How racist were we ? (In the 70s)


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A hell of a lot of white man guilt flying about on here. The truth is it was of it's time. People, mostly, knew no better.
I often recall my old dad recalling that no-one ever told them smoking was bad for your health. They do now and yet some still smoke. Nowt so queer as folk.

No need to feel outraged.

White man guilt. Jesus.
 
It was pretty bad, but not very much out of the ordinary for the time. One of the problems was that there were, at that time, very few black people living in the the North East, so it was a product of lack of experience of living and working with minorities, on top of the prevailing lack of awareness of racial issues.

Same with Islamophobia up here tbh.
 
White man guilt. Jesus.
You can't reminisce about the past* apparently

*the present in nufc's case

Here's a NUFC fan saying he was ashamed to be a supporter of Newcastle United after the New Years Day game in 1985. Having been at the game myself it was without doubt the worst racist abuse I've ever heard/ witnessed at a football match. It was vile.

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/day-fans-shamed-4550736
He's possibly the first supporter of that lot to tell the truth about that game but even then he slips in "its not nufc's problem, its the whole of society". even though they were among the worst of the lot.
 
I remember as a kid in the Fulwell end, the masses were serenading an opposition black player with

He's a w@& a w@&, it's plain to see to see
He's blacker than you and me
He's a w@&, a w@&

There was a black fella stood just in front of us, he pulled his Parker hood over his head and said to his mate "nothing to do with me"

I remember thinking how horrible it most of been for him. Looking back, it's incredible how blatantly racist it was at football
I have only read so far up to here, but of the many posts that so much reflect my memories of that time, this one is the one that I can I can identify with.
I started going to away games on my own when I was about 14.

It was at Notts County in about 1978 or 79 that there was a black lad who I had seen at previous away games standing near me.
I don't go so often now. But I still recognised him about 15years ago in the North Stand. About 5 foot 8 probably ethnically Ethiopian or Eritrean, although at the time just black to me.
Anyway, they ( and me )were singing he's a wog a wog, and I looked over at him to see if he was singing.
I would like to think that I could remember his reaction, if he was singing, embarrassed, or not but I can't.
Just the fact that I looked at him, must have made me think in some way that it was wrong.
I was a kid, I sang "Enoch" at black players. Always sang I'd rather be a Paki than a Mag.
I never ever made monkey noises but loads and loads of people did.
I suppose I thought that was too much.
I was in the Kop in the mid 80s watching Liverpool v Villa, but shouting down the Dying in the snow song.Tbf so we're loads of Scousers. Loads singing it mind.

Don't remember the trigger song at roker though.
I don't ever recall having a conversation with a black person until I was about 18.
I absolutely abhor racism now, (and it doesn't necessarily have to come from just white people, am in India now, have seen it Malaysia, China, Australia, South Africa and many other countries).
However this thread is about Sunderland, and for the most part, apart from the odd idiot, we really didn't know any better.
 
You can't reminisce about the past* apparently

*the present in nufc's case


He's possibly the first supporter of that lot to tell the truth about that game but even then he slips in "its not nufc's problem, its the whole of society". even though they were among the worst of the lot.

I freely admit every club has its knackers amongst the support including Sunderland, but the racism I witnessed that day was off the scale I have never seen anything like that at Sunderland.
 
I freely admit every club has its knackers amongst the support including Sunderland, but the racism I witnessed that day was off the scale I have never seen anything like that at Sunderland.
I used to go to st james myself every so often with a mag school mate who occassionally came to roker. it was a cheap afternoon, made even cheaper if you got in for nowt. this was early to mid eighties and we'd stand in the corner. it was without question more hostile to black players than i have ever seen at sunderland.
 
I have only read so far up to here, but of the many posts that so much reflect my memories of that time, this one is the one that I can I can identify with.
I started going to away games on my own when I was about 14.

It was at Notts County in about 1978 or 79 that there was a black lad who I had seen at previous away games standing near me.
I don't go so often now. But I still recognised him about 15years ago in the North Stand. About 5 foot 8 probably ethnically Ethiopian or Eritrean, although at the time just black to me.
Anyway, they ( and me )were singing he's a wog a wog, and I looked over at him to see if he was singing.
I would like to think that I could remember his reaction, if he was singing, embarrassed, or not but I can't.
Just the fact that I looked at him, must have made me think in some way that it was wrong.
I was a kid, I sang "Enoch" at black players. Always sang I'd rather be a Paki than a Mag.
I never ever made monkey noises but loads and loads of people did.
I suppose I thought that was too much.
I was in the Kop in the mid 80s watching Liverpool v Villa, but shouting down the Dying in the snow song.Tbf so we're loads of Scousers. Loads singing it mind.

Don't remember the trigger song at roker though.
I don't ever recall having a conversation with a black person until I was about 18.
I absolutely abhor racism now, (and it doesn't necessarily have to come from just white people, am in India now, have seen it Malaysia, China, Australia, South Africa and many other countries).
However this thread is about Sunderland, and for the most part, apart from the odd idiot, we really didn't know any better.

I remember that lad you are talking about. Used to see him and his friend regularly at aways in the early 90s he definitely stood next to us in that corner bit at Hillsbrough when Norman dropped the ball into the net.

He got a bit excitable when he approached their box ( so not that often) he was in tears when they got the last minute winner.
 
No idea. Haven't heard much at games since the early 2000's where it was still a bit more commonplace to hear the odd racist chant at a game. And most of that even then was probably mostly down to ninety minute bigots. The World has moved on.
 
I've been turned away from bars in Korea and Japan for being foreign. Ironically, they'll use English in their signage but not let you in if you're foreign or don't speak the lingo.
 
A hell of a lot of white man guilt flying about on here. The truth is it was of it's time. People, mostly, knew no better.
I often recall my old dad recalling that no-one ever told them smoking was bad for your health. They do now and yet some still smoke. Nowt so queer as folk.

No need to feel outraged.

White man guilt. Jesus.
Of its time? During the Gullit era I had to ' take issue' with an idiot trying to hand out flyers with his caricature and some typically basic abuse on it. Hardly a lifetime ago.
 
I was in the Fulwell end when terry butcher farted and followed through after a balti pie
 
I went to Hartlepool in the late 80s to watch Sheff Utd and Tony Agana and Brian Deane had monkey chants aimed at them all night (perhaps surprisingly given Hartlepool history with monkeys)

It was probably ignorance in most cases. I was born in East Lancashire in the early 60s and have no recollection of Blackburn and Accrington without an Asian population. I then lived in Nottingham which had a significant black population, Germany with a large Turkish and English community, London which had everyone.

I moved to York and then the North East, and one of my main observations in both cases was the relatively small numbers of non white people in either.

Football reflected that too. I remember teams like Orient and Brentford playing at Bramall Lane in the early 80s where everyone commented on the number of black players in their teams. Less than 10 years later and with Deane and Agana as heroes, it was so unremarkable to see black players, that going to all white Hartlepool felt weird.

In answer to the question therefore, most places were racist in the 70s, though having been to both I would agree that Newcastle was worse than Roker, though both were not great, probably due to a lack of exposure to black people generally.
 
I can't recall us calling Gary Bennett midnight.

He certainly was, and Chalky.

I don't think SAFC were ever as bad as the likes of Chelsea, Leeds and Newcastle.

But, there was some stick dished out and I can honestly say that however young and impressionable I was, it was never my thing.

Although bad enough, it was only ever a small minority and I can't remember an opposition player being really singled out for that sort of treatment. Mid-80s onwards was my time so can't comment on the '70s.
 
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