Manson, Rachel Brownlee and Kate McAlister for their excellent reports and to Mr Cowan and Mr McGeoch for their help in setting up the workshops.