I have faced off racists for more than five decades. Let me state for the record, the UK is one of the best nations in the EU when it comes to equalities. The EU is riddled with nations where the far-right routinely secure significant voter support whereas in the UK we have beaten the likes of the BNP into submission. However, it’s important to also expose the bigots in our society. The clandestine racists, masquerading as liberals, I have found them to be some of the most racist. Their fake empathy, the forced smiles, the crocodile tears, the taking of the knee, and jumping on any equalities related bandwagon, all done to hide the truth about their corrupt moral compass. Beware these charlatans of equalities and diversity, they are in it for their own self-gratification.
So, no doubt you are asking, why the question: ‘Are you a racist?’
Over the decades I have witnessed the racists getting very clever. They hide their racism using meaningless terminology. They associate themselves with diversity issues and activists. However, behind all the facade hides a core prejudice that comes to light every now and then.
Recently on twitter I challenged a leading left leaning journalist for remarks he had made, that I found offensive. He said, ‘It might leave the impression that land colonised by Brits previously lived in prelapsarian bliss. They didn’t.’. To me it came across as, Brits were not all that bad, they brought a bit of bliss to the colonised (I guess they considered Indians as savages!).
I challenged him by saying, ‘It was not for the Brits to decide if land of others was blissful or not. The British committed crimes against humanity, it enslaved millions and looted others left, right and centre. Never belittle the evil that it perpetrated on others.’. Instead of understanding his error and even possibly apologising for his crass comments, he went on to tell me, ‘In that case you might more usefully ponder how it was that a few pasty-faced foreigners with bad clothes and hygiene managed to subdue the mighty Mughal armies, fabulously wealthy bankers of Bengal and Maratha warrior kingdoms - and hold them for 200 years’.
I have to say I was dumbfounded. The ignorant buffoon was now blaming Indians for being enslaved. First by the Islamists, and then by the British. In effect saying that it’s not the fault of the aggressor, it’s the fault of the oppressed for getting invaded. It’s a bit like saying to a woman who has been raped, it’s not the fault of the rapist, it’s your fault for allowing it to happen. Can you imagine the outcry should anyone say anything like that? But when it comes to race and the subjugation of people, nations, and cultures – the white man still believes that they can do anything.
So here is my simple guide for these racists. You are a racist if you:
deny me my right to call out racism and racists
deny my heritage and my history
deny the genocide and ethnocide of my people
deny my right as a Brit to call out inequalities in Britain
deny my right to express the grief of my ancestors resulting from foreign occupation
deny my right to demand that the truth about racists, racism and colonialism be told
deny my right to demand restorative justice for crimes against humanity
deny the historical evil perpetrated by Britain on nations globally
deny my lived experience of facing racism and racists
Remember, just because you voted for Obama does not make you antiracist. And likewise, just because you don’t vote for Rishi Sunak, does not make you a racist.
The real racists of today are far too clever, they are not skin heads wearing Doc Martins, today’s xenophobes are suited and booted. They will shake your hand, present a cheesy smile, and give you a hug, and then put a steel blade in your back.
