Compelled, but not defeated

Compelled, but not defeated

Do you know when it became illegal for the British Police to behave in a racist fashion?  Answer below.

This is the second track by a group recommended by my current boss (there was an earlier entry on The War on Drugs).

They are the best group you have probably not heard of that have a discography this big and are that good.  The Drive By Truckers.  They are from the Deep South of the USA and the title, and quote above, refer to the position of the Confederate Army at the end of the American Civil War.  It will be no surprise to you that the DBT are critical of that position and what it still means.

There is a view, passively encouraged by the media (and the USA being home to much of global media) that slavery was something that happened in the USA only.  In fact, the British were as bad with the use of slaves, but in the West Indies.  Conveniently, this was not in the UK, so the abuses and brutality were out of sight of the refined British.  Have no doubt that conditions on sugar plantation in the West Indies, were as bad, or worse, than those in the cotton plantations of Alabama.

Many of the richest families in the UK have fortunes based on the exploitation of free labour.  Their autobiographies all gloss over this stain on the source of their wealth.

Some people in Britain like to use the figleaf of being the first country to abolish slavery.  This is like saying that if a group of people beat you up for an hour and just because one person stops a minute before the others the victim is meant to be grateful to that one person.  I am still appalled that until recently we were still paying the debt taken out to compensate slave owners.  Not the ex-slaves, most of whom had no assets and had to continue to work for a pittance in terrible conditions for the same masters 

Another enduring defence is that the Europeans were buying slaves from Africans, so it was their fault.  Hopefully this quote will give anyone who thinks that a better understanding:

African-American Voices: A Documentary Reader, 1619-1877:

Apologists for the African slave trade long argued that European traders did not enslave anyone: they simply purchased Africans who had already been enslaved and who otherwise would have been put to death. Thus, apologists claimed, the slave trade actually saved lives. Such claims represent a gross distortion of the facts. Some independent slave merchants did in fact stage raids on unprotected African villages and kidnap and enslave Africans. Most professional slave traders, however, set up bases along the west African coast where they purchased slaves from Africans in exchange for firearms and other goods. Before the end of the seventeenth century, England, France, Denmark, Holland, and Portugal had all established slave trading posts on the west African coast.

Yet to simply say that Europeans purchased people who had already been enslaved seriously distorts historical reality. While there had been a slave trade within Africa prior to the arrival of Europeans, the massive European demand for slaves and the introduction of firearms radically transformed west and central African society. A growing number of Africans were enslaved for petty debts or minor criminal or religious offenses or following unprovoked raids on unprotected villages. An increasing number of religious wars broke out with the goal of capturing slaves. European weapons made it easier to capture slaves.

Slavery did end in the eighteenth century, which is a long time ago, but economic effects can persist, particularly if their remains prejudice and a lack of opportunity.  The unemployment rate for BAME people is twice as high as for white people (worst for black men).  Even that hides further inequalities as many BAME men and women work in low paid sectors, like security and garment manufacture.

Blind tests carried out on job applications and home renting showed applicants with the same details were offered interviews/ homes if they had a “white” sounding name, but not with one that implied black or Asian origin.  That is Britain today.

When was legislation enacted to make racist acts by the police illegal in the UK?  The year 2000.  There remains an issue with some racist police, but even a few is too many.  Statistics show that stop and search is used four times as often (adjusting for the make-up of the UK) on Black people than others and twice as often as people of Asian ethnicity.  The data also shows that when people are stopped for the same offences white people are let off and Black people are prosecuted. 

In the 1990s I knew a police officer who showed me a faxed list of racist jokes that had been circulated across the UK.  And these were vile jokes that are burnt into my memory and will not be repeated here. 

In my work in London, I have had to work with the police.  One sergeant I worked with for many years admitted that the Police remain infested with racists.  He referred explicitly to Tottenham, where it was known that racism was tolerated more than any other London force.  He had been in the Tottenham force during the Broadwater Farm riots in 1985.  Whilst he did not condone the riots, and definitely did not condone the murder of PC Blakelock, he said that the behaviour of the Police had provoked the violence and the riot was inevitable due to the casual beatings and abuse the Police carried out against the residents of the estate.

Then there are the people who say BLM is racist and All Lives Matter.  Of course all lives matter but this picture explains it. 

Maybe a better slogan would have been “Black Lives Matter Too, but The State Does Not Treat Us Like That” – not quite as catchy (the same way people blithely saying defund the BBC , for the most part, do not understand what defund the Police means –it does not mean taking money away for policing).  Saying all lives matter is a denial that there is inequality in face of the facts.

There is also racism fatigue, which is happening now.  On social media (well on FT316 which is usually a good place) you see people posting asking how long sports people will continue to make a point of taking the knee at the start of football or rugby matches.  Maybe the answer is when the situation improves?  BLM is not a fashion trend it is a movement against racism.

Then there are the statues.  Would society be happy with statues of Harold Shipman, Jimmy Saville or the Yorkshire Ripper being erected?  How about a statue of someone who murdered your relatives?  If not why is it ok to leave statues up of men whose philanthropy came from slavery profits?  It is all history.

The denial of the existence of racism in today’s society shows that the attitude of the confederacy continues everywhere to this day.  It is impossible to be agnostic on racism.  An agnostic position is condoning.

Surrender Under Protest