Is racism illegal in the UK?

Question

There are race hate crimes such as incitement to racial hatred but is there such an offence as 'racism',which appears to be a belief rather than an act

Answer 1

I don't know about the UK, but if it was in the US, we would have prisons full of racist.

Answer 2

That depends on what you call racism.  There are no thought crimes.  It is not illegal to think racist thoughts or express a racist point of view.

It would not be possible to broadcast racist views as newspapers, magazines and television are regulated.  It's also wouldn't be legal to incite violence.  

It is illegal for an employer or a business to practice discrimination based on race.  

Answer 3

Well, don't know in the UK, but in my country (Brazil) it is against the law to, for instance, call a black person "monkey", or call them the name equivalent to "n....r" (please, I don't mean to offend anyone here, just giving the example). The law is not exclusive for black people, but since it is the people who suffers more with racism (even though racism is kinda "silent"  in my country), the law was created with them in mind. so, you have the right to be racist, but do not have the right to humiliate and offend people with your racist thoughts.

I guess racism does not have a clear definition nowadays - it's more for it's historic perspective (500 years of slavery for the blacks) ... for instance, if a black guy calls me "whitey" I won't be offended, even if he wants to offend me by doing so, on the other hand ... The same applies for the hispanic community in the US.

Answer 4

No I have friends and family from the UK and they say that they face the same struggles with covert discrimination and racism that we (blacks) face here in the U.S. however they have visited us and they mentioned that the history of racism wasnt as bad in the UK they had slavery and murders after slavery but not on a scale as brutal as the US

Answer 5

It would come under public disorder and described as being racist. You are only racist if you think that people are of a certain race. Most educated people know that the different anatomical differences in people are to do with the environment being very different around the world and that we are all homosapians..