Rod Liddle and the reemergence of middle class racism

Rod Liddle of the Spectator has caused considerable outrage with his recent blog about young black men and knife crime. Here’s what he had to say:

The first of an occasional series – those benefits of a multi-cultural Britain in full.

Let me introduce you all to this human filth. It could be an anomaly, of course. But it isn’t. The overwhelming majority of street crime, knife crime, gun crime, robbery and crimes of sexual violence in London is carried out by young men from the African-Caribbean community. Of course, in return, we have rap music, goat curry and a far more vibrant and diverse understanding of cultures which were once alien to us. For which, many thanks

I agree with Rod on thing, the two men who plotted to murder a pregnant 15-year-old are indeed human filth. But what train of thought makes a person look at the picture accompanying the item and inspires them to makes sweeping, and disparaging remarks about African Caribbean people? I’ll tell you what train of thought that is: It is the train of thought of a racist.

It’s a fact that young black men are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. According to the Youth Justice Board, young black people make up 3% of the youth population but account for 26% of arrests for robbery. But then, white youths tend to figure more in burglary, criminal damage and public order offences, and it isn’t black youths stabbing each other in Glasgow, once dubbed “murder capital of Europe”. I know because my (black) doctor cousin used to patch up a conveyor belt of glassed drunks there on Saturday nights.

Metropolitan police task forces such as Operation Trident have been at the forefront in focusing on black and black gun grime, and programmes such as the Government’s REACH role models programme – which own brother is involved in – have been working with black youngsters to try to address some of the root causes of the issues, namely lack of appropriate, realistic and aspirational role models for young black men, aside from the socio-economic factors – but it’s a very complex issue, best not attempted in one paragraph.

Let’s keep this in perspective, however. According to government statistics, 92% of black people aged 10-17 are not involved in the criminal justice system. Young black people are overrepresented in robbery offences, but these make up only 1.8% of juvenile offences and less than 0.5% of all offences overall. 97% of black people overall do not have a criminal record. These facts are easily accessible via Google, which Rod, as a distinguished and respected journalist, might want to make us of next time he writes a sensationalist blog.

But what makes Liddle a racist is not his comments on a small section of young black men in London, it’s the jump he makes to then denigrating the contribution of African Caribbean people to society. His consciously short list of examples is simply moronic. (Remember, his blog is titled “those benefits of a multi-cultural Britain in FULL). Rap music? Largely American. Curried goat is a Jamaican dish (we’re not all Jamaican, Rod) and then there’s flippant comment about understanding of “alien” cultures. Thatcher used that very same word in her famous “swamping” speech.

Liddle’s summary of black contribution is an insult to my mother, who slogged her guts out in the NHS and other migrants who helped rebuild this nation. It’s an insult to the law abiding citizens who in one way or another, help keep business and public sector afloat. It is an insult to the African Caribbean tax payer – because black people pay taxes too.

And why does Liddle lead this as if it is debate about “multiculutral Britain”, 60 years after Black and Asian people first started arriving in numbers? It isn’t up for debate any more, we’re here. Try running the NHS without a multicultural Britain – a friend told me about a recent NHS nursing recruitment session, where no white English people had applied. Taking a global view, the world is now a mixed up place – other countries have changed their cultural make up in the past 50years, and Britain is no different. In fact, you could take Liddle’s paragraph, replace “rap” with “reggae” and his comments wouldn’t have looked out of place 50 years ago.

Predictably Liddle denied he was a racist on BBC London Radio, stating that his closing comments about black contribution were “sardonic”. Rod should know that the dictionary definition of “sardonic” is mocking, deriding or sneering. So Rod was mocking, deriding or sneering at black  people. So Rod confirmed it himself: He is a racist.

There is a rising face of acceptable middle-class racism, people like Liddle who may even invite you to dinner but pour scorn on “multiculturalism” when he’s safely behind a PC. Personally, I prefer the people who used to racially abuse me in the street. At least I knew where I stood with them.

