Lee Jasper, a race relations activist and former Senior Policy Advisor on Equalities to the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, as well as MP for the Respect Party wrote on Twitter that, “black people in Europe and UK can’t be racist”, after Conservative councilor, Gareth Anderson accused him of being a racist for confusing Pakistan with Bangladesh.
Lee Jasper, a campaigning race relations activist for over two decades mistakenly confused Bangladesh with Pakistan, and Labour London Assembly member Murad Qureshi reminded him of the hostile history between the two countries as well as the insult many would take from Jasper’s mistaken comparison.
It was then that Conservative councillor Gareth Anderson added his comments to the discussion and said the comments could constitute a “racial slur”. (Read Lee Jasper, Race Relations Activist, Tweets: ‘Black People In Europe And UK Can’t Be Racist’: Huffington Post UK: By Christopher York: 7 April, 2013)
Jasper responded by saying, “What’s ironic is your pathetic attempt to call a black man racist.” He added, “Black people in Europe and UK can’t be racist is my view and one that enjoys wide support“. Then said, “Most Tories don’t recognise racism because its part of their cultural DNA.” Anderson replied, “I’m saying no major party is racist. Sadly prejudice & racism exists in individuals though, like Mr Jasper.”
The end of racism as we understand it
Gareth Anderson’s mindset to refer to black people as racists is shared by many whites if one were to do their research. In June 2010, I wrote an article about black councillor, Shirley Brown, who was convicted of racism for calling an Asian colleague a “coconut“. Brown was criticising Jay Jethwa, a Conservative Party councillor who backed spending cuts for ethnic minority projects, including Bristol City’s Legacy Commission, set up to educate people on the abolition of the slave trade. (Read Black councillor is convicted of racism: Is this the end of racism as we know it?
Not only did this conviction turn the original definition of racism on its head, in my view it sparked the end of racism as black and minority ethnic communities understood the term.
The Oxford English dictionary defines racism as “a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.”
The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others.” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009-03-16)
If you examine the Western media’s obsession with the birth rates of non-whites as well as the racist discourse which governs the immigration debate in the Western world, the definitions given by these dictionaries fits in with the mindset of Europeans.
If you take into account the views of scientist Dr James Watson, a Nobel prize winner and DNA pioneer, who caused outrage in 2007 when he was quoted in the Sunday Times as saying that Africans were inferior to Europeans, (BBC News: October 2007) This is the views of an eminent scientist, and we have no idea how many other European scientists share this view.
In May 2011, I wrote an article titled, White victimhood: The new racism, where I attempted to explain how the British media and western media in general have turned racism on its head by now portraying whites as the victims of racism.
In the article I cited a study conducted by sociologists from Harvard and Tufts universities in America where white Americans now see themselves as victims of racism and believe that black people have ‘gained’ the advantage over them despite African-Americans still being subjected to racial discrimination in the job market, and suffering poverty rates at nearly twice the levels of whites.
This new perception by whites has been shaped by the media and governments, and serves to dilute the main victims of racism, which are black and minority ethnic groups, and it also disguises a sinister and new platform for whites to express their racism by simply pointing the finger at the victims thereby conveniently excusing them from changing their behaviour or improving equality.
It began with the media saying that whites were now the main victims of racist attacks, claims that would be rubbished by the actual statistics provided by the Institute of Race Relations.
It has now moved on to accusing black people of themselves being racist. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was called a racist for saying that Chelsea left back Ashley Cole was a “choc-ice” for defending John Terry at his racism trial. (Read Ferdinand foolishly falls for media’s reverse racism game)
Shadow minister for public health, Dianne Abbott was called a racist for her comments on Twitter saying that white people loved to play divide and conquer among races. (Read Dianne Abbott at the centre of another race row)
This tit for tat racism only benefits white racists as they already have the upper hand, they already define the race laws and they are the ones who apply the race laws. Therefore when we have a situation as we do now where whites are defining what racism is, you can rest assure that the original definition will lose meaning and the term will become a free for all mish-mash of anything goes.
Racism no longer means anything when you think about it. It is frowned upon when the term is used as if equality has been realised, and as if all racial groups are on an equal footing and playing field.
In the Dianne Abbott article I said “The definition of racism in its historical context has always been about one race believing themselves to be superior to another. No other race has demonstrated this zeal to prove this than Europeans. To this day European scientists have an obsession to seek genetic proof that they are superior to other races.” I also said that African-American civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King would be labelled racists under the modern definition. Former South African president and Apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela would be labelled a racist under these new definition and when you look at the modern definition of racism from this perspective the conclusion can only be that this definition was thought up by people who are opposed to the values which these great equality activists have fought for.
Racism as we understand it is over, and as much Lee Jasper says that many share his view that black people cannot be racists, unfortunately; it is not black people who define racism, it is whites.
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