In response to numerous private replies and several comments posted on
the list; it is indeed important not to see the issue as 'black' versus
'white' ( a point painfully apparent to me in my current home, Southall
where such categories don't work well at all).
I might be overreacting in suggesting
Eltham provides a particularly virulent form of endemic racism - it's
elsewhere too -
and, of course, the media volte face on institutionalsed
'state' racism (first concealing it or condoning it, now esposing it) is
equally as interesting and disturbing analytically as
the question of everyday attitudes in particular places like SE London,
as Neil Smith says.
Had I read the Daily Mirror, which apparently ran a spread on racism in
Eltham, I might have thought differently about my remarks, and not bought
into a 'blame the place' argument with such vigor.
But as a former local resident and a product of that culture, I still
think there are unexamined predjudices that - while not geographically
constructed - have geographical expression in that part of the world.
These seem more real if you have experienced them, than if you only read
about them in the literature.
Unfortunately, after recent events, investigations on racism in Eltham are
hardly likely to be well received or to generate objective findings, even
if conducted by semi-insiders like myself, as another commentator pointed
out.
Again, comments welcome.
Simon
On Fri, 26 Feb 1999, John Morgan wrote:
> 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
>
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