Bit of Politics…

So Gordon bottled the election and then nicked the Tories’ ideas. He only had 10 years to sort out inheritence tax and disgustingly rich people who don’t pay their way. Mind you, the Tories haven’t covered themself in glory by taking 10 years to actually come up with some decent ideas either. It just goes to show that death & taxes always goes down well with the British.

I’d never though I’d say this, but bring back Tony Blair! At least he managed to look competent – albeit in a slightly crazed fashion – next to bumbling Brown who looks like a dishevelled best man who has forgotten to bring his speech. Mind you, rather him than the old Estonians over at The Nasty Party (TM) whose members like to “black up” on Facebook.

Meanwhile, there’s a postal strike. Who cares? Postmen need to realise that we have email and direct debit now, so nothing nice ever comes through the post these days. Sure enough, the moment the strike is over a fine for forgetting to pay the Congestion charge plops through my letter box. Thanks Ken!

No Easy Answers

With increasing numbers of young people being caught in the crossfire of the UK’s growing gun culture, politicians, community leaders and commentators are asking, who is to blame? Though this issue is not confined to black communities, as the tragic killing of 11 year old Rhys Jones attests, there is no escaping the disproportionate numbers of black faces that stare out from the front pages of newspapers under painful headlines.

An article in the Daily Express suggested that more successful black men should visit schools and youth centres to show youngsters to present more positive role-models for young black men. But a few talks by professional men is like King Canute against the tidal wave of deprivation, low expectation and peer pressure that leads young men into gang culture.

My brother worked in the City for a number of years and failed to meet another banker of African-Caribbean descent, so it makes you wonder if we still have some way to go in this respect. As a professional man, I have often been assumed to be station staff when I walk through a train station in a a suit, or when I walk into a meeting, assumptions have been made in the past that I am lower down the pecking order. Things have come a long way, But especially if you are a dark-skinned black man, those latent assumptions are sometimes still there.

These assumptions are symptomatic of a wider crisis with black identity. In answer to the question “What is a black man?” The answer is, “Anything he wants to be.” It’s sad that in being defined as Black, and therefore seeking a black identity, this can become limiting to black youngsters. On those run down estates, joining a gang with other black youths gives those kids a sense of identity and purpose.

It’s all too easy to point the finger at Hip Hop culture, but it has to be said that the limited portrayal of black men in Hip Hop videos are far from helpful. While the lyrics in today’s Hip Hop are more about sex and money than guns, excessively bling videos often glamorise the gangsta lifestyle and invite black youngsters in the words of 50 Cent, to “Get Rich or Die Tryin‘”. 50 Cent’s promotional campaign for his first album made great play of the fact that he was a former drug dealer that had been shot nine times.

What’s truly disturbing, is that Jesse James (pictured) made a personal decision to stand against his peers who were harassing him to join their gang. But refusing to join, he “dissed” the gang and was shot dead. If those that choose to not go down the path of drugs and gangs are in grave danger, what hope is there?

Barack mixes it up

Will the next President of the United States be an African American? Does it still matter? Until we can stop talking about “the first black man/woman to….” then sadly, yes it does.

But there’s trouble afoot. Apparently Barack Obama cannot rely on the black vote as in this New York Times article, questions are being asked about his “authenticity” as an African American. This is because as the son of a white American mother and Kenyan father, he is mixed race and not descended from American slaves.

How times have changed! it wasn’t so long ago that mixed race people were embraced by the black power movement as positive role models for African Americans, including WE Dubois, Mary Seacole and even Bob Marley. Even individuals such as Beethoven (allegedly) and Russian poet Alexander Pushkin with their distant African ancestry were seized upon as examples of black achievement.

Now it seems, the historical American “one drop of black blood” rule is out, and racial and cultural purity is in. Racial purity is an unrealistic, pernicious and downright evil concept, and the fact that it is now being touted by black Americans does not make it any less disgraceful.

