In the UK, Islamophobia is so bipartisan, so normalised, that BBC reporters refer to anti-Muslim pogromists as ‘pro-British protesters’
Imagine this scene, if you can. For several days, violent mobs have massed in the centre of British cities and clashed with police in an attempt to reach synagogues to attack them. Draped in England flags and Union Jacks, and armed with cricket bats and metal rods, the trouble-makers have dismantled garden walls to throw bricks.
Gangs have swept through residential areas where Jews are known to live, smashing windows and trying to break down doors. The rioters attacked and torched a hotel identified as housing Jewish asylum seekers, an act that could have burned alive the occupants.
For days, the media and politicians have chiefly referred to these events as far-right “thuggery” and spoken of the need to restore law and order.
In the midst of all this, a young Jewish MP is invited onto a major morning TV show to talk about the unfolding events. When she argues that these attacks need to be clearly identified as racist and antisemitic, one of the show’s presenters barracks and ridicules her. Close by, two white men, a former cabinet minister and an executive at one of the UK’s largest newspapers, are seen openly laughing at her.
Oh, and if this isn’t all getting too fanciful, the TV presenter who mocks the young MP is the husband of the home secretary responsible for policing these events.
The scenario is so hideously outrageous no one can conceive of it. But it is exactly what took place last week - except that the mob wasn’t targeting Jews, but Muslims; the young MP was not Jewish but Zarah Sultana, the country’s most high-profile Muslim MP; and her demand was not that the violence be identified as antisemitic but as Islamophobic.
This article is part of the problem.
Why is that? It seems to make a very solid point.
Holding politicians to account is a bad thing all of a sudden, apparently.
Weirdo comment.
Edit: I don’t understand you lot. It’s an article calling out the failure of those in power to tackle the issues. When my mate in Australia asked me about the UK Riots, I told him that they were caused by a lack of accountability. When you look at what’s happened in recent years, where are the common sense laws that should’ve been implemented in their wake. Many of the things that the Leave Campaign stated were proven to be false. Is there a law to ensure such things can’t happen again? No. In fact even in the wake of that Farage continued to get press coverage on a platform of lies and hate.
I have previously called out Starmer for his failure to support black and brown people and that was before he became Prime Minister. Following his election, he was cozied up to the police more, when communities came together against the racists, he lauded the police. His failure to speak up and support black and brown people is a massive problem. His failure to ensure the safety of black and brown people, even indirectly, by ensuring politicians can’t lie about them is telling.
The job of the press is to call out politicians. I’m glad you’re feeling fine and safe and that’s your privilege and it shines through loudly when you say these articles are part of the problem, when they’re in fact part of the solution. They’re the hope of the minorities who are scared and lack a loud enough voice to be heard.
The riots were caused by hooligans belonging to the far right, stirred up by lowlifes like Yaxley and Farage.
They were not caused by Starmer.