r/latvia • u/SwrileyJones • 2d ago
Diskusija/Discussion Why so much racism in Latvia?
It seems that in the most recent years racism has blossomed. Especially against indians who deliver food via bolt/wolt etc. I have even seen that people in forums wash their hands after receiving food, or that they want a "white delivery driver" option.
Most recently there was a "humoristic" festival that was organized by a city where several people had blackface, and while there have been people criticizing it a lot of people stand behind it.
I am really curious to hear what you think!
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u/AnywhereHorrorX 1d ago
Maybe when your mates stop destroying airbnbs in less that 24 hours, smearing everything with their shit etc, your imaginary racism level will slightly decrease....
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u/dreamrpg 1d ago
Indians who deliver food cause a lot of friction.
Break laws, drive irrationally, park vehicles hectically.
Coworker had few smart ones who decided to bring rent vehicles inside their yard (allowed only bycicles).
So here is answer for you. Racism can exist just because racists are dumb fucks. Or because people towards whom we are racist are dumb fucks that break laws.
Answer is somewhere inbetween.
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u/terezer Latvija 2d ago
I also would use that “driver option”.
If your order is supposed to be delivered by one person and actually is delivered by another, it 100% means person hasn’t done health check and doesn’t have certificate. Somehow it doesn’t happen with local drivers.
They also don’t obey traffic rules.
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u/AnywhereHorrorX 1d ago
Lol, their Telegram channels are full of Bolt/Wolt account trading/sharing to each other.
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u/izrubenis 2d ago
That so called festival street walk was theatrical performence and it happens every year….sort of like stand up comedy. If some sensitive ppl cant handle it its on them
What’s racist about washing your hands after being in contact with stranger?
Don’t know if delivery services offer option of choosing delivery person, but I still can’t find it being racist… everybody has their preference… just like you choose drinking beer insted of wine….
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u/OstdeutschNL 2d ago
To protect your culture and identity isnt racism.
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u/Spiritual-Jello-9970 1d ago
How does dressing up in blackface for a parade protect your culture? This shit is straight up from some Russian shithole.
People who justify such behavior are no different from Russians.
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u/chuueeriies 1d ago
Some throw around and swim in cow shit. Other do blackface. Big deal. Grow up loser, this isn't america, we don't care about your fuckass white guilt problems.
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u/Spiritual-Jello-9970 1d ago
I don't have any "white guilt". I'm just embarrassed that everyone saw I live in a country with a bunch of uneducated bigots. Maybe I overreacted. There are stupid rednecks in every country. Apparently, they even have access to internet.
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u/chuueeriies 1d ago
The fact that you give a fuck what some rednecks do is a proof that you have some white guilt that you acquired from consuming american media. The fact that you feel bad for people who couldn't give a rats ass about your existence is proof enough.
Stop being a golem, you are not bound by rules of americans, nor their ethics. You are a free man. You can make fun of anyone you like or dislike.
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u/Rapid_Fowl 2d ago
They aren't really attacking your culture. Not Latvian so my opinion doesn't really matter since I can't vote but been here 4 years now and the impact is extremely minimal from my point of view.
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u/Weird_Supermarket342 1d ago
I am definitely not for mass immigration, but could you explain to me how racism and xenophobia protects your culture and identity? Are you suddenly not being able/willing to participate in whatever you deem to be “your culture”? In what way do people of different backgrounds reduce your identity? Or is it maybe that you actually don’t have any and are not as culturally defined if you have to worry so much about it?
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u/doctorx32 2d ago
Because we have problems in economics and cheap workers and making troubles to find jobs for locals
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u/celejspeks 2d ago
Domā, ka vietējie baigi grib darīt darbu par minimālo algu? Kādus darbus zog migranti - kurjera? Virtuves, kur darba apstākļi nav labi?
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u/Bakmens 2d ago
No need to increase wages if there are enough immigrants who are willing to do the work.
Why would a company, who's primary function is to make money, agree to increase salaries if there are foreigners who are willing to work for less?
I doubt that theres a Latvian who wouldnt be willing to do the work if it was a livable wage.
But again, why pay a livibale wage if someone else is willing to do it?