For one thing, Obama would not have been drinking from the white people’s fountain in the segregated US of not so long ago. With an African father, he has as much right, if not more, to call himself an “African” American than most black Americans.

With 50% African heritage, he may actually find he has more African DNA than some of the “pure” African Americans who are racially mixed in any case. And no, it was not always because of the plantation master sneaking down to the slave house .

To his credit, Obama has talked frankly about his ancestry and his desire to win on the issues, rather than simply courting the black vote. If he wins the nomination, it will be a triumph for America. But ditto for Hillary – the first woman in the White House would also be a stunning result. But whatever happens, it’s got to be better than Bush.

Olympic Lame

This is the self-consciously overblown and ridiculous symbol for the 2012 Olympics. You can bet some agency got a few million quid for this effort, which looks like an explosion at the Creme Egg factory.

I suppose us East Londoners can consider it a five year warning. Anyone with a modicum of sanity will be booking themselves a holiday somewhere exotic to watch our house prices inflate at a safe distance.

The inevitable gridlock is just too much to contemplate, and even the prospect of the city teeming with gymnasts and divers is not adequate compensation.

Bed and Bigotry

More proof that politics isn’t what it used to be. In today’s debate about an exclusion clause allowing religious bigots to discriminate against gays and lesbians in the provision of goods and services, a certain Lord Tebbit spoke against the clause.

Tebbit – who these days looks like a skeleton wearing specs – declared: “Black is about being. Sexual orientation is about being. And we would not wish to discriminate against people for being black nor on grounds of their sexual orientation.”

Is this the same Lord Tebbit who proposed the infamous Cricket Test for ethnic minorities, and in an interview once said that a black person couldn’t call themselves English? Has he been killed and replaced by a Mysteron replica under the control of David Cameron, Captain Scarlet style?

Hold on a second, just seen an article where he blames the government’s “promotion of buggery” for childhood obesity. Good to know that despite David Cameron’s touchy feely antics, some things never change!

Personally I’m all on favour of religious bigots who run squalid little B&Bs being able to prevent me from staying in one of their rooms. At least then I would know who my enemies are, and could then choose not to donate my hard-earned pink pounds to a bigot.

Why Don’t Black People Wear Poppies?

In today’s free Metro paper, a certain A Taylor of Doncaster writes “I have noticed that only white Britons seem to wear Poppies”. I was appalled by this suggestion, surely black Britons are moved as much as their white counterparts to remember those who died to make this country what it is?

But then on my trip across London, into Waterloo station and out to Surrey, I did an unscientific survey of the ethnic make up of the poppy wearers. The poppy count was sadly low, and even more disturbingly, A Taylor has a point: there was not one poppy wearer of black or Asian origin.

I started to wonder why this could be. Is it because with having parents or grandparents that were born abroad, black and Asian young people cannot relate to the last World War (which is most closely associated with Remembrance Day)? Could I, with English ancestors as well as Caribbean ones, relate more towards the incredible sacrifice these men and women made?

Notwithstanding the fact that black and Asian servicemen have made a significant contribution to conflicts in the United Kingdom, the fact remains that servicemen of all races and colours have given us the freedom we enjoy today and made Britain one of the most inclusive and tolerant societies for ethnic minorities.

If it wasn’t for the contribution in the last great war, nearly all British black/mixed race or Asian people would not have been born. So we owe them, literally, our lives.

I’m pleased to report that on the way home I did see one black man sporting a poppy. He was in his 60s. But the support from the younger generations seemed to be completely non-existent.

Until today, I have to admit that I was included in this shameful disinterest in Remembrance day. I am now the proud owner of a poppy, and I will be wearing it with pride.

Barking up the wrong carbon-offset tree

Richmond council has announced plans for a punitive raise in parking charges for “gas-guzzling 4x4s” in an effort to protect the environment. Sounds like a good idea leading to clean air for all us Londoners, no? If only it were that simple.

