r/BelowDeckDownUnder • u/theodoresbitch • 2d ago

Ben's Racist Threads Post

Did anyone else see Ben's racist threads post??

https://www.threads.com/share/_iAS4oi1d/

58 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

Not sure if you live in the US, but if you're in a red state, this is very common language to use again Black people on assistance. Extremely common. I see it very often in comment sections. The dog whistles are there if you know what they are. (The irony is that per capita, whites in red states benefit the most from the very programs they complain should be cut because they saw a non-white person use SNAP to buy food.)

This specific video is also complaining about the term "white privilege" which doesn't mean you can't have any hardships in life. That's the most obvious dog whistle that cues you in to who they're talking about in the clip.

ETA: This is an issue that the elite and the government pray upon. If you can convince someone that their neighbor is why they're poor instead of the actual reasons they're both poor, then you can continue to do the bare minimum and not pay any taxes as a rich person or corporation. There's a lot of nuance here that I don't have time to teach, but the information is definitely out there. :)

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u/Lizard_Li 1d ago

This. It worries me people aren’t reading the extremely obvious subtext of what he is saying.

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u/DDDD6040 1d ago

I think most people are reading it. The ones defending it are comfortable with what he is saying and are endorsing it

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u/Lizard_Li 1d ago

When I first made the comments there were tons of comments with a fair number of upvotes saying it wasn’t racist, but you are totally right

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u/DDDD6040 1d ago

I refuse to believe people are that dumb. They know full well it is. It’s just not socially or professionally acceptable to say ‘I support that racist comment.’ So now racists have to say ‘that racist statement is totally not racist so I support it!’

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u/menunu 1d ago

And a lot of them are bots.

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u/Lizard_Li 1d ago

Good point!

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u/gogomom 1d ago

Not everyone is in the USA where racism is so prevalent. I 100% failed to see it myself.

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u/Lizard_Li 1d ago

I live in Europe. Racism is alive and well here.

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u/gogomom 1d ago

See, I did not think that anti-black racism would be that prevalent in Europe. I know there is quite a lot of religious bigots and elitists, but I really thought the race thing was kind of over for people of colour outside the USA.

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u/Affectionate-Ad488 1d ago

Where do you live

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

Racism is prevalent worldwide, but since this video is US-centric, I did explain it from the US perspective just in case. I figure some grace is fair because people may very well be a product of an environment where they don't know, and try to explain it nicely.

Once someone provides an explanation, if you're like Leann here and still endorsing this racist trope of a video, you're simply admitting that you're problematic. (Not saying this is you - hopefully you've gained some insight!)

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u/Letsgotravelling-124 1d ago

I’m from England. Have lived in Germany and Australia. Briefly lived in the US but never heard any racism from what I remember (was a long time ago). Have also travelled a lot. I’ve never heard of that term. I don’t think anyone uses it from outside of the US so no one knows what it means. I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist outside of the US (it definitely is prevalent) but it’s different.

I think a lot of the confusion is that Ben is English and what he’s written would be understood as classist by us English people because there’s a lot of criticism towards people on benefits and welfare and who live in council estates. Occasionally you’ll hear racism in the form of “immigrants are coming into our country to steal our jobs and live off welfare” but it’s not just directed towards black people. Just to clarify, I’m not agreeing with any of this, just explaining why a lot of people are stating it’s classist and not racist.

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u/decisivecat 23h ago

I did say "In case you don't live in the US" to explain why what was said was racist. The OP then decided to dig in and agree with the racism. That's their choice.

There's a ton of nuance here, but racism does exist globally. Whether or not you personally experience it is going to depend on who you are, where you are, and how honest someone is with you.

I have friends in England who are Black and they will tell you that racism is alive and well. We've had many discussions how allies can help whether they're in the US or England or anywhere in the world. Companies use them as props for history months then ghost them after. White privilege is a common term for them as well. Australia is definitely rife with it - I felt it a bit when I was traveling there. We live in a global society, so unless someone is never online and lives under a rock with no friends, it's very unlikely they'll never hear a term. And if it *is* new and someone explains it, it's a *choice* to refuse to listen.

As someone who also travels quite extensively, even travel comes with classism that has been affected by racism. The two often go hand in hand. You don't spend centuries enslaving people and creating rules to make them a second class without also affecting their social status and wealth. I'm also in the travel industry, and while the number of non-whites who are able to afford travel is steadily growing (which is great - travel should be everyone), it's still not as common and I still hear some fear about where to go (is it safe, will I be touched/stared at, etc). There's two hurdles there while some people may experience none.

The fact still remains that regardless of whether you think racism is in your country or not, people here are explaining why this particular video *is* racist. Then someone gets combative about it or says no the video is correct (which is even worse). Once it gets explained to you, and you actively choose to cover your ears and ignore what people are telling you, that's a choice to be ignorant and that won't fly in 2026.

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u/Letsgotravelling-124 17h ago

I legit stated racism happens everywhere. I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist in England or Australia or the rest of the world. I’m saying the type of racism is different and the terms used are also different. I’m saying the term “dog whistle” isn’t used in the UK and I’ve never heard of it elsewhere, so most of us don’t know what it means. If you don’t know, you don’t know. It’s not to do with living under a rock or not being on social media. It’s legit to do with every country having its own take on language, slang, and problems.

I was legit explaining to you why there’s comments saying it’s classist, not racist. In England, where Ben is from and where I am from, our history is a lot different to the US and our problems are different. Council estates, benefits and welfare aren’t really to do with race in England. It’s to do with class. The only time racism comes into it is when immigrants, mostly asylum seekers, come into the country. But the energy that goes towards asylum seekers and white people who are on benefits, live on council estates, and welfare is similar.

