If you’ve been shocked by the reports of a rise in racist incidents in response to the Brexit referendum, you’re probably wondering what you can do. The answer is remarkably simple.
According to the reports, racists are not restricting their intolerance to people who have come from other EU countries exercising freedom of movement, but also non EU immigrants and even UK-born people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
There has been an ugly undercurrent stirred up, and it is erupting to the surface.
You may have read of the Amnesty campaign to “Tell Your Local Council To Stand Against Hate”.
“Violence. Vandalism. Hate speech. Racist slogans on t-shirts. In the last few days, reports of hate crimes in the UK have increased. Fuelled by years of hostile rhetoric, coupled with divisive campaigns, we are now seeing racism and xenophobia on the rise on our streets and in our communities.
Local leaders must condemn these actions immediately and do everything in their power to make people safe and welcome. Tell your council to speak out against racism, xenophobia and hate crimes now.” - Amnesty UK.
You may have responded to it. I did. But other than letting your local councillors know there are anti-racists in their ward, it’s unlikely to do much good. Indeed, its results may even be counter-productive.
Confirming the bias
The people expressing racism are, like many of us, angry at bureaucratic institutions, including local government. Like many of us, they feel local authorities are not listening to them. But those lending a sympathetic ear to racist ideas probably believe councils are favouring the “out groups” ahead of them. A lecture on racism from a well-meaning council motion is only liable to confirm those views. “See, it’s always ‘them’ before us. It’s always us in the wrong”.
We are social animals. We learn our sense not just of social norms but actually our sense of self from those around us. The strongest learning tool is the disapproval of our peers and the people we respect. And after that, the positive example of our peers and people we respect. We need to do both of those things in our own communities and workplaces. We need to rebuild communities that uphold values of solidarity and mutual aid. We need to show that these values are practical values; that they work; that they are not just about “being nice”, but can get things done which improve things not just for others, but also for ourselves. And that in rebuilding these values we can rebuild self-respect.
What can I do?
So what practical things can you do? Well, have you made contact with local groups in your community? In my area there is a Polish group, a Chinese group, an Indian women’s group, a Pakistani welfare group, a Russian group. We know that these people may have experienced the kind of “contact” racists want to make. Have you offered the kind of support anti-racists can offer?
A group of like-minded friends could get in touch with the groups in your area and say “Is there anything we can do to help?” What’s the worst that can happen? They might say “no thanks, we’re fine”. But at least they’ll know there’s people who want to support them in a practical way, rather than just with a few posts on social media.
If there are on-going things you can do, you might want to form a group in your local community to target racism. This should aim to do practical things, not just pass resolutions. It should demonstrate solidarity, not just espouse it. It should directly involve people from your local community in solving the problems together.
What should it do specifically? I don’t know what’s going on it your community, or how your community is able to respond. Only you do. But whatever it is, make it something practical.
But the first step is contact: “Hello, we’ve heard what’s been happening. We want to help”.
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