The term 'micro-aggression' is very pertinent at the moment.
Regarding racism, micro-aggressions are all around us, they could constitute asking to touch a black person's hair (or not even asking), suggesting that one immigrant group is 'better' than another, or being confused as to why a man is going out with a woman typically 'less attractive' than him.
The list goes on, and even the most well-meaning of us might slip into a micro-aggression without realising it.
Akala explains micro-aggressions in this video, in case you need a quick catch-up:
But we're not here to talk about micro-aggressions, nope, this is about a full-on macro-aggression that you might find difficult to believe.
The UK's biggest buy-to-let landlord apparently has requirements for his tenants that were leaked to the Sun in an email that read, 'No coloured people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy.'
The Sun reached out to Fergus Wilson, who owns 1,000 properties in Kent, about the leaked email and he told them,
It is a problem with certain types of coloured people — those who consume curry — it sticks to the carpet. You have to get some chemical thing that takes the smell out. In extreme cases you have to replace the carpet.
Well we might have to use some sort of chemical thing to get the racism we just read out of our eyes.
Proving that a bit of practical racism isn't confined to carpet upkeep, he told the newspaper, 'To be honest, we're getting overloaded with coloured people.'
And 'coloured' people aren't the only ones who aren't allowed in one of Mr. Wilson's properties, back in January, you may have heard he also didn't want 'single mums, battered wives, plumbers and low income earners'.
Unfortunately there is no legal action against Wilson since the Police can't prosecute, but he could be sued by individual tenant or a tenant's right's group for discrimination.
Fingers crossed, eh?
Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant, Tweeted his disbelief at the story, likening it to the kind of racial discrimination people suffered in the 70s.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
