I read that the council of Minneapolis has voted to dismantle the police force. The governor of the state has promised to root out racism. All well and good and I applaud them for taking action. It does beg the question, had George Floyd not been brutally assaulted and died would nothing have been done? They must have had some idea that these attitudes existed within law enforcement? So why had they not taken action already? I know hindsight is easy. The conflict of racism is a difficult issue and one which the largely white powers speak about but rarely address the real problem. They fought a Civil War over slavery and they still are just in a less obvious way.
The statue in Bristol being pulled down cannot be condoned. The man may have been a slaver and even though he left his fortune to used to benefit the local population, perhaps as statue to such a man should never have been erected. Strong feelings have been aroused over the death of George Floyd and others. By all means protest but do not undermine your point by what can only be seen as vandalism? I knew nothing about this man Edward Colston. He is certainly not a man whose statue I would want displayed in public. If I had wanted it removed then there are legal and peaceful ways to achieve this. I am conflicted over these protests and the violence that accompanies them. I support the sentiment of the protesters. I understand the strength of feeling. I understand the need to publicly support what is a righteous cause. I abhor the clashes between those who take advantage of these marches to abuse and hurt the Police (though their behaviour is not always worthy of their uniform) I condemn them for damage done to public and private property. The cynic in me wonders whether if times were pandemic free whether the reaction would be the same as has become under the current pandemic? There is of course the issue of should such gatherings take place at all as they obviously contravene the current advice.
I must repeat for the millionth time while we must address this issue and highlight prejudice wherever it raise it’s nasty head, until we stop accentuating the differences and get to the root cause of its wellspring nothing will really change. Children do not get born with these attitudes. they do not come out of the womb with inbuilt prejudice, they are taught by those around them. Until this problem is addressed through education we won’t change it. We have to educate several generations to eradicate this problem and that is not easy. We must be vigilant and condemn racism wherever we find it!
Another week looms and we sit wondering which rule is now in place which can be followed and which can be circumnavigated. I will confess that I am coming round to the view that without being stupid, I think these rules are no longer fit for purpose and we have to get on with our lives!
Stay well
No comments:
Post a Comment