Comedian Simon Kingsley-Holmes will explore this complex topic in his latest show, I Was a Teenage Racist, during the Dunedin Fringe Festival.
Kingsley-Holmes has been performing stand-up for ten years, and by the time he started, he was already on the path to acceptance and open-mindedness.
"So I was never going to do any racist jokes, homophobic jokes. My stuff is just silly and odd."
But, deep down, Kingsley-Holmes felt uncomfortable about his teenage attitudes.
He was born on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, and his family later moved to the small town of Llantwit Major in South Wales.
Living in a "very white area", he grew up around "constant casual racism" that was never questioned.
"Irish jokes, Pakistani jokes, anything and everything."
Kingsley-Holmes moved with his family to New Zealand when he was a teenager.
Attending Logan Park High School as a 16-year-old, he was struck by the diversity in his classroom.
"There were way more people from all sorts of different backgrounds.
"Another thing I point out at the show was that I couldn’t handle the fact there was openly gay kids in school.
"Then all of a sudden, you are confronted with it, with the kids who are not only out, but also are accepted and are friends."
He struggled to "get [his] brain round" the fact it was perfectly normal.
He is tackling this head-on in his new "confessional" show.
"I don’t remember ever saying horrible things, but I was definitely part of the problem of casual racism."
While he does not expect it to change anyone’s mind, he views the show as "kicking back" at right-wingers who say racism is not a problem, as well as those on the left.
Details
Thursday, March 20 to Saturday, March 22
9.30pm each night
18+ years
Moons Restaurant and Bar
286 Princes St
