Statistics they say, don't lie, and these are some of the outrageous numbers uncovered by The Guardian during a recent study. Young black men in the States (between 15-34 years old) were 9 times more likely to be killed by the Police than those of any other ethnic or demographic group. During 2015 there were an astronomical 1,134 deaths of young black men at the hands of US law enforcement agencies, a figure that made up 15% of total deaths recorded (by the various agencies) despite the fact that this demographic group accounts for only 2% of the population. Some cases in particular (such as that of 12 y.o. Tamir Rice & 18 y.o. Michael Brown) highlight the massive miscarriages of justice that can occur in the US where political activists, like Brittany Packnett, have determined that the justice system presents 'no deterrent' at all to excessive Police force with the assailants often getting off scot-free despite (often) overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
I know that 'Undercover' is a fictional drama, but nevertheless it's powerful message has a ring of truth to it that is more than a little disturbing (for me at least).
I'm white. Born in 1960 and grew up in Brighton on the south-east coast of England. Brighton, as many will be aware, has (shall we say) a liberal attitude to most things. It is well-known for having the largest gay/lesbian community, not only in the UK, but also in Europe. I grew up thinking it was quite normal for guys to hold hands with other guys (and yes, I was aware they were 'queer' as we called it back then, and that I wasn't) and never thought twice about it. As far as I knew it was the same everywhere! In the same way, as a child I was unaware of racial prejudice as an issue. The colour of a person's skin was just the colour of their skin and that was it. They were the same as me to all intents and purposes, except that some had a better tan than me! Oh, the innocence and folly of youth! It just never occurred to me to dislike someone for any reason other than if I thought they were 'nasty' or 'scary.' Such things just weren't an issue!
However, growing up in 'my' part of Brighton I was oblivious to the fact that weren't any 'coloureds' (as Mum and Dad called them) or Indians back then and really only noticed that about my own upbringing when, as an adult, I moved to London for work and found myself in a multi-cultural society for the first time. My first black mate came along when I was 16 (still living in Brighton) and he spoke better English than me, which I remember being surprised at when I first met him, because up until then my inter-racial experiences had been largely limited to watching episodes of 'Love thy Neighbour,' where the white guy called the black guy 'Sambo' and he responded in a West-Indian accent, calling the white guy 'Honky,' which I thought was all good fun and was the sort of good-humoured behaviour that occurred wherever such interactions were taking place. As a very young kid mum used to dress me up in those nice 'nigger-brown' flares and I took a gollywog to bed to cuddle and thought nothing of it! It wasn't offensive to anyone (or so I thought - why should it be?) because as far as I knew that shade of brown was really called 'nigger-brown' and my gollywog was just so cuddly that I couldn't do anything other than just love him! And to call blacks 'coloured' was the acceptable term, just as calling them 'Sambo' was to me just a nickname, much like my mate Neil, who we called Nellie! Where was the problem?
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| The incomparable Pele as he was back then. |
Looking back am I ashamed of what I thought? Do I consider that I was being racist in any way, shape or form?
Not a bit of it! I was a product of where and when I grew up; nothing more, nothing less. I don't really remember the World Cup of 1966 (to my everlasting frustration) though I do remember being fully aware of Pele, the greatest footballer in the world, and admiring the magical things he did with the ball. Pele's black of course, but to me he was just an exotic Brazilian with dazzling feet and an even more dazzling smile! Perhaps the first time I remember noticing that anything vaguely racist was going on in the world was at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 when Tommy Smith made the 'black power' salute on the podium. I recall all the furore at the time about this but in my innocence (I was only 7, so give me a break, and not allowed to watch the news at that time) I thought 'black power' was a reference to his amazing athletic prowess - I mean the guy had just broken the world record and for me, he was a hero. I even remember standing on a box in the garden emulating that salute and being miffed that mum wouldn't loan me a black glove to complete the image!
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| Tommy Smith and the infamous 'black power' salute. |
Of course now this all seems terribly quaint and naive, even to me. But in the end I was lucky. I grew up in a liberal land, with liberal parents who harboured no grudges (that I am aware of - but check with my mum, just in case) and was eventually fortunate enough to work in and backpack around much of Africa, which didn't disappoint one iota, and I even got to marry my own African beauty. I have lived a full and relatively happy life and I'm grateful, but fully aware that I am perhaps in a dwindling minority and that above all else saddens me.
And now, as I move past middle age, I feel I've lost the innocence of my youth, but none of the mystery. I still cannot view anyone as other than they are and remain bemused by the immoral, bigoted and racist behaviours of the people's of the world that we all share. Now I realise that bigotry can take many forms; it's not just white on black, or black on white. Religious bigotry is perhaps the single biggest problem we face today. The horrors committed by the followers of one so-called 'peaceful' religion on those of another are beyond my comprehension. Arabs, Jews, Sunni's, Shi'ites, Christian's, white, black, poor, rich.....whatever you are, whoever you are, there's someone out there who hates you, just for being you.
And that's sad.
In the end we are all one. But for an accident of birth, a radicalised Muslim could have been born into a devout Catholic home in Rome and vice versa. I could have been born in Africa and subjected to unspeakable horrors by another African just because I was born into a different tribe or because I am weaker than the other. Trying to understand sectarian violence amongst the various Muslim factions is an exercise in futility. They worship the same peace-loving God. Why kill your brother because he was born on the other side of an arbitrary line (we call a border) and sees the same God in a different light? Why persecute Jews just because they are Jews? Why do Jews see Palestinians as second class humans? Why did Hitler hate Jews so much? These are all just accidents of birth. Born in a different time, a different place, he might have been a successful artist and Netanyahu might have been a gay hairdresser living in Brighton! I digress.
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| Just the sort of African beauty that bewitched me as a child and still does as an adult. Why would anyone wish to destroy such beauty? |
My views on racism, in all it's forms, are simplistic I know, but if you cut me do I not bleed the same as a rich Arab, or a poor Arab, or an Aborigine, or a Sioux, or a Jew, or an Orthodox Russian, or a Houthi, or a Protestant Christian, or a Sufi, or a Hindu? Where did it all go wrong? Where's the love? Where's the understanding? We live in an amazing, beautiful world with more than enough resources for all of us to enjoy the fruits of a rich, happy and prosperous life; so why should it be otherwise? I don't understand. Will never understand. As the world falls slowly into hate-driven anarchy I retain little hope for future generations. Extremism in all it's forms seems to be the norm these days, but that doesn't make it right and it doesn't make it valid. One person is no more or less valid than another and we should be helping our neighbour, our brothers, our sisters, rather than filling our heads, and those of our children, with racist agendas that abound.
It's good that dramas such as 'Undercover' are broadcast; the fact it is fiction is neither her nor there. It helps to throw a light on the issues that surround us all. I just wish that it wasn't necessary, that's all. Our energies would be far better served in helping to eradicate the inequalities and inequities that exist in our world; in helping to limit the effects of climate change that affect us all; Muslim, Jew, Christian and Hindu alike. If we ploughed our money and resources into changing the world for the better, rather than in buying weapons with which to kill our neighbour just because he/she is different from us, we could each live in our own particular nirvana, whatever that might be.
Peace and Love Brother, whoever you are!
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