“The BBC had earlier confirmed that both songs were to be performed as instrumentals, clarifying that the decision to exclude the lyrics was driven by physical distancing restrictions limiting the number of musicians in the Royal Albert Hall.”

Absolutely nothing to do with BLM and Boris is a **** stirrer, trying to create a culture war.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/27/bbc-conductor-issues-statement-over-proms-controversy

Crikey

When echo chambers go bad…

Do you mean that a different perspective has been expressed and supported, rather than solidifying your moral values?

Can this be closed now?
Increasingly apparent that it’s just a bad tempered shambles

Is it making you uncomfortable to see people discussing difficult issues, making mistakes and forgiving?

I’d hazard a guess that most people on this mountain bike website know that this thread is way more likely to be populated by worthy gobshites than one about birthdays…

Nothing left to contribute other than insult?

I’d rather it wasn’t necessary to have these conversations at all, but I’m glad that we are able to discuss them on a mtb forum with people who wouldn’t ordinarily be aware of them. You may wonder what relevance it has to mtb, but it’s a sport dominated by middle class white males, which should be welcoming and accessible to all. We’re open about discussing mental and physical health, trail access, politics and coffee machines, why single out race as irrelevant, but also affects forum users lives and access to the trails?

Hi A_A, I’m faerie. I’m a parent who has witnessed and experienced abhorrent racism of all forms, from the overt violent to the insidious systemic discrimination of institutions, including the Parliament and the police, as well as education. It has been through necessity that I have had to raise issues with the institutions and educate myself to understand and counter their arguments. In doing so I’ve mapped institutional racism in Scottish education, from playground to Parliament which covers the failure of policy, practice, legislation and society.
I’m an autistic accidental activist, playing by the rules I’ve raised my issues with every agency and individual concerned through emails and meetings with everyone from the head teacher, community, chief executive of the council, police, MSP’s, MP’s, Ministers, academics, agencies, lawyers and media. The problem is that the rules are designed to take you in circles, much like the arguments on the Internet.
I’ve exhausted the official routes of complaint, meanwhile the situation is getting worse for my kids and B.A.M.E people. When racism flares up in the news my kids suffer, and the people who are supposed to protect them explain it away and tell my black kids to be less conspicuous, essentially because white people don’t understand and can’t control themselves.
It’s truly shocking and as a parent it is terrifying. I ride my bike to escape it all, yet I see these threads as I smile at other riders, wondering if my kids would be welcome.
What do we do next?

Activist lawyers = lawyers asking the government to behave lawfully, using the law created by the government.
The reason that the deportation flight was stopped was because all of the 23 deportees were being deported illegally and their cases hadn’t been given due consideration.
If you have the money and access to a good lawyer then most cases win on appeal (the government automatically refuse most initial applications)

Ummm, cromolyolly which question were you answering?
The one where non compliance warrants being shot by the police on the street without trial, or the one asking if black people deserve the respect and protection white people expect to receive?
The truth is that even if he hadn’t resisted arrest there’s still a very real and disproportionate chance that he may have been shot or strangled by the police.
You also object to the language I’ve used in calling the attempt on his life by an officer of the state an attempted execution, which is the legal punishment of killing someone. Given that very few officers are disciplined for killing black people in their custody and care that’s exactly what this is, he was using lethal force with the intention of killing him and would most likely have gotten away with it. What would you call it and why?
I’m not sure what tweet you are referring to, but the BLM movement has been very restrained and I know that I’ve been biting my tongue most of the time to choose my words carefully as anti-racists are judged to be the aggressors, it’s more acceptable to call someone a N* rather than racist in our society.
I agree that we need more empathy, just don’t use it to gaslight.

the elevated danger the people found themselves in was a direct result of failing to comply with easy rules or instructions

You seem to be suggesting that a failure to comply with the police warrants a death sentence, is that really the kind of country you want to live in?
Given the current climate it’s understandable why he was trying to escape, black people don’t have the privilege of the same level of justice that white people are afforded. He’s already been judged as guilty of what ever crime the warrant was for, although we’re not aware if the police knew that he was wanted before they tackled him. Don’t black people deserve the same level of respect and protection that white people receive?