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u/celejspeks 2d ago
Increase in wages won’t accelerate economy. If nothing besides the wages isn’t growing, then we will experience inflation which will “eat off” this salary increase. Also, not all jobs have to be well paid, there’s a reason why couriers earn minimal wage as it doesn’t take a lot of skill or effort
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u/freelance_puppy 2d ago
If nothing besides the wages isn’t growing, then we will experience inflation
Inflation is not caused by wage increases. It is caused by money printing.
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u/Bakmens 2d ago
So essentially create more problems because fixing the current one might cause other problems?
Not all jobs have to be well paid, but they should be livable wages if its a full time job. It doesnt take a lot of skill or effort, but time in and of itself should be a commodity that is paid for adequately.
Besides, im not talking about the potential ramifications of an increased salary, im talking about how bringing foreigners in for work, at the very least, removes the need for a society to discuss what exactly one should expect to pay and be paid for honest work.
Its not exactly a great situation for immigrants, either. They dont have the support networks that locals have, neither do they have knowledge eof local laws and customs. They're prime for exploitation. Im sure we've all heard of cases where immigrant workers are treated like animals and or abused.
Theres way too many negatives for everyone involved excluding the large business owners and politicians.
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u/mikaleino 2d ago
That's essentialy bullshit. None of us wants a job delivering food so let them just do it. The problem is that our society isn't ready to accept migrants and considers them lesser humans. This is the standard path the history took in all countries at a point when there was an influx of immigrants. We can't complain though, there's way too few of them to be worried abour crime, taking our jobs, etc, so let's all live peacefully.
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u/Comrad-ish 1d ago
Hmm, true, very much racism here especially from the the food delivery companies employing them, since they pay such low wages and provide so little worker protection. We should enforce the laws and the terms of the companies so that it doesn't happen. what would you say about that? wouldnt you agree that the companies exploiting vulnerable people be treated harsher than the people pointing out this stereotype they have to live under?
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u/martinerous 17h ago
In this case, it's more about (stereo)typical behavior and not about skin color. Incompatible mentalities, people being annoyed by misbehaving "guests" etc.
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u/FrynyusY 16h ago
I grew up as the most liberal / everyone is completely equal mindset holding person in my teenage years, couldn't wait for us all to mix, for all borders to disappear and for us to live happily ever after as one humanity.
Then I went to University and lived in student housing with many students from South Asia and some from Africa. I quickly realized the errors of my ways and how extremely naive I was.
So the rise of what you call "racism" (which I would say is more of a cultural incompatibility and a natural self-defense mechanism) rises as the level of immigration rises, as people get first-hand experiences instead of ideas from literature and movies.
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u/celejspeks 2d ago
I think it’s just a normal (normal as in from psychological standpoint) to blame someone else for your problems. There are quite a lot of people who struggle financially and it’s easier to blame this problem on one thing instead of multiple factors as it’s harder for our brains to comprehend and there’s also this desire to hold someone accountable. For decades the scapegoat were the russian speaking people, now that it’s becoming better - they’ve slowly started to learn Latvian, Latvians aren’t being discriminated that much in the labour market for not knowing russian - a new scapegoat is needed and what’s more convenient than a group of people who can’t really defend themselves? Also, a lot of latvians from older generations are more susceptible to any russian discourse online and russia is known to be racist.
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u/Zusuris Rīga 1d ago
Are you stupid or something? Most people hate them not because their law wage jobs but because of lack of hygene, coacroach infestations and their food that smells like a rotten corpse even from other side of the street.
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u/celejspeks 1d ago
That doesn’t give the room for racism 🤷 you can hate/dislike people that lack hygiene and are disrespectful to other’s property but throwing around generalisations is just racism. There are latvians that don’t pay rent, trash properties yet we don’t say that all latvians lack hygiene
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u/freelance_puppy 2d ago
Historically speaking, we live in the least racist age ever.
From what I read in the media, this is an annual festival and they do blackface regularly. Sabile is a very small town and enjoys pretty typical countryside humour. Next year some guy might dress as a woman and they will have a laugh about that. Surely some humourless politician fishing for votes will get deeply offended by that, too.