For a start, only 1 in 15 new cars sold in London fall into the 4×4 category. Of these 4x4s the vast majority are smaller models such as the Honda CRV, Land Rover Freelander and Toyota RAV4. A recent demonstration showed a green activist ticketing “gas guzzlers” at the school gates. She actually put a ticket on a Honda CRV. Bet she ignored all the Minis on the street. But what’s this:

• Honda CRV 22 Diesel CO2 emissions g per km = 177
• Mini Cooper S CO2 emissions g per km = 207

Surely then, these gas-guzzling 4×4 menaces are causing untold damage to the pedestrians they come into contact with? Um, no:

• Toyota RAV4 pedestrian safety rating – 3 stars (out of 4)
• Renault Clio pedestrian safety rating – 1 star (out of 4)

The greens would love us to drive round in hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius but a recent survey shows that the “dust to dust” environmental impact of the Prius is much worse than many 4x4s. This is due to the energy consumed in designing, manufacturing and scrapping its complicated hybrid drive system.

It seems to me that the council is taking the experience in the USA – where large 4x4s and pick-ups make up more than 50% of the new car market – and are attempting to make the same arguments here, when the facts simply don’t stack up.

Driving a LARGE 4×4 in central London is unnecessary, but punitive charges will simply make the large 4×4 more of a status symbol. Your average Range Rover owner simply wouldn’t miss an extra £300 a year in parking fees. The number trading their large 4×4 in for something greener is likely to be very small.

So what it boils down to, predictably enough, is another revenue raising exercise under the disguise of an environmentally friendly policy. When it comes to emissions, it doesn’t even begin to touch the tip of the large (melting) iceberg.

What’s behind Labour’s Veil?

You can’t open a paper these days without some report or other about conflict with Muslims. Recent stories debated in the press include:

• The Muslim soldier who objected to guarding the Israeli embassy
• The Muslim Council objecting to Muslims appearing on a charity Christmas carol CD
• Jack Straw asking Muslim women to remove their hijab in his office

It seems that the press is whipping itself up into a frenzy about any story that remotely involves Muslims. It’s irresponsible, and is feeding unwarranted and unnecessary fear of Islam – but fear sells papers remember, and newspaper revenue is under pressure as news and advertising budgets migrate to the internet.

Jack Straw’s recent pronouncement is his way of telling us that the government really doesn’t have a clue about what to do about the tiny numbers of young Muslim men being targeted by extremists. It doesn’t seem fair that instead, an attack is launched on thousands of Muslim women. Nice one, Jack.

But at least Jack has sparked a debate. Muslim women say they wear the hijab because it marks out their Islamic identity and prevents unwanted attention. If that’s all the covering up is about, then why don’t the men wear them too?

A Muslim friend told me that the Koran teaches about dressing modestly – it says nothing about women dressing in black from head to toe. But wearing the hijab is their right, just as much as chundering Geordie ladettes have the right to wear a mini skirt and boob tube on a night out in December.

But what the Muslims need is some good PR. Max Clifford suggested once that what was needed was a nice photogenic poster girl for Islam- someone like Jordan. An interesting thought, if only to see Muslim elders go apopleptic over the inevitable Nuts magazine cover…

The Enemy Within?

There is much suprise and anger locally that several of the men behind the airline bomb plot are local, British born Muslims.

I can’t see what the fuss is about, really. Living in London, it’s a well known fact that you’re only a stone’s throw away from a care-in-the-community lunatic, serial killer or indeed, a potential suicide bomber.

This sneaking suspicion is heightened by the fact that no one really knows their neighbours. Is the man across the road simply putting his rubbish out, or is he disposing of a dismembered rent boy?

Our local community should welcome the infamy the news has brought to the area, there is only so long you can keep harping on about long-dead designers or defunct boy bands in your PR guff.