Bearing in mind that it was white malitia openly carrying a gun who killed 2 people and then walked past the police with his hands up, whilst people were shouting that he’d just shot 3 people. Yet you are justifying the attempted execution on the street of a black man?
This is the kind of thinking that has brought us into this situation.

“If we’re required to comply with the police without question under any circumstances or face penalty of death, then we have no civil liberties”
Bree Newsome

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fascism

“So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.”
Scott Woods

I can understand Inksters perspective, it’s extremely difficult to moderate fear, frustration and anger when racism is highly emotive and a lived reality for some of us, whilst for others it’s just the topic du jour. Being white I’ve got cheek to say I’m tired of arguing about racism, but I can’t walk away because I’m emotionally and physically invested in it. Each time there’s something on the news about racism my young girls get physically and verbally abused, the Danny Baker photo earned them 3 beatings; and I was labelled an extremist for saying that casual racist banter is not ok. I lost my job because of the frequency of calls from the school or the police. I’ve had to explain to the Head of Education and a Chief Superintendent what institutional and systemic racism is, out of a dozen incidents of abuse including children, adults and a teacher there’s been 2 teenagers charged and that was for theft rather than the racist abuse.

There’s no doubt that the police have a difficult job, I couldn’t handle the pressure they’re under. Whilst I respect the individual, I don’t agree with the institution which does have militarised ethics and comradery based on class, gender, race and sex. As they are in a position of power these views are often amplified, especially at the moment. Looking at the figures lockdown has exposed the huge inequalities between people who experience racism and those who do not, which have been fuelled by the deaths of black people; including here in the UK when the officers took selfies with two murdered sisters after a BLM protest. Is that how my kids are viewed when they need police assistance?

It’s a difficult but necessary discussion, one I’ve learned to listen to without comment until I am informed and calm enough to offer a qualified opinion.

Be kind.

He even walks past the police after the incident carrying the weapon, with people shouting “Arrest him, he just shot someone”.
The police did nothing.
Remember, this protest was sparked because the police shot an unarmed black man 7 times in the back. The governor has now called in the National Guard, they’re stoking the flames. I can’t see this ending well

US Civil war v2 on the brink for sure.

Yup, the shooter is a member of the Boogaloo Bois. Their aim is to have a second civil war to end Americas problems, they’re an extreme right wing group but there’s a twist… There’s two factions, some are also supporting BLM, perhaps to incite violence and devalue the protests?
It appears that they have the blessing of the police too https://www.ibtimes.co.in/who-are-boogaloo-bois-what-does-boogaloo-movement-want-everything-you-must-know-827103

Would you tolerate the same treatment of one of your own family or friends?
We’re heading down a dangerous road to fascism if we justify police executing or attempting to execute people on the street, surely we all have a right to a fair trial.
So, if the police force involved were justified in shooting Jacob Blake, then why didn’t they shoot this guy?

Same police dept but this suspect:

✅Refused to get on ground
✅Walked away
✅Reached in his car
✅Shouted at + chased officer
✅Assault
✅Got IN the POLICE car
✅Got in his car
✅Crashed his car into the police car

Yet, the cops gun didn't even leave the holster.#JacobBlake pic.twitter.com/xJBZvCyRf3

— Janet's Void (@FaztasticMrFox) August 24, 2020

It depends on the topic of disagreement and how knowledgeable and invested I am in the issue. Some things are a privilege to ignore and others aren’t worth it

More of the story has unfolded, with more video and background. There’s no Kenosha police bodycam footage as they don’t wear them, despite having been awarded funding for them they’re not going to implement the usage until 2022. Other bystanders filmed what happened before he’s seen going to his car, where he’s restrained by officers before breaking free. He supposedly had a warrant for sexual crimes, although it’s not clear whether the officers were aware of it.
None of that justifies an attempted street execution, he’s entitled to a fair trial like we would expect. As for his young kids having to witness such state sanctioned brutality, I can’t imagine the trauma of what they’re going through. We condemn authoritarian states in Africa and the Middle East for the same actions and treatment towards their citizens, yet we justify ours with pale excuses.

