Undoubtedly, yes. England can be proud that it is one of the least racist nations in the world, but racism (which can extend to anyone from blacks and Hispanics to Jews and the travelling community) still exists. A recent survey even found that 40% of white Irish people have experienced racial assault. Read about people of colour who are protecting the planet.
But there are better ways of addressing issues than covering statues in toxic paint and throwing them into rivers (Bristol Harbour is home to 70 species of birds, 18 butterflies, endangered peregrine falcons, cormorants, rare mining bees and acid heathland plants like gorse and heather). What did they do to deserve a mighty statue covered in toxic paint being hurtled into their watery home?
Racism is usually more fear and lack of education. Years ago there was a good BBC2 series where polar opposite people would spend a week together. One success story involved a Neo-Nazi skinhead who spent a week living with the family of a young black man. They got on so well, he ended up going round to the house on a regular basis, to enjoy his mum’s home-cooked meals.
If you know anyone who’s racist, have them watch the 1958 film The Defiant Ones. It portrays a white and black man on the run from chain gangs, and can’t separate due to metal holding them together. Highly reviewed, Tony Curtis (who took the role after Marlon Brando had to pull out due to contractual obligations) was warned not to do the film in a racist USA at the time, but he did it all the same. And insisted Sidney Poitier’s name took top billing, unheard of at the time.
Jack would be seething at his death (and his life) being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate that he gave his everything fighting against. What Jack would want from this is for all of us to walk through the door he has booted down. Where we do not slash prison budgets and where we focus on rehabilitation not revenge. Jack believed in the goodness of humanity. Borrow his intelligence, share his drive, feel his passion, burn with his anger and extinguish hatred with his kindness. Never give up his fight. David Merritt (father of Jack Merritt, who with Saskia Jones was killed in a London Bridge terrorist attack)
the problems with environmental racism
This is the term given to when companies and movements tend to not give the same priorities to other countries. Examples are baby food companies marketing ‘free formula’ to poor mothers in developing countries (who on leaving hospital can’t afford it so water it down or mix with dirty water – World Health Organisation say around 800,000 babies die this way each year, who could be breastfed).
Many western companies encourage us to ‘donate’ plastic-wrapped sanitary pads to countries ravaged by AIDS (due to poverty some end up sharing the pads and yet locals can make their own biodegradable pads from recycled paper and papyrus grass).
In Gambia, Bakoteh rubbish dump is the most toxic in the world, housed with all the electronic trash we are encouraged to send over there, when we’ve finished with it here.
In India, one river is so polluted with dye from blue jeans made for western markets, that the local street dogs have literally turned blue, from drinking the water.
Most black and Asian people are lactose-intolerant. Yet MPs are lobbied to offer free milk (with few alternatives) so some children could get ill (a good example is NHS Healthy Start Vouchers, which refuse to let them be used for anything other than dairy milk, along with fresh produce). African-Americans have higher levels of type-2 diabetes, often caused by having lower incomes and biased marketing to eat foods that are no good for them.
In restaurants we see Latino workers in the kitchen who are being paid substandard wages. The saddest thing to me is that these are the people with least access to good food. Yet they’re often suffering the highest rates of obesity and diet-related illnesses. Bryant Terry
