There was a time in my life when I wholeheartedly believed that a man would enter our home in the middle of the night, through the chimney we didn’t have, and leave presents. He was in the books I read, the TV shows I watched and the music I listened to (and sang loudly).
There reached a point where some things didn’t quite add up and I began to ask questions, eventually facing the truth that Father Christmas is not real. In knowledge of this truth, I had a better understanding of the world I was growing up in; I knew why some people got more expensive presents than others and why shops were so “magical” in the darker months of the year. But I will save my criticism of the commercialisation of this religious holiday for another post.
It seems a ridiculous idea, but take a moment to imagine discovering the truth about Father Christmas as an adult? You’d be embarrassed at your lack of knowledge, furious at society for not educating you and mournful of the time and energy misplaced. In the face of confusion you would turn to education, you would look at the history of Father Christmas to discover who and why he was fabricated in the first place. You would wonder why the truth was concealed from you and how educational institutions get away with not providing this integral information? At school we spent hours analysing Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed yet the fictitious man who dominates December (or longer) was completely avoided.
To extend this, imagine if other people suffered as a result of this misinformation; that they had been bullied because you failed to understand why they didn’t get as many presents and you presumed it was because they were on the “Naughty list”. Then you guiltily discover the truth: the world is not as simple as naughty and nice. Regardless of how you would respond to this realisation, my point is that this situation would elicit a response; you would not be indifferent.
So why are you so apathetic about racism?
I’ll be the first to admit that this is a bizarre metaphor. In comparing an imaginary character with hundreds of years of discrimination, I am not trying to trivialise this issue that has rightly dominated our media for the last couple of weeks. I am trying to draw attention to the insidious nature of silence by highlighting the complete lack of education on the matter. Who was it that said “there comes a time when silence is betrayal?”
If you went into hospital with a fractured skull and a few bumps and bruises after falling off your bike, you would say, “please can someone look at my head”. You would find it frustrating if they responded with “its not just about your head, its all of you that matters”, you would want them to focus their expertise on your most severe injury. Similarly, to those of you that say “All Lives Matter”, this can only be applicable when all lives are treated equally and currently, they are not. Racism is so deeply rooted in our society that it is not enough for us to be quiet. We must create the demand for all voices to be heard.
In the same way that I will never completely understand the oppression felt by those who are discriminated against as a result of racism, I will never know the extent to which I benefit from my own white privilege*. It is only by educating ourselves on others lives that we can develop empathy and begin to understand both the privilege we have and the oppression felt by others and fundamentally learn a little bit more about the world that we live in.
Unfortunately, I have not managed to watch or read many of the below list, but they have come recommended from various sources and I fully intend to explore them.
13th- Netflix- explores how racism has continued to evolve since the abolishment of slavery and the criminalisation of Black people in America.
Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement- Amazon Prime- through the rise of the Black Lives Matters, this documentary looks at various accounts of police brutality.
Malcolm X- his autobiography- of this man, I know very little, but this has come highly recommended and I intend to learn more.
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race-book by Reni Eddo-Lodge. I’ve recently finished this book and I’m definitely going to have to read it again. My main takeaways so far are firstly, the complete lack of knowledge I have of black history in the UK. Why do I know who Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Henrietta Lacks are but I quite literally cannot name a Black British person from history? Secondly, how simultaneously the chapter on feminism infuriated and empowered me.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa- book by Walter Rodney- I feel like I have so carefully skated round an education on the British colonies, without actually addressing the issue. Realistically, my knowledge is limited to knowing that the pink countries on old political maps used to be part of the British Empire.
I Am Not Your Baby Mother- book by Candice Brathwaite. Following the interview with Candice Brathwaite on The High Low, I will definitely be reading this. Brathwaite aimed this book at a “younger version” of herself and I am keen to find out what it means to be Black in Britain today.
I have purposefully kept this list short so as to keep it “manageable”, you could easily get through this material in a couple of weeks. You will very quickly come across the glaring truth about racism and that in order to oppose the systemic racism in our society, you must be actively anti-racist. Sign petitions, vote in elections both locally and nationally, vote with your money, condemn the large corporations that profit from this discrimination, support businesses that are owned and / or support black people, read both fiction and non-fiction books written by black people.
We all have dramatically different experiences of what it is like to be treated unfairly, use these as a reminder that we do not live in a true meritocracy and consequently, there is absolutely no place for apathy in politics and it is our responsibility to educate ourselves.
I started this blog, not for social media likes (despite my continuous affinity with my generational stereotype) but to start a conversation. I want to talk to people about these issues, I want to learn more. So please share your thoughts.
*White privilege – “a term some find upsetting and offensive – refers to the concept that people have basic rights and benefits simply because they are white. It doesn’t mean they haven’t suffered hardship or that they don’t have a tough life – just that their colour hasn’t made it harder.”
