Racism lingers among the English
Dear Editor,
Since England was defeated in the recent Euro Cup finals, there has been a lot of online abuse hurled at the three black players on the English team who missed their penalty shots.
This is disgraceful, deplorable, and should be strongly denounced. We shouldn’t generalise, but English soccer fans are known to be violent, abusive, racist, and rowdy; they do not take losses well. Hearing English fans booing a foreign national anthem or seeing the English team members removing their medals immediately after they had been placed around their necks speaks volumes about the attitudes they bring to the sport. I was rooting for the English team for many reasons, but the better team won. The English team tends to be sore losers, perhaps if they set a better example fans would follow and learn to tone down the viciousness in the sport. When English players took ‘a knee’ as a visible stance against racism, many were critical, even in the midst of the Black Lives Matter global movement.
Racism is insidious; it often creeps up when you least expect it. It can be direct or indirect, subtle or blatant. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quick to denounce the abusers, suggesting that they “crawl back under the rock from which you emerged”. Prince William, who attended the finals, said he found the racial attacks “sickening”. The truth is you cannot denounce racism only when it is convenient. It wasn’t long ago that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, spoke out against the racism Meghan, who is of mixed race, suffered in the British media; their unborn child was even referred to as a chimp. The Firm and at least one lower-ranked royal have been accused of racism by Harry and Meghan. No one denounced this, or supported the young royals as they complained. Prince Harry and Meghan eventually exited Britain to relocate to the USA, resigning royal roles, leaving all the perks and privileges behind, due in part, one can only surmise, to these experiences of racism.
England has had a long history of imperialism and slavery, and traces of this past still linger throughout the Commonwealth. It was reported that up to the 1960s black immigrants were banned from serving in clerical roles in the royal household. Up to recently, our governor general wore a controversial British insignia and, surprisingly, no one noticed. The medal – the Order of St Michael and St George – depicted a white man with his foot on the neck of a black man who is said to be representative of Satan. Although we are in 2021, countries like England still have a lot of work to do. It must start at the top with leaders leading by example; there must be a cultural and institutional change in terms of what is acceptable. Many in the British media must step back and do some serious introspection. They must learn to acknowledge how abusive words and tone can be hurtful and considered racist when used consistently against people, especially those of colour, to insult, belittle, and put them in their place.