Racism will never end if we continue to see it as a ‘white versus others’ problem

Self deprecation is one of the strongest weapons we have as Brits. As a child, attending football matches in north London was a Saturday morning excitement and we witnessed a fair measure of abuse hurled at players of all variety: Irish, red-heads, blacks etc. The unfortunate aspect of it all is that we assume others can take it. It is not an assumption that should be made, especially if there is a century of hurt attached.

However, racism is not the same as the history of slavery or other bias such as those arising from sexism as an example. Racism is now also mixed up with religious intolerance and other forms of bias. The overwhelming confusion out there is causing more problem than the evil of racism itself. Racism is not the sole preserve of a single race. As we saw recently in several parts of the world. Black people can be racist, so can Whites and we have seen the situation in China, India, South Africa and many other parts of the world where non-whites are the culprits.

I can never understand it when folks have an issue with the addition of a colour to an abuse: if you’re called a “black bastard” why not retort with “white bastard”? And why is ‘black or white bastard’ so much more potent than just “bastard”? or why is “black bastard” supposed to be so much more hurtful than “white bastard”? The satisfaction abusers derive from hurling abuse is a direct measure of the hurt expressed or felt by their targets. The world needs to move on. We must normalise colours. There will always be colours: white, black, brown etc. Addition of that, to abuse should not lend an extra dimension to such abuse.

Racism is not just about racial slurs and abuse. Those at the receiving end of racial slurs and abuse must rise above it – the more you exhibit distress the more those seeking to hurt you gain satisfaction and will persist. It is similar to bullying. And it is always a numbers game as you see on school playgrounds. However, the disadvantage-ing of a race i.e. seeking to suppress or keep one race at a disadvantage through any means possible, including the most potent means: POVERTY, is a different matter altogether and one that receives little attention as the world conveniently fixate on trivial matters.

If the world wants to get serious about eliminating racism and other bias, first step is to eliminate inequality and poverty. Then address racism across the board instead of the current fixation on whites. This is about all races. When you lift the lid, you find caste systems in south east asia, you find issues in Latin America, you find different tribes in Africa prejudiced against each other etc. Inequality is the main problem that needs addressing and that is decades overdue. Address inequality and then, the elimination of racial bias will be possible.

We need to ditch triviality and focus on policies, laws and deliberate attempts to prolong inequality. The supposed ‘third world’ or underdeveloped countries need to be brought along and forward, so that standard of living is improved across the board – no excuse should be acceptable