In search of peace

Just over two weeks ago, Floriana Football Club fans gathered to celebrate, causing outrage for fear that they would get infected and spread COVID-19, at a time when the majority of the population was making sacrifices to fight the pandemic.

While we seem to have gotten lucky on this one, European Union officials are warning of a much earlier second wave of COVID-19 hitting the continent after the wave of protests across Europe linked to the murder of George Floyd by a Police officer in the United States.

The tragic and brutal abuse of power by an American policeman resonated with all those who stand against injustice in the world. The host of the Daily Show, Trevor Noah, marvelled that the fact that in a scandal related to race, everyone had united in condemnation of the act, for once. In the fight against racism, however, what seemed a noble reaction to objective injustice has grown far beyond that initial righteous reaction. We are now witnessing an ideological proxy war, with the innocent trapped between every side, as is always the case. Should a second wave of COVID19 arise sooner than expected, then those will be more unintended casualties.

A protest contains diverse elements of people, and therefore should not be labelled as either good or bad on an arbitrary basis. It is not helpful to look at rioting and looting and blame it on the entire crowd, especially when there are allegations of ideological elements attempting to hijack the protest for their own ends. However, rioting and looting in of themselves, while a symptom of a larger problem, only lead to a backlash which has the opposite intended effect of a peaceful protest. The far right is now in a position to take a reactionary position, and fan the flames or resentment to take advantage of the situation. In Brussels, shop windows were smashed, far from the injustice committed against George Floyd. The defacing of public monuments has also been a new trend. Such imagery conjures fears in people of book burnings and an inquisition against anything which does not fit neatly into whatever narrative is most popular at any given time in the modern world.

Each country has its own challenges and context for racism, and each should therefore be tackled in its own way. In the United Kingdom, the fact that "racist" was spray painted under a statue of Churchill, and paint thrown at a statue of Lord Nelson, do a great disservice towards the cause of racial harmony. To attack an idol fixed firmly in the hearts and minds of a people without offering anything constructive is to attack people's very identity. Rather than seek common ground and reconciliation, conflict is chosen, giving rise to radicalisation on both sides and leading to more, rather than less, racial tension.

Rewriting history is not the way to go. On the other hand, the removal of a statue of King Leopold II in Belgium, with the intention of moving it to a museum, is far more understandable, given the horrifying crimes he committed in the Belgian Congo. There is, however, no comparison between Churchill and Leopold, and therefore a blanket approach taken across the whole world can only do more harm than good. In the case of Leopold, he is rightly reviled in this day and age, and such an action does not stir controversy in quite the same way as attacking Churchill. Even the claims made against Churchill, such as trying to pin the Bengal famine on him, are based on incomplete information and propaganda, and such claims are easily resisted with primary sources which tell a different story. This is a clear example of why dialogue is the way forward, and not violence. Imposing political correctness only gives rise to resistance and reaction, as we can see with the rise of President Trump.

What, then, is the way forward? Across the world, more good is done from asking the question what one likes about another group of people rather than what one dislikes. As a case in point, if one feels attacked, one will defend oneself. If one is instead offered a hand of peace, then that hand is much more likely to be taken. While problems of racism persist across the world, not least in third world countries, we must appeal to people's better nature, rather than to hatred, to find resolution. For those who wish for change to happen more quickly, they will find themselves hindering it if they think they will win through insults and injury.