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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/m00nbursts on 2026-03-27 11:58:14+00:00.
Today I (18m) might have accidentally been racist to a girl in my school.
I’m currently doing my final exams in school, 40% of our grade is based on an oral exam where we have to read out of a poem, have a conversation and tell a story.
Today I had an oral exam practice in Irish with a very strict teacher. I couldn’t find my Léamh na filíochta sheet (poetry) which is a vital part of the exam. While I was searching my locker for my sheet a girl walked into the locker area. I had what I thought was a bright idea to ask her if she does Irish so I could maybe borrow her sheet for the practice oral. She gave me a strange look and said no as if it was obvious before waking away. I thought her reaction was weird but I brushed it off. I ended up finding another persons sheet to borrow.
I didn’t know there was a problem until a few minutes ago. My vice principal pulled me out of class and told me there was an incident of me being prejudice. I was confused since I’m not the type of person to be racist, sexist etc. he said someone complained because I insinuated that they weren’t Irish enough. I didn’t get into real trouble but I got told this is my only warning.
It’s important to note that the girl I asked is Irish but she has heritage from a country in Africa
I didn’t realise what my question might have insinuated I genuinely was just panicking about not having my things for my oral. I also didn’t think anything of it when she said no as people don’t do languages for loads of different reasons.
TLDR: don’t assume everyone knows what you mean because it can lead to massive race based misunderstandings.
EDIT:
Someone made a good point that I forgot to include, Irish is mandatory in school unless you have moved here in recent years or have a disability such as dyslexia. There’s a lot of reasons why someone might not do it but the majority of students learn Irish.