I've been reading the comments about the Lawrence enquiry and the portrayal
of Eltham as 'Hell' (Mirror). I'm interested in the way this is being
interpreted as a crisis in identity for 'white' society and the idea that
somehow we're all to blame in some way. As Dave Storey pointed out, Decca
Aitkenhead (Guardian) raises the question of how far 'progressive whites'
(who don't consider themselves racist) are to blame for failing to confront
everyday racism in pubs, taxis and football stadiums. One way in which
'normative whiteness' can attempt to resolve this issue is to distance
itself from 'white pride' racists both socially (referring to such people
as 'low life' or 'trash') and geographically (seeing some places as
infected by the evil of racism). Such distancing allows us to see racism as
something 'extreme' and extraordinary. Jacqui Burgess (1985) discussed this
process occurred in the reporting of urban 'riots' in Britain in 1981.
Although the media focus on 'whiteness' in this issue is encouraging, the
media discussion of this issue so far has, it seems to me, simply assumed
that 'black' and 'white' are unproblematic categories rather than social
constructions and as a result, any attempt to explain how racist attitudes
and values are produced and reproduced in particular places simply fall at
the first hurdle. Interesting discussions of whiteness and the media
include John Gabriel (1998) Whitewash, and John Fiske (1996) Media Matters.
John
Dr John Morgan
Education, Environment and Economy
Institute of Education
20 Bedford Way
London
WC1H 0AL
0171 612 6047
Following on from Simon Batterbury's comments, a few points:
>In today's Guardian newspaper in Britain a columnist (I think it was
>Decca Aitkenhead) made two interesting points
>1. As long as people go on shrugging their shoulders and allowing
>racist banter to continue in pubs, clubs and other places, then they
>are complicit in racism. She goes on to point out, of course, that it
>is not always easy (and can sometimes be counter-productive) to
>adopt the 'moral high ground' of condemning what we see as the
>unacceptable views of others)
>2. Home Secretary Jack Straw and the labour government are
>continuing a 'get tough' policy on people seeking political asylum in
>Britain. An attitude of suspicion towards 'foreigners' seeking
>admittance to Britain is being actively promoted. Such an
>environment is hardly conducive to good race relations.
>
>Another dimension of the Lawrence case is the risk of creating an
>impression that having highlighted racism and incompetence in this
>particular case society can somehow pat itself on the back and say
>'we've done our bit', acknowledge it should not have happened and
>carry on as before. The nature of the Lawrence case also carries the
>risk of seeing racism as an attitude amongst people seen as 'white
>trash' rather than something which permeates broader society.
>
>Finally, amidst all the publicity surrounding this case, other forms
>of racism remain unchallenged. This is particularly the case in
>sport. Within the world of football there have been moves within
>recent years to 'kick out racism' yet this morning (on the same news
>programme which reported the latest fiasco in the Lawrence case and
>the vandalising of his memorial) the Manchester United manager Alex
>Ferguson observed that kiddology, or deliberately misleading the
>media, was 'something he might expect from the Italians' (a reference
>to Inter Milan, who United play next week in a European match). There
>was no response from the interviewer, no furore over this blatant
>stereotyping.
>Racism is more than just physical and verbal violence
>against black people, it is the stereotyping and belittling of
>'foreigners', and people seen as 'foreigners', of all skin colours.
>
>David
>
>
>
>Dr. David Storey
>Geography Department &
>Centre for Rural Research
>University College Worcester
>Henwick Grove
>Worcester WR2 6AJ
>England
>
>Tel: 01905 855189
>Fax: 01905 855132
jon m
in
64895
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