<p>So, out of curiosity, I have a few questions about Europe. In particular, the U.K., Spain, and France. If you’ve lived or studied in those countries, your insights would be appreciated.</p>
<li><p>How “progressive-minded” are these countries to the United States?</p></li>
<li><p>As far as racism goes (both subtle and blatant), would you say that it was more prevalent in the United States or in those countries? Against which groups in particular? Are minority groups subject to the same stereotypes?</p></li>
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<p>They tend to be more liberal than the United States and are more socialistic (is that a word? hmm..)</p>
<p>As far as racism, when I lived in England, I never saw or experienced really any. My friends who visited France never encountered really any. I can't speak for Spain though.</p>
<p>Europe does have some racism, or for a better term, discrimination. Arabs and gypsies are not held in a high light there. But Europeans seem to be much more open to new ideas.</p>
<p>^ In Spain at least, my family (we are Roma gypsy) never really experienced racism (at least in the last few generations who lived in Spain). I think that is a much more western European thing for the gypsies.</p>
<p>They are much more progressive than the U.S. but the discrimination and negative attitudes (not so much full on racism) is comparable to the states. Urban English areas like London, Birmingham metro, Glasgow, Manchester, etc. have high populations of Middle Eastern immigrants which many English people find threatening to English culture and whatnot. Similar to the problem we have with Mexico-U.S border states...</p>
<p>I know most of my relatives who are older and live in the country have negative opinions towards Middle Easterners due to the global issues we have concerning radical Islam, etc. versus those who I know in Surrey/London metro who are much more "neutral" on the issue.</p>
<p>Well blacks have been living in Europe for a very long time, and I don't think there has ever been a lot of discrimination or racism toward them. Most of them immigrate to Europe from French/Dutch/Spanish/English speaking nations of Africa or the Carribean.</p>
<p>I couldn't tell you for sure, but asians and hispanics are probably very small minority. I doubt there is a lot of negative opinion toward them.</p>
<p>It's a sad thing, but I would say that the most discrimination in most developed Western countries is directed toward Middle Eastern people. Most of them try to escape their home countries while bringing their very foreign customs to the West which is hard from Westerners to get used to of course.</p>
<p>I think the European-Middle Eastern tensions are more cultural, whereas the White-Black tensions in America are more racial. </p>
<p>To explain the difference, most Europeans are wary of Middle Easterners because they fear that these Islamic immigrants want to implement Shari'ah Law or whatnot. Europeans are very secular and even banished their own Christian roots to the wayside. They don't want a bunch of fundamentalist immigrants bringing religion back into everyday society. It's a cultural issue because if Islamic immigrants were to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they're not threatening to theologize European society, there would not be many problems.</p>
<p>In America, racism against blacks has been, and is still mostly, racial, in that it is the supposed inherent genetic inferiority of blacks that fuels much of the problems. Even a culturally unblack (stereotypically speaking, of course) public figures such as Barack Obama and Harold Ford still have a tough time with certain segments of the white population.</p>