The irony of it all. While UKIP goes to great lengths to deny that it is a racist party and politicians run scared of accusing UKIPpers of being racist, racism is found to be alive and kicking. No one dares utter its name but it exists as a counter-political and socio response to the unemployment and housing problems. In a survey by British Social Attitudes of 2,000 people a 30% level of racism was found to exist.
I don't need a survey to tell me or confirm my everday life experiences. It's in the small look thrown my way, an odd comment which reaches my ear when it isn't meant to and the narrowing of career choices which are explained away based on other factors (which don't affect OTHERS the way it does to someone like me). The person at the receiving end of racism bears responsibility for proving or disproving any complaints made and, often, is discouraged from saying anything because the dominant embedded response is to counter-accuse the victim by labelling them 'paranoid'.
Racism has now become a part of politics. Questioning the levels of immigration isn't wrong but stigmatising those from certain countries and discriminating against certain characteristics is. By tying immigration with politics it becomes nationalistic to be racist albeit by stealth but it happens. As an Asian woman I face a double 'whammy' - racism and gender prejudice. I wonder how many 'whammies' disabled people face or even refugees for that matter who seem to be viewed as the lowest form of life that must be kept away from nation boundaries at all cost?
I don't need a survey to tell me or confirm my everday life experiences. It's in the small look thrown my way, an odd comment which reaches my ear when it isn't meant to and the narrowing of career choices which are explained away based on other factors (which don't affect OTHERS the way it does to someone like me). The person at the receiving end of racism bears responsibility for proving or disproving any complaints made and, often, is discouraged from saying anything because the dominant embedded response is to counter-accuse the victim by labelling them 'paranoid'.
Racism has now become a part of politics. Questioning the levels of immigration isn't wrong but stigmatising those from certain countries and discriminating against certain characteristics is. By tying immigration with politics it becomes nationalistic to be racist albeit by stealth but it happens. As an Asian woman I face a double 'whammy' - racism and gender prejudice. I wonder how many 'whammies' disabled people face or even refugees for that matter who seem to be viewed as the lowest form of life that must be kept away from nation boundaries at all cost?
