SO who remembers all the way back to October? You know, Black History Month, with references to Black Lives Matter, George Floyd’s murder, even earlier and the slave trade, our participation therein, and the stooshie about statues?
Obviously not John Taylor – or as he’d probably prefer to be saluted, Baron Kilclooney – with his racist, misogynist reference to Vice President-elect Harris.
Such peripherals, one month in a year, must have passed him by as insignificant, even presuming he was aware to begin with. After all, this is not new territory for him. He’d “tarred” Leo Varadkar in the same way. We all know (but seldom challenge) how easy easy it is for society to slip into accepting derogatory wordage, allowing it to become common parlance, thus losing its barbaric birthing.
READ MORE: Baron Kilclooney has demonstrated his breathtaking ignorance and prejudice
But returning to Taylor and his typically defiant denial-mode response, claiming the tweet wasn’t racist and seeking refuge in quote: “The first thing is to get it in perspective, the criticism is minor, the support is massive – I’ve never had so many Twitter followers in one day, ever.” Just how demonstrative is this of casual, societal racism that goes unchallenged?
I fear it is typical of everyday racism despite angry response from certain quarters. So when there is such a public platform to “call it out”, where is the voice of the PM? His silence will be noticed, no doubt by both President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. That this should come as the rUK government is attempting to foster a close relationship with the incoming administration is unfortunate to say the least. Brokering deals at the best of times is difficult, but with post-Brexit looming and when the PM is preceded by comments referencing former President Obama’s birth heritage and women as “letter boxes”, experienced politicians such as Biden will ensure his team play tough.
We’ve got over the fact that Black History Month was viewed with suspicion as an American import all those year ago, but Morgan Freeman was right when he said in 2005:”You’re going to relegate my history to a month? I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.” The recent vile remarks from an unelected politician, paid from the public purse, demonstrate the need to challenge and educate at all times, not just once a month.
Selma Rahman
Edinburgh
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