tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post8732031348657414391..comments2024-03-20T08:06:18.312+00:00Comments on Benny's Blog: Racism, prejudice and me...Benny Hazlehursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11106740133903626260noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post-13885870183145212632012-01-18T17:34:12.381+00:002012-01-18T17:34:12.381+00:00Thank you Peter for such a full comment.
Indeed y...Thank you Peter for such a full comment.<br /><br />Indeed you are right that white people do not have a monopoly on rascism. Having lived in a Chinese home in Hong Kong and having ministered for several years in Brixton and Peckham, I know that there are many manifestations of racism from all groups, nationalities and cultures.<br /><br />And I too have been accused of being racist (and indeed homophobic) in contexts and situations where I was being neither.<br /><br />However, what we can all do, is to examine our own hearts. That works for us all whatever colour or culture we come from. <br /><br />In Steven Lawrence's case I saw the failings of the Police and the dignity of the Lawrence's at first hand. That does not make me conclude that all police are racist or that all black people are saints, but it does make me recommit myself to strive to treat all people with the love and respect that I would like to be treated with.Benny Hazlehursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106740133903626260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post-34135431628633601592012-01-16T12:24:15.107+00:002012-01-16T12:24:15.107+00:00The issue of racism has been approached from sever...The issue of racism has been approached from several ideological paradigms. The Left is tinged with Marxist and structural arguments - particularly concerning Britain’s Colonial heritage. It is this that I believe can be the most destructive and unhelpful, because it relies on a pathology that frequently deposits the blame for the ills of all non-white people firmly at the feet of whites. It has an over reliance on historical narratives, that are simplistic and present non-white peoples as passive or weak. A typical example of this is any discussion of slavery. Slavery was alive and well long before a white man set foot in Africa. All Europeans did was make use of an existing trade - but there is rarely a mention of this – or of the culpability of black societies in the slave trade. I don’t want to get into a discussion about slavery here, all I am pointing out is that history has been skewed, seeing black people as the hapless victims of white domination – when the truth is a little more complicated. Certainly there was a domination of black people by European and colonial societies – yet it is also fair to note that there was a systematic domination of the lower classes within these same societies that had many kinships with slavery (the freed slave, Olaudah Equiano, writing in 1789, relates how sailors suffered similar punishments and curtailment of their freedom than black slaves). The white working class has far more in common with the black experience of history – and I would argue, the present (notice how the Royle Family, Little Britain etc. sneer at white sub-culture!).<br /><br />When I was training as a social worker in the early 90s we were force-fed the white domination narrative – we were also taught to see racism as something white people do to black people: which again is a gross over simplification and in effect diminishes the humanity of the black person, because racism and prejudice is a burden we all carry. In my first year social work placement, working as an Education Welfare officers in Manchester, I was teamed up with a young, Muslim teaching assistant, of Pakistani origin. One of the more tedious jobs was trawling the class registers looking for patterns of absence. It was several months before I noticed that whenever I queried a pupil’s absence, my colleague always sang the praises of children with Urdu names (thus of Pakistani origin) and was condemnatory towards children with Bengali names (i.e. Bangladeshi origin). This same worker also said I was racist when one day he kept calling into question the way I pronounced a pupil’s Urdu name – and after several corrections I politely mentioned that HE didn’t pronounce my name correctly, because of his heavy Urdu accent. In this man’s worldview, the onus of accommodation was all mine – and I think this example well illustrates the folly of the ‘pathology’ paradigm of racism. It creates hierarchies of oppression, that become internalised and veer towards reasons becoming excuses. Moreover they have a tendency to emphasise difference and ‘specialness’ which results in ghettos and a failure to assimilate into mainstream British culture.<br /><br />What I find curious is how the Lawrence affair has again presented black communities as passive victims. Neville Lawrence has recently stated that he feels safer in Jamaica and fears for his grandchildren in the UK, because of racism. The irony is that Mr Lawrence is at far, far greater risk of injury or murder at the hands of his fellow Jamaicans than he would be in the UK. And London A&Es rarely have a day goes by without several admissions of black youths stabbed or shot by fellow black youths. But it is a preoccupation of ourselves to look elsewhere for the real problems: weeks of coverage concerning the Lawrence stabbing – yet stabbings of black youths by black youths are so common they are rarely reported in London.<br /><br />The way forward, I believe, is to acknowledge racism IS a human property and not just of one group over another. Alas, until it is a subject we all own there is no remedy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post-39203280225700850122012-01-10T13:22:39.176+00:002012-01-10T13:22:39.176+00:00Benny, yes, there is social networking. And I have...Benny, yes, there is social networking. And I have genuine black friends. They're then firmly in the "friends" part of my thinking and I no longer notice their colour at all. But it's not enough to normalise all attitudes.<br /><br />It's the difference between having a few gay friends but little knowledge about the life of most gay people, or really no longer noticing the difference.Erika Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01812376497361267014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post-38812959215267745342012-01-10T12:30:39.447+00:002012-01-10T12:30:39.447+00:00I agree Erika. Exposure is indeed a real and pote...I agree Erika. Exposure is indeed a real and potent catalyst for change provided that our hearts are open... I had a similar far east experience living in Hong Kong. It is difficult if we are not immersed in a multi-cultural context... but then there is always social netowrking!?!Benny Hazlehursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106740133903626260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146780325302102876.post-19963726715155558492012-01-10T11:54:41.767+00:002012-01-10T11:54:41.767+00:00I think you're very right to point this out, B...I think you're very right to point this out, Benny. I recognise unwarranted stereotyping in myself every time I notice when a posh car is being driven by a black person but I never particularly notice a white driver.<br /><br />The question is how to overcome this prejudice? I think exposure to other people is the real clue here. <br />After I'd lived in Japan I never again judged Japanese people by any of the stereotypes I'd unwittingly used before. I just see them as individuals.<br /><br />There are very very few black people where we live, so genuine exposure and a genuine melting of pre-judgements will be harder.Erika Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01812376497361267014noreply@blogger.com