RYA Wokebomb

I am a member of an inner city club. We had our first female commodore in the 1980s. We have had members of all shapes forms and colours since i joined in the mid 1990s. I don't actually see that this is a cause for celebration, because it should be normal.

What I object to is being told that being just open to anyone (And having proof that this is the case going back decades) isn't good enough. I'm not sure if its RYA doctrine or local council pressure (Probably a bit of both) but we are now it seems obliged to be seen to positively discriminate in our membership recruitment because we happen to sit in a part of the city that has a high percentage of people of a certain ethnic background.

This is wrong. It wastes hours of volunteer time (We have held specific open days targeted at that audience in addition to our normal open days) working to provide taster sessions to people who are never going to become part of the club. The accusation from the outside is exactly what many people who have previously posted in this thread have made against the OP, but this is simply not the case - it isn't the clubs fault if the local populace within 3 miles of the pond don't like sailing!

With due respect to our countryside and coastal members you may not be seeing this just yet, and if 50 year out of date attitudes are still in the fore it may be a good thing to start to change. But there will come a point where you have to start to push back.

So, the OP may be wrong. He may have put his point across badly. But I can see why he did it.

If forced into a position (and I'd rather not be) then I would have say I'm on the listening and respectful side of the sliding scale, I consciously make an effort to be considerate of others, sadly I sometimes fail terribly but that's life I suppose.

Those that insist it's a binary, divided "war" have been manipulated into that position by unscrupulous politicians with a supporting press who spread and exploit fear.

Covid isn't helping either. Stress generally tends to make populations less considerate of  others, it promotes self interest. Totally understandable but still unfortunate.