Racists, Friends and Lovers

Abstract

This chapter outlines the reality of interaction between different ethnic groups and individuals, from sex and love to violence. On the one hand racism always remains in the background, impacting on virtually every foreigner who has lived in the capital at some stage of their lives, no matter how mild or subtle such an experience may prove. At the other extreme comes the normality of interethnic relationships and marriages, not simply between white Britons and migrants and their descendants but also involving members of different migrant groups. In between come a variety of forms of interaction involving friendships, whether at school, in the workplace, or in the social sphere. Migrants and their descendants form a key part of London society across the social scale, meaning that their experiences simply mirror those of the white majority. Interethnic interaction thus involves both the majority and the minority.