I’ve started writing this blog several times and ended up deleting it every time. The reason? I was constantly doubting myself. Was I the right person to comment on the topic? Did I have a right to write about it? After all, I’m a white West of Scotland male, what do I know about being at the end of sharp end of racism?
Recently, the more time I spent on Facebook, the more time I spent feeling exasperated and incensed. Yes, I know Facebook isn’t the real world, and I should let it wash over me, but there seems to be an unabated increasing level of unsavoury types commenting on news stories or posting frankly exasperating statuses on social media. Don’t get me wrong, social media has always been a breeding ground for behaviours certain individuals wouldn’t display when face to face with someone, but their bravado strikes when they can hide behind their keyboards.
“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist” Angela Y Davis.
It soon made me realise that my background is the very reason I should be writing about it. Too many people will happily sit in their homes defending themselves as not being racist, while doing nothing to condemn the actions of others. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a criticism of people that justly identify as non-racist. But sitting at home happy in the fact that you are not racist doesn’t help the continuing uphill push for equality and ridding the world of racism. This isn’t a black people’s problem; this is a white people’s problem. People like me need to make every effort to continue to learn more about the history and impact of racism, what racism actually means, and how we can play a part in ridding the world of this insidious creeping disease.
We live in a society that is endemically racist, one that is ultimately built on racism. Whether we like it or not, we have probably, no matter how unwittingly or unknowingly been party to some action that promotes the continuance of racism in society. Something as simple as not challenging someone on telling a racist joke. Sitting in the break room at work, over-hearing an unacceptable conversation and not intervening. I overheard a conversation around films not being shown now as they included racist language or behaviours. As I was leaving the room, I heard one person claiming that White Girls should be banned then as it was anti-white racism. I still regret continuing to walk out the room instead of turning around and calling them out.
It has always been racist
Why do an increasing number of people on social media seem to think it is acceptable to share blatantly racist posts on social media in current times? Challenge them about it and they’ll counter it with some sort of bullshit comments about the world being too PC, people being too sensitive, or it never used to be racist. The point they are missing is that the sort of behaviour or comments they are making always have been racist, it just hasn’t been challenged enough… or at all… before.
It doesn’t help when you have someone as inept as Donald Trump in charge in the USA who make so many misguided or blatantly racist comments playing into the hands of the right-wing gun lovers. And we have the equally inept Boris Johnson and co. in the UK who seem more interested in Brexit and playing to the gallery of those who cry overused misguided phrases like “take back control” and “protect our borders” rather than welcoming those who are looking to live a life in safety and without fear and tackling the root cause.
Land of Dopes and Tories
There are people who should know better. I regularly see posts on supposedly music related music sites, ironically most of them punk related, who seem to have forgotten what the bands they deem to have loved back in the day stood for. People who start to wheel out an unending stream of clueless all lives matter type posts and don’t see the irony when in the next breath they rant about immigrants and closing the borders. Or the irony of an old so called anti-establishment punk despairing at the prospect of having no Rule Britannia or Land of Hope and Glory at the Last Night of the Proms.
When you look at these people’s profiles, not always, but usually there is a theme. You’ll find some union jacks, Brexit posts, Farage or Tommy Robinson, news articles (Daily Mail, The Sun…you know the ones) bemoaning the number of people crossing the channel to seek asylum in the UK… you get the picture. There are those who are openly racist and admit to it, those who just think they are patriotic and deny any forms of racism (“Give it the bigun ‘round town, have a drink and puff your chest out, not a racist you’re just proud” – Bob Vylan – We Live Here), and the scariest ones – the ones who are too stupid and becoming too bold in their own views to realise what they are doing or saying. Ignorance isn’t an excuse.
A sweeping generalisation
I should perhaps say here that not all union jack waving Brexit supporters are racist. I could probably make a sweeping wild generalisation and say that all (UK) racists are likely to be union jack waving Brexit supporters…
The more worrying side of racism is that I’ve seen comments from people who I honestly thought were genuine and good people. These are the ones who shock me the most. The biggest problem I see with racism, bizarrely isn’t the knucklehead statue protecting out and out racists who are proud to be white and British and spout their nonsense about immigrants and sending people “home”. The thing about them is they are easy to spot, therefore easier to deal with as they are out in the open for all to see. They are the ones who will trip themselves up endlessly.
Insidious Views
The bigger issue is with those who don’t think they are racist. Those who are racist by stealth, sharing their little insidious views here and there, chipping away at people trying to influence their own views. It is the people who if you asked them, would probably say they weren’t racist…before adding the word but. The one’s who say they can’t be racist as they have a black friend, or they work with a black person. Then they say, I don’t see them as black, they are just like you and me before they sit back comfortably and smugly unprepared to challenge any racist behaviours because, you know, they aren’t racist so it isn’t a problem. Or make a racist joke, because, you know, it’s just banter.
