Sunday 14 August 2011

Thought of the day..*Can legislation change hearts and minds?*

We have more mixed relationships than ever before. Yet reading through twitter feeds and listening to comments made during debates over the past week, it would appear that race relations are as bad as they were perhaps in the 70s/80s, if not worse. in some ways.
How is that possible???

6 comments:

  1. Oh I don't doubt that the racism train is never late. Legislation doesn't change the true nature of a man or woman. Hate is hate and that'll sell when bread don't.

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  2. morning Dawna, hope you had a good weekend.

    I read the twitter feeds with disbelief. its never far from the surface hence after all these years in the UK I still don't make assumptions on character. be wary

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  3. morning Chrome, weekend was okay. Hope yours was enjoyable:)

    What's frustrating is after years of discussion 'openess' and 'intergration' it's as if it makes little difference. As Reggie said, the true nature of a man or woman will out, for better or worse. I think you're right not to make assumptions. I just wonder why our 'relationships'which are sometimes seen as a 'symbol of the 'success' of multiculturalism', fail to make a wider social impact- relationships dont happen in a vacuum, or do they? people have family, friends etc.. wha gwarn with that??
    It strikes me as odd

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  4. its the usual stuff, people get classified by the media, society at large, themselves. some classifications are old and hard and refuse to change even in the face of overwhelming evidence. I'm yet to meet a black and "other" mixed race person refer to themselves as mixed, preferring black, perhaps with understandable historical reasons. in essence it remains "us and them", choose your camp wisely

    as you've read twitter is your friend, the purveyor of true sentiments, expressed anonymously from behind computer monitors

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  5. Dawna, forgive me for waffling on on this subject but you hit a chord with that post. I'm white, Scottish and proud of my heritage and culture (Scottish culture - not white culture). I lived in London for ten years (Chelsea then Surbiton) - It's where at the age of TWENTY FOUR I had my first real conversation with a black person. There were no black families where I grew up in Glasgow. No black kids to play with or be around. I'll be painfully honest with you - I didn't know what to say, what to do, how to act (for fear of offending anyone's sensibilities) not because I viewed black/white as an us and them scenario - but because I genuinely wanted black people I worked alongside to see that I didn't give a damn about skin colour. This might sound stupid, but by going out of my way to be 'correct' I highlighted the divisions between us if you see what I mean? I was too preoccupied with appearing to treat everyone equally than I was with actually treating everyone equally.

    It took a year of socialising with non-whites before I could just 'chill' and be 'me'. I'm sure my attitude was as a consequence of growing up in a white only environment.

    Forgive me for digressing a little, but in a bid to make friends with a black Muslim called Soma in London - whom I'd only known for a week at work - I asked him what he was doing for the weekend and would he like to meet up with me for a beer? His reply was 'Sorry but my religion calls on Saturday.'
    To which I replied 'Oh, You'll be going to a Mosque then?"
    'Nah Fuck that mate.' He answered, 'I'm going up to watch West Ham kick the shit out of Arsenal'

    You know that one little interaction turned everything on its head for me. Even if we were taught everything about a particular culture or race, if we were legislated and educated into 'knowing' everything about everyone - you still can't judge ANYONE or make presumptions about anyone. People are just people and will do whatever the hell they feel like lol - we'll behave whichever way we want (triggered of course by our socialisation). And that makes every single one of us no different from anyone else.

    It's also perfectly possible that I have just spent twenty minutes typing a heap of nonsensical waffle lol - Sorry it's been a long day.

    London has a head start on the rest of the nation - it should be a shining example of integration, tolerance and equality but those things only come with justice. In Britain as a whole there is no social justice. In that respect I don't say Govt's single out ethnic minorities - I think by denying social justice to the poor they effectively smokescreen their holding down of ethnically diverse groups and minorities. Does that make sense?

    Rory

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  6. It does Rory.
    And it's definitely not waffle at all!!:)there's so much i would like to ask but I’ll just focus on a few small points for now. We are in agreement that social justice is denied to the poor of all colours/shades, but is it possible that institutional racism could be the 'cause' of poverty for many ethnic minorities?
    And then there are those ethnic minorities who are not poor, yet still have to deal with racist attitudes.

    Legislation is a recognition of what can occur, what does exist and gives the appearance of fairness etc, but ultimately, it's down to us. I do agree with you that people will do ( and think) whatever they like regardless, but we are influenced by things we see and hear, it all colours our perception, so even our thoughts may not be as free as we may initially think ( does that make sense?)

    Still, I think the way forward is to do as you have done, to talk and get to know people, to the point that you can be yourself and just chill. I understand when you said you wanted the black people you worked alongside to see you didn't give a damn about colour, and I suspect many feel the same way. But recognising human variations is okay, I am black, of Caribbean parents, and bring much of that to the table, I think I’d be more offended it a person ignored all the things that make me - me

    Yet, as you rightly said, assumptions cannot be made based on those facts either
    e.g I'm not that keen on 'soca' :)and i know can be completely different to someone of a similar background!!

    I quite admire you for asking your mate out for a drink - the fact that he thought West Ham could thrash Arsenal tells me you got off lightly!!.. lol

    We are the same, yes.. but I suspect though that if you've lived a life where your way is the 'benchmark' or perceived benchmark that all others must follow or else.. you will feel a bit different to others.. no?
    Is there not a sense of entitlement that comes along with that? I honestly don't know..

    In closing I would say that Gov t's main agenda does seem to be economic - we just need to sort the rest, not by ignoring the experiences of many, but by facing up to them and having honest dialogue, and a lot of laughs..

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