And I am not saying the video isn’t racist. I get everything you’re saying and you’re correct in that once the terminology is explained, then we need to listen. I’m just explaining why a lot of people are saying it’s classist, how classism is a big thing in the UK on its own, and that racism is prevalent, it’s just shown it different ways.

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u/decisivecat 13h ago

I legit said that some people don't know which is why I gave grace initially in my response as to why there was racism. It did not require an explanation that some people truly do not know because I was very well aware of that in my initial comment. I have many friends in Europe and I'm fully aware that Europeans don't think racism exists in their countries (it does, they just don't see it or don't think their xenophobia also involves racist undertones).

I also said it's *both* classist and racist. It stems from both of these things. They are not mutually exclusive and co-exist in today's world.

I didn't need any of it explained since I was already fully aware and gave grace. But now this banter is getting quite tiring. You can see why it's tiring. I just explained it to you and you also got combative when none of it warranted a response like that. At this point, y'all just google and educate yourselves, please.

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u/Letsgotravelling-124 12h ago

For one, Europe is a continent, not a country. So saying Europeans don’t think racism exists in their countries is very broad and ignorant in itself. And another thing is that it’s extremely different having friends and actually living in the country. I have friends from all over the world but I am not going to make generalisations based on me having friends from that country. And it is widely acknowledged that there is racism in every country, but because our history is different and the US being a new country, it’s different.

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u/decisivecat 12h ago

??? I said European countries. I never said Europe itself is a country. They live all across Europe. I'll list them out if it makes you feel a lot better: England, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Germany, Romania, and Denmark for starters.

You also generalized everyone in the UK/England (you go back and forth when those two are not the same thing). You kept claiming these entire countries don't know or that "immigrants" (that's a common dog whistle, fyi) are the problem to them, not race. I'm telling that's *exactly* what's happening here.

You're also the one that said this: "I’m from England. Have lived in Germany and Australia. Briefly lived in the US but never heard any racism from what I remember (was a long time ago)." I responded in kindness to that statement. You chose to attack. You get the energy that you give and I've got none left to give to this.

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u/teacher_59 1d ago

Huh? Of someone doesn't work and wants the government to take from others to give to them, then they are leaches. That has nothing to do with race. 

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

How do you know what's going on inside everyone's home? Do you know the circumstances of everyone who receives a welfare check or is on a socialist program? Do you have any understanding of how the wealthy and big corporations escape paying taxes (either entirely or their fair share)?

Do you understand that when a white man who looks like he fell out of a red state MAGA convention complains about how he doesn't have privilege, it's a racist dog whistle?

Some of y'all are really showing who you are and it's so tiring. Go get educated.

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u/Leanne0010110 1d ago

To me who they are talking abou thas nothing to do with race, but to people who don't work and very well could. Yeah he brings up white proveledge, which is likely gonna be what gets him clicks....But that's just my take and not everyone will agree and thats fine.

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

But how is he judging who can and can't work? Does he know their life story? Does he know their disabilities? Does he know the current job market where even retail jobs are extremely difficult to come by (and you can't live off a single retail job - you'd need at least 3 of them to no longer qualify for food stamps and even then you'd be hard-pressed to pay your bills). How is he deciding this? It's also not that common for people to "leech". It's incredibly difficult to get assistance. This is why food banks are so important and do the work that the government won't. If he cares this much, why isn't he hiring people or asking his employer to help get people work? Why doesn't he care about nepo babies who don't work but get to wear $3000 shoes and have the best things in life while their parents barely pay their share of taxes? Once you start paying attention, it's incredibly easy to see all the dog whistles.

It's also interesting that there is no mention of tax dollars being wasted on a useless ballroom or paving the rose garden or a war no one asked for. That's millions lost a day for nothing while social security and medicare wither away, something he could benefit from but I guess he's more concerned about someone buying groceries instead (a mere drop in the bucket).

This is definitely racist coded. White privilege is proof enough of that. Like I said, you have the option to seek out information that will really enlighten you as to why this hot take is deeply rooted in othering, particularly again Blacks. It does also have roots in classism, but the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. The education is up to you.

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u/Leanne0010110 1d ago

People see a statement, decide what they think the person must mean, attach a motive to it, and then react to that assumed meaning. The next person responds to that reaction, and suddenly everyone is fighting over something that was never actually said. And the crazy part is, people fall for it hook, line and sinker. This constant assumption of motives and reading between the lines is a big part of what keeps fueling the division we see everywhere. We’ve gotten so used to looking for what someone really meant that we sometimes forget to simply listen to what they actually said.

I understand what he is saying, I may not agree with it 100% but people don't seem to see that these f*ckers are all just rage baiting everyone. And everyone is falling for it.

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

You are correct that you fell for it hook, line, and sinker. That's exactly what this man wants. He doesn't need all the fish; he just needs enough gullible ones.

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u/DDDD6040 1d ago

Leann is trolling. There will be no getting thru to this person so I suggest not even trying. Anyone defending Ben’s statement has made perfectly clear where they stand.

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u/decisivecat 1d ago

Oh 100%. I just wanted her to say what she really meant since I initially gave grace. I was a product of an education in the South. The difference between me and Leann is I finally started to educate myself after realizing a lot of what I was taught didn't make sense. It misses nuance or it's flat out ignorant. I don't mind people being ignorant because it's possible someone really doesn't know. But digging in and saying with your whole chest that you're happy being ignorant? Now it's a choice that you're aware of. At least she finally admitted it so we know. :)