I’m fed up with people dismissing racism offhand. Black lives matter cannot be a flash in the pan, it will take a huge sustained effort from everyone to make a change. People can’t just shout about it then crawl back into their own comfortable lives. The “I’m not racist, all is well” brigade. But what about all those who are quietly racist? Those who counter black lives matter comments with white lives matter or other various bastardisations of the phrase. Those people who tar a whole moment with one brush. When violence occurs at a demonstration, all their supposed support disappears, and generalised phrases are used. A whole movement gets labelled – “they” don’t deserve our support, dismissing the actions of a small minority and immediately demeaning the rights of every single peaceful demonstrator who only want to be part of a fair and equitable society where everyone is treated fairly regardless of the colour of their skin.
Challenge people
These people must be challenged. The ignorance they show by making statements like white lives matter or all lives matter is stupendous. The lack of understanding or appreciation that the black lives matter movement does not mean they are the only lives that matter at the expense of anyone else. Of course, all lives matter, no-one is denying that. But using that as a counter argument denigrates the whole black lives matter movement. We aren’t on an even playing field, don’t try to make out that this is the case. There are loads of memes and analogies that play to the stupidity of using these comments as a counter argument.
Then you’ve got the “I don’t see colour; everyone is equal in my eyes” brigade. The ones who believe we’re all born equal. Well that would be great if we were all born into an equal society where racism didn’t exist, and people were not judged by the colour of their skin. To say you don’t see the colour of someone’s skin is denying that there is a problem in society at large. You are denying the fact that to gain the same level of success as someone with white privilege, has probably meant double the effort.
One of the bands of the moment is Bob Vylan and We Live Here is an immense album and at the same time an indictment on 21st century UK society. Their songs are a microcosm of everything that is wrong in a racist society. Essential listening.
“Mum said the best revenge is success” Bob Vylan – Intro
To not see the colour is to ignore the differences and challenges that exist in society. You must see the colour. You must acknowledge the differences. You must learn from these.
White privilege is another phrase that raises objections from, who else, but white people. “But I’m not privileged” the cry goes up from those who quite are probably genuinely pleading poverty and a life of hardship, and of course poverty is a huge issue that needs to be tackled. Again though, there is a misunderstanding of the terminology. It is a fact of life that before any other circumstances are taken into consideration, when a white baby and a black baby are born into an endemically racist society, one of them is at an immediate disadvantage due to the colour of their skin, before any wealth or status is taken into consideration.
“The fairies get a march, And the nig-nogs get a month” Bob Vylan – We Live Here
Social media is a nightmare for lack of context too. Everyone becomes an expert due to a meme or a gif. A headline from a red top sensationalist article…they take it and run with it as gospel.
I saw someone recently taking a quote from a rather famous actor out of context. It was around a quote from Morgan Freeman that had been put on a meme. It was taken from an interview in 2012 when Freeman had stated “I don’t want a black history month”. The poster was quite pleased with themselves in stating that he agreed with the great actor, there shouldn’t be a black history month. What the poster failed to research was the rest of the interview and WHY Morgan Freeman found the concept of Black History Month “ridiculous”. The concept that recognising achievements or points in history by the colour of someone’s skin, by determining things as black or white isn’t a naturally occurring thing. Racism is a white invention, conceived and used to distinguish and discriminate. Freeman was making a point that we shouldn’t HAVE to have a Black History Month. As he went on to say, “Black History is American History”.
Always learning
I am currently devouring books and information about racism. I want to learn. I’m educating and re-educating myself constantly. I’ve been accused of virtue signalling, of being a lefty snowflake. But this movement that we are seeing across the world cannot be a flash in the pan, where people show support for 5 minutes until they get bored and move onto something else. Happy with their attitude that they aren’t racist so all is well with the world. It needs people to keep focussed. To raise awareness. To take action.
I’m not naïve enough to think things will change overnight. I know there are people who are beyond redemption. I know I’m shouting into a vacuum sometimes when I respond to some of the frankly disgusting posts I see on Facebook. These people aren’t going to change. They are a lost cause. They would rather go out and save a statue than welcome someone who is fleeing war or discrimination.
Statues
Statues, there is another contentious issue. What do you do with statues that celebrate slave traders, or city fathers who helped build a city with proceeds of businesses who couldn’t have existed without slavery? My home city is a case in point. Glasgow is awash with statues and street names that commemorate a dark side of our history. I wouldn’t be sad to see them go. After all a city is more than its street names and statues, it should be all about its wide diversity of residents. But in some way, removing them is just erasing part of history and hiding from it, pretending it never happened. So, what do we do about it? As I just alluded to, there are many lost causes whose minds we can’t change. But we have future generations to consider, and we have a responsibility to teach them the REAL history of our country and the cities in which we live. A warning from the past if you like, and a lesson and a message to our sons and daughters to never let this happen again.
So, I will continue to support Black Lives Matter, I won’t be beaten down by those who throw loose threats or insults at me, they are like mere flies to be swatted away compared to the vile hatred and violence faced by black people over the centuries. As long as unjustified shootings happen, as long as people get murdered because of the colour of their skin, as long as misguided people rage against what they deem as illegal immigrants, as long as people die of starvation, penniless in an unjust society the focus cannot waver.
Some books I have read recently for anyone like-minded:
- Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
- White Fragility – Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism – Robin DiAngelo
- How to Be an Anti-Racist – Ibram X. Kendi