I’m about half way through the book Outlaw Ocean, which is written by journalist Ian Urbina. To accompany the book there’s also podcasts about different issues regarding the sea his various adventures in capturing the stories, and a music playlist. Below is a link to the podcasts

https://www.theoutlawocean.com/appearances/

I just bought The Outlaw Ocean yesterday and I’m struggling to put it down, five chapters in and it’s absolutely fascinating. It’s categorised as a guidebook, travel literature and true crime, written by a journalist who spent years at sea on numerous ships. The stories he tells cover a vast variety of events and issues that occur beyond the beaches, but I’m not going to give any spoilers.
https://www.theoutlawocean.com/the-outlaw-ocean/

I thought it was quite good, I loved Saga and being autistic I found it unusual to be able to relate to a character.

You’ve overstepped the line and making this personal, do you want a picture of them?
Both yourself and exsee are demonstrating willful ignorance and manipulating official information to suit your agenda, I won’t encourage it further.

There’s no such thing as

police race merit ranking

but I’m glad to see that we are using the same source I linked to, which says

Summary
This data shows that:

there were 375,588 stop and searches in England and Wales between April 2018 and March 2019, at a rate of 7 per 1,000 people
there were 4 stop and searches for every 1,000 White people, compared with 38 for every 1,000 Black people
there were 11 stop and searches per 1,000 Asian people, and also 11 per 1,000 people with Mixed ethnicity
the 3 Black ethnic groups had the highest rates of stop and search out of all 16 individual ethnic groups
the Black Other group had the highest rate overall, at 100 stop and searches per 1,000 people – this group includes people who didn’t identify (or weren’t recorded) as Black African or Black Caribbean”

Which is vastly different to your cherry picked interpretation. Talking of cherry picking, you are asking how I know my kids are classed as black? Honestly? You’re being heavy on the trolling.
If you look into the history of eugenics, or The Enlightenment as we prefer to call it, it was either Immanuel Kant, John Locke or Francis Galston that classed Australian Aboriginals as the same as Africans, or maybe it was David Hume. I cba going through all my notes to find the specific quote at the moment, but if you don’t trust me having supported all of my other comments with the relevant sources I shall happily refresh my memory and provide you with a quote. Actually, it’s going to bug the hell out of me if I don’t find it.

Race is a social construct, something that we made up to support slavery and ensure white supremacy. We classify certain observed physical attributes, mainly skin colour to a particula “race”, for example Australian Aboriginals are classed as negroid, whilst Indians are classed mongoloid the same as Chinese people.
When Dawn Butler refers to the driver as “Black” she means not white as most of the British public would see it. My children are of mixed African/Scottish heritage and although they are brought up within the Scottish culture and have never been to Africa they are classed as black, though they are equally white.
Now, you haven’t sited your source for your figures but I’m going to take a guess at this. You have been selective in your representation of the figures and have chosen to omit other classifications which have come from the census. The census is a self assessment to determine the demography of the nation and people self identify in a a variety of ways, whilst some prefer “Black Other” another may choose “Mixed white/black African” or “White other”
If you look at those who identify as “Black Other” you will see a significant difference to what you have chosen to highlight.
https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest

Exsee, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in this discussion if it wasn’t something that I understand and had researched, as well as experiencing and witnessing various forms of racism first hand ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿👍. “Stop and search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police, and its
disproportionate use on members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME)
communities continues to threaten trust and confidence in the police. HMICFRS
therefore continues to assess the extent to which all forces are using these powers
fairly, and are demonstrating to the public that they are doing so” PEEL report, here’s a link to the source which is the police themselves and hopefully will save ajaj trying to link skin colour to crime to fit prejudices.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-legitimacy-2017.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjF5du0xazrAhWEtHEKHTuxBC0QFjAAegQIBRAC&usg=AOvVaw228N44BfIgld5Tj99KUMDR

