EUROPEAN NATIONALITY? Now what might that be?

EUROPEAN NATIONALITY

I heard something strange on TV some years ago. It was about a legal process concerning Disney land Paris. They had been taken to court by an organization called SOS Racism which promotes equal rights.

Evidently Disneyland had put out an ad a few years ago looking for new employees. In the ad they required the candidates to be of European Nationality.

Allowing for misunderstandings in translation I hope that meant of a European nationality and not European nationality. Apart from the fact I’ve never heard of such a nationality I would not accept its existence. It would mean a European State.

Now it is quite normal that they would require candidates to be European. One would hope they do not seek to employ non Europeans inside Europe. Illegal immigrants perhaps?

Now why would that be racist? What has race got to do with nationality? I am British (Nationality). I live in France where the citizens have French nationality.

Now if the ad had stated “of a European race”, once one had been able to decipher what that was it might have showed discrimination against other races. I mean one could say Caucasian. Of course the Caucasus is not in Europe and therefore Caucasians are not of European nationality although they might be of the same race as many Europeans.

I am English, or Irish or Scots or whatever. Not Welsh though. Now are those races or nationalities. British is a nationality. It is the only word that binds all the peoples of the British Isles together. That is when they’re not fighting each other or playing rugby.

Is there a French race or is the word Gallic? I always call them a Gallic people living in France, although most seem to come from Africa these days. Maybe I’m not allowed to say that.

In any case I am not at all racist. I am sometimes nationalistic, particularly when watching rugby. I do think though it would be illegal for Disneyland to employ anyone not of a European nationality so I think SOS Racism is barking up the wrong tree. But maybe I’m not allowed to say that either. That might cast some doubt on the species of its members which might or not be considered as racism.