Dear Suman (and others),
I am a respiratory registrar (doctor) doing my PhD looking at health care access amongst migrants in the UK.
I wondered whether racism is ‘off the table’ because people (particularly those in power/ institutional representatives etc) are squeamish about acknowledging that, as you put it (and I agree) “potentially racist
attitudes and behaviours are there i[n] all of us and in our systems”? It takes courage (because what is worse than being called a racist?) to understand one’s own racist practices but unless we (me as an individual, we as an institution) acknowledge these
we cannot fight them.
In my field of work, I am particularly concerned by the imminent introduction of ID checks at the door to determine which patients are ‘eligible’ for care in the NHS. It is not possible to check everyone and
I therefore fear that judgements will be based largely on outward identifiers of perceived foreignness – most likely, perhaps, to involve judgements of race. I mentioned the idea of studying the implementation of this policy with the express idea to explore
racist practices and the response from senior researchers/ clinicians was very much one of squeamishness.
In my other roles – on the ward – I note the teaching of ‘cultural competency’ has become mandatory for many clinical staff but again, I am suspicious that judgements on a person’s cultural background are frequently
made based on a rapid assessment dominated by crude judgements of race/ethnicity.
It seems to me that the combination of austerity, globalisation, the rise of ISIS (and with it the far right) and the migrant crisis have conspired to create a fear of ‘others’ whilst we defend ‘ourselves’.
This appears to frequently be manifested in racist practices and policies so that rather than Obama’s post-race world, we are now living in one where racisms are acknowledged and owned by some actors or brushed under the carpet (because it is not their issue)
by others. Much subtle ‘dinner-table’ racism seems to have become acceptable not only in private but also public discourse. Those who ‘own’ those views but do nothing about them or those that ignore them because they are not their views allow racisms to
propagate. I think it is vital we call them (and these practices) out for what they are and do everything we can to fight them.
Please forgive my crude commentary - I do not come from a background of race studies (or sociology/anthropology) and so still have much to learn!
Best wishes,
Jess
Jessica Potter
Clinical Lecturer & MRC Research Fellow
@DrJessPotter
020 7882 2481
Queen Mary University London
Centre for Primary Care and Public Health
Blizard Institute
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Yvonne Carter Building
58 Turner Street
London E1 2AB
From: Health
of minority ethnic communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of SumanFernando2
Sent: 21 June 2017 14:06
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Race is off the agenda with a vengence
Dear Neil,
I think discussing ‘diversity’ /equality inevitably and necessarily leads to discussing racism (and other discriminatory practices and attitudes like antisemitism and Islamophobia). So
equality and diversity being off the agenda is really equivalent to racism being off the agenda. I think the ‘Obama effect’ (‘post-race’ theory) may have something to do with this but I think there are other forces in action. It is essential at this time
of social-political instability that we talk about all this (as ‘institutional racism’ perhaps) at conferences and meetings and in publications, so it’s out in the open. Under the carpet approach, hoping it will go away is always counter-productive. That
means I think white and non-white (‘people of colour’ / BME) of good will (and there are many in the UK) talking together is essential. In my view, potentially racist attitudes and behaviours are there is all of us and in our systems (like education and mental
health) and it our responsibility to keep them at bay as much as possible.
Suman
From: Health
of minority ethnic communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Sanyal, Neil
Sent: 21 June 2017 13:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Race is off the agenda with a vengence
I was aware that Equality and Diversity were “off the agenda” since 2010 but wasn’t aware that race and racism were also off the agenda too. I must say that
it doesn’t come up much in any frequent discourse in our Adult Social Services Department here. That doesn’t mean everyone has now become racist again though.
Neil
Neil Sanyal
Social Worker/AMHP
Adult Mental Health New Forest Substance Misuese Social Care Team
Lymington Area Office
Lymington
Hampshire
SO41 9YB
Tel: 01590 625120
From: Health
of minority ethnic communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of SumanFernando2
Sent: 21 June 2017 13:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Race is off the agenda with a vengence
Dear All,
Interesting link to Kwame McKenzie’s activity in Toronto. (Kwame was well-known psychiatrist in UK latterly active in an anti-racist stance before he emigrated to Canada)
It seems that the tendency to
not talk about ‘race’ and racism evident I think in UK seems to be evident in Toronto too! I have noted this tendency at meetings and conferences in UK over the past ten years or so—just at a time when racism is increasing in all avenues of our multicultural
society including mental health.
For those who do not know much about Toronto, Across Boundaries was established about 20 years ago openly anti-racist but has had to pull back on its anti-racism recently.
I have just returned from a meeting at OISE (University of Toronto) where this malady (don’t mention ‘race’ disease) was obvious and commented upon. Have others on this list noticed it
too?
Suman
Suman Fernando
WEBSITE:
http://www.sumanfernando.com
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