I’m sure I must be misunderstanding the links you are making between “race” (which doesn’t physically exist) and crime. Are you suggesting that skin pigmentation is an indicator to an innate criminality that is not shared by white people? That we are somehow superior in our morality because we are white?
That, in my mind is bizarre, your words are reminiscent of David Hume’s footnote in Of National Characters “I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation. No ingenious manufacturer amongst them, no arts, no sciences. On the other hand, the most rude and barbarous of the Whites, such as the ancient German, the present Tartars, still have something eminent about them, in their valor, form of government, or some other particular. Such a uniform and constant difference could not happen in so many countries and ages, if nature had not made an original distinction betwixt these breeds of men. Not to mention our colonies, there are Negro slaves dispersed all over Europe, of whom none ever discovered any symptoms of ingenuity; though low people, without education, will [229] start up amongst us, and distinguish themselves in every profession. In Jamaica, indeed, they talk of one Negro as a man of parts and learning; but it is likely he is admired for slender accomplishments, like a parrot who speaks a few words plainly.”
As I have said previously that we now have a greater understanding of the genome, a white person and a black person have more genes in common than 2 black people do.
“More recently, biologist, Richard Lewontin reaffirmed Washburn’s contention in stating: “if you pick at random any two ‘blacks’ walking along the street, and analyze their 23 pairs of chromosomes, you will probably find that their genes have less in common than do the genes of one of them with a random white person” (Begley, 1995). Data from the Human Genome Diversity Project confirms these assertions by showing that inter-individual genetic variation between people in the same sociological racial grouping is much greater than between the averages contrasted across different classifications (Begley, 1995).” Smith Science Institute

You are dismissing poverty as a major contributer to crime and other poor life outcomes, because otherwise more white people would be charged?? Institutional and systemic racism oppresses people who experience racism in every aspect of life, from accommodation, education, jobs, health care, security and a fair judicial system, they are therefore more likely than white people to live in extreme poverty and have lower life outcomes. Here is a link to a poverty and crime report centered on London

https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/full-links-between-poverty-and-violent-crime

Ethnicity seems relevant in certain situations just like age or the way you dress, speak, look, location, vehicle, actions, response etc etc,

Socioeconomic status would be a more correct correlation to make with crime. Ethnicity or race in reference to skin colour, eye or nose shape, is a social construct and plays no part in someones conduct. Since we’ve been able to map the human genome it’s disproved the subjective and empirical observations of eugenics, which was devised to support slavery.
This is a perfect example of the systemic racial bias which has contributed to the oppression of black people. It’s not only the police that have to change, our education, health care, judiciary and society also have to change their perceptions and practices.
The article below is a review of the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) 2017 annual PEEL report. In short, black people are disproportionately stopped despite white people committing more crime.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/dec/13/police-less-likely-find-drugs-black-people-during-stop-search

Do you have a local veg box delivery?
There’s a couple that deliver in my area, it’s local and seasonal as they can get and you can also add dairy, fruit and meat for an additional charge. The downside is that other than the staples you can’t choose what you get, but it does encourage you to expand your recipe repertoire.

Have heard a few forinners say “midgets”. Gets me every time.

Are you sure they’re no talking about the people?

I’ve got a Spotify playlist dedicated to foreign language songs, but I’ll just select a couple

Sherwood and Pinch – Stand Strong
She’s singing about church

LA Cumbia Moderna Soledad -Crees Que Soy Sexy. JD Twitch to thank for this gem

Perchypanther increased grades are not being rescinded, so your daughters 5 A’s still stand. Extra places are also being provided by colleges and universities to compensate

The Met police have issued an apology to Dawn stating that they had input the reg wrong, although this seems to be a common excuse for disproportionately stopping black people.
It appears that there’s more criticism of the police as they are the most visible and violent institution, they’re not the only institution which is racist. Education is also institutionally racist but it is much harder to raise a complaint (in Scotland) as they aren’t accountable to an Ombudsman.

The Reverend and Right Honourable Prebendary Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint former Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Chairman of HSBC and Anglican priest.
When he became chief executive of HSBC in 2003 the bank closed Birmingham, Sheffield, Brentwood and Swansea and offshored the work to India, Malaysia and China within two years which cost us over 4,000 jobs. When he became Chairman of HSBC in 2005 he allowed money laundering for the Taliban and Mexican cartels, mainly the Sinaloa until 2010. The bank was fined $1.9 billion.
He then went on to become Minister of Trade as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for David Cameron, he wasn’t paid for these positions but instead he was given a peerage so that he’d be “accountable” to Parliament and have a guaranteed income for the rest of his life.
Just because we’re not asked for bribes on a daily basis for essential services doesn’t mean that we as a country are not corrupt, the money that flows through our economy isn’t clean and it’s way more than changes hands on the streets in Africa, Asia and South America.
It also exposes our colonial and racial biases as and it’s English speaking white countries which are raking it in, whilst we point our fingers at the poor people.

