Racism is an issue, that we know. I fear however that I will be labelled a racist because I’m white and in that sense I could be an unknown victim of racism. The fact is I know I’m not racist but I am culturally aware in my dealings. Almost an element of ‘ When in Rome do as the Romans do ‘. When dealing with the Chinese I know that face is critical to them and with an Indian I will never know all the facts at once. When I had a Company with Malcolm my black equal partner I knew he would often be late for meetings. In Nigeria people were days late and I once waited 3 days at a wedding for the Black bride to show.
I was cheated by white men in my business and one white man stole a six figure sum from me. Some of my best friends are brown and from Pakistan while many of my American friends are mixed race and I’ve sat on the Boards of American Companies where my fellow Directors were black and i witnessed prejudice against them. In South Africa I visited the Sun City and I witnessed black employers beating black employees.
We know that it is humanity that sucks and the fault of man is not always an issue of colour but of culture. A red neck American police Officer is fatal and the killer of George Floyd , yes I use the term killer is about to pay a price for his wrong. What possessed the officer that day was not racism but hate and effectively dreadful Policing in a State where officers were trained to pin a body down by a knee to the shoulder not to the neck and cause such a horrible death.
Good people, bad people come in many colours and if we single out one colour that matters we exacerbate the issue. It is not just Black Lives that matter but that all colours that matter. I say this as a white man married to a Brown Indian woman and my two step children are brown. My wife was born like me in London and we have experienced wrong attitude not in England but in America but that’s the prejudice of the accuser and in all we do we must not exaggerate that the world is a flat playing field. Cultural differences exist and in life to accommodate is essential otherwise we will run out of the room call tolerance.
Freedom of movement and ever prospering Societies has led to mass integration and from that there is no return. If we do create ghetto environments like Jewish Quarters or Italian quarters in our cities this will inevitably lead to trouble for the primary import is that those that enter the country abide in that country embrace its way and not step out of mainstream.
As crowds gather for peaceful protest, the big danger is that trouble can flare in the heat of the moment and people can overreact. Mayhem and Misunderstanding can so easily ensue living a trail of trouble. Racism will never leave us but the overuse of the word can only antagonise. We should in the alternate focus on the acts of colour together, in our hospitals where the NHS staff come in every colour, in our Sport where the players are of all shades. In Politics there is a plethora of colour, culture and creed so why are we so fixated by this word.
There are dividing factors, like money, wealth and authority and the class system of UK causes a bigger divide than colour. In America the divide is more wealth and the dollar more respected than the dude. In China if you’re poor you’re trampled upon and keeping up with the Jones’ in England and Wales is again never a colour issue.
The Covid19 virus is no respecter of colour, neither is poverty and lack. Martin Luther King was right we are to judge men by the content of their character not the colour of one’s skin that matters as he led the charge to where we should be at and where we should as mankind be seeking to be. Will that day ever come ? I’m not sure but we must ALL give it our best shot as without any doubt ALL lives matter. Education will be the change but integration over time will be the fix. My only concern is I don’t think we will have enough time as i expect a much bigger event to occur that will surely bring the entire world with all its people to see what at the end of the day really matters.
qbitblogger 