Countries are supposed to put family connections first when considering someone’s status, in line with Article 8 which is the right to a family life (the UK opted out)
Taken from the Commons Library page “… the Dublin III Regulation highlights that family unity is a primary consideration…”
“The European Parliament notes that in practice, however, the most frequently applied criteria is irregular entry.”

Most undocumented migrants enter legally and over stay their visa and also include Americans, Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders. I’ve known one couple who came in on a truck from Nigeria, their journey was horrendous. They fled because the wife had had 3rd degree FGM and was pregnant and feared she’d have a girl, who would be certainly subjected to it despite their protests.

Squirrelking what method would you propose to index corruption?
By how many bribes you have to pay in a week?
Roberto Saviano is a respected investigative journalist and exposed the Camorra in Italy. He’s then gone on to detail the coke trade and how they launder the money, through the UK. Remember HSBC?
They received a $1.9 billion dollar fine for previous laundering, they’re at it again
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/12065-hsbc-australia-discloses-potential-money-laundering

*Edit According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), 22-year-old Vlad Luca Filat had no registered income in the United Kingdom, however HSBC records showed that his accounts and living expenses were funded by large deposits from overseas companies, mainly based in Turkey and the Cayman Islands.

“If we were to ask which country is the most corrupt in the world, the first answer to come to mind would be dictated by the perceived level of corruption. Perhaps one might think of Mexico, of South American countries, of African countries, of the Middle East or Italy. But the most corrupt is the UK.”
Roberto Saviano

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/29/roberto-saviano-london-is-heart-of-global-financial-corruption

It’s absolutely horrific, the Lebanese Red Cross has reported 2,200 casualties so far

Chrismac I didn’t see that on my Google search, I apologise. You could raise it with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as I said earlier. BLM is pro black but not anti white, I’d expect it to be covered by positive action “Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 allows an employer to treat an applicant or employee with a protected characteristic (eg race, sex or age) more favourably in connection with recruitment or promotion than someone without that characteristic who is as qualified for the role. The employer must reasonably think that people with the protected characteristic suffer a disadvantage or are under-represented in that particular activity. Taking the positive action must be a proportionate means of enabling or encouraging people to overcome the disadvantage or to take part in the activity.”)[10]

That BLMUK web page also states that the BLM movement is a collective of individuals and groups and one group is not representative of the whole movement. You clearly feel threatened by the movement and the idea that black lives matter, are there any other concerns that you have?

Chrismac do you have a link to the Black Lives Matter website that you are referencing?
I posted the UK one earlier and I can’t find the quote you shared on either it or the USA one. Positive discrimination is illegal in the UK and you could raise it with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, I’d be very surprised if it were a real blm group and nobody has done so already.

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Easily, sorry I chose the wrong phrase. I was attempting to make a reference to acceptance of the transgender community and did so badly.

Chrismac, you’re clearly trolling or are incredibly misinformed because this is what it says on their website.

“We stand in solidarity with the common people demanding racial equality, social and criminal justice, human rights operating as a non-partisan, not a member of or connected with a group or political party, non-violence, unifying arm of the Black Lives Matter Movement in Britain, United Kingdom”

https://www.blacklivesmatter.uk/

Funkmasterp, I live in a predominantly middle class village in East Lothian, Scotland. Overt and violent racism has happened on multiple occasions, the police have been involved each time and we’ve had one prosecution for a hate crime. These instances flare up when racism is the media, like Danny Bakers monkey reference or if something has happened to someone in the media like Yaxley-Lennon or even Neil Oliver.
Similar has happened to people following what JK has said about transgender people. She’s not been cancelled for asking questions or promoting discussion, it’s her opinions which are denying other peoples identity that have been a problem and had real consequences for some.
There’s a bit of a paradox appearing on the thread with some posters comparing my opinions to Nazism and me to Hitler in an attempt at silencing opinion that counters theirs and preventing discussion. I have in effect previously been cancelled myself for challenging bigoted banter over the internet, because the right to freedom of speech is greater than the responsibility not to promote hate. This is quite a common technique to win the freedom of speech argument and to be able to say what they want without without any responsibility or affording the right to reply. I’ve never actually reported anyone for the opinions or views expressed, even when I’ve been personally attacked and I have generally responded considerately, or at least in tone with the conversation.

RichPenny you are right BLM is an organic movement and there’s no centralised organisation, it’s also a hashtag and a slogan which a couple of groups have adopted as their name. For example I’m a member of the Anti-Racist Educator collective and we use the BLM hashtag for promotion, some are also members of other groups such as those with an interest in refugees or modern slavery. Occasionally different groups may organise an event or protest which come under the same banner.

Trailwagger, do you know where I can apply for this funding? I need around £100k for a judicial review because you can’t get legal aid for human rights or public law cases. George Soros?
Marxism? Anti-racists come from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures, religion and political beliefs, I even found one in the Tories.
I’m afraid you’re being mislead by information which supports the far right and are using the free speech and cancel culture arguments to shirk responsibility for promoting discrimination. Discussion is welcome but the free speech argument is often used to promote formed bigoted opinions.

Rights come with responsibility, remember rule 1. People seem to think freedom of speech gives them the right to a platform to spout hateful and ignorant nonsense regardless of the consequences. Crying cancel culture because of snowflakes then getting upset because people don’t want to give support is pure arrogance, childishness, and entitlement. It’s not discussion that’s being shut down, it’s formed bigoted opinions that are being dismissed. Words and ideas can have a wide audience and the impact can be devastating for the victims, it’s not enough to just ignore it if those words haunt you daily.
Like when Danny Baker equated Harry and Megan’s kid to a monkey, it was just a bit of banter but my kids (9 & 11) were called monkey and physically beaten with weapons several times in the weeks after.

He’s conflated white privilege with Jewish people and has singled them out, what he’s said is stereotyping and antisemitic. However, he has faced unbalanced retribution for his beliefs because he is black. It’s a very sensitive topic, especially considering what is happening to the Palestinians. As the Keir Starmer demonstrated by denouncing BLMUK for taking a position against the state of Israel and he’s ignoring what is happening to Dawn Butler and Diane Abbot, whilst reprimanding mps for antisemitism. Jewish people don’t benefit because of culture or ethnicity, whiteness is the privilege.
It shows that there is a disparity between black and white people and the bigotry which is tolerated by our society. There is racism in the music industry, I saw Chuck D do a spoken word gig about it 20yrs ago (I even went for a pint with him after, but that’s another story). It extends from the historic systemic racism in our society and it’s evident that white people have been the benefitors, but it’s wrong to to blame Jewish people for this as they are also a persecuted group of people.

Tomd, your discussion has been had and the questions you have raised have been addressed on the George Floyd thread.
It seems that a few members have posted on this thread in order to gaslight and take it off topic.

I admire the OP for talking about inequality and asking the original question. Many people have thought that we’ve moved on and that racism had ended with the millennium, so it’s come as a surprise to see the protests. Racism is difficult to discuss because of white fragility and blindness, we see racism as just hate but it’s also apathy, discrimination, disinterest, ignorance, privilege, power…
Racism can be seen and felt in every aspect of life in the UK, it’s not just a few bad eggs and the police. As white people don’t experience it we don’t often see it, and because the system is set in our image and we are the benefiters and perpetrators we often become defensive, as Jambo said “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
The protests and ongoing momentum have come about largely because of frustration with the system, it’s lacking accountability and legislation which render the Equality Act useless. We’ve played by the rules but the game is rigged, BLM movement has encouraged people to share lived experiences and unite under a hashtag. By doing so publicly they are holding the system accountable, Scottish education is a an example of a corrupt system where I’ve identified clear institutionalised racism.
Edinburgh is currently in the news with Miguel Chui and John Andrew having called out racism in two of its schools. The council has called in lawyers to advise, but there’s no legal aid for the victims.