Scotland cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to racism
IT was not an edifying way for Lady
Susan Hussey to bring the curtain down on her dedicated service to the royals. Sixty years of faithful duty, which included being a favoured companion of the late Queen, have ended abruptly, gone in the time it takes to have a brief conversation.
It has to be said that the 83-year-old’s questioning of Ngozi Fulani at a Buckingham Palace reception was persistent and intrusive as she sought to discover which part of Africa Ms Fulani came from,
Most people questioning Ms Fulani in an overbearing way would quickly have detected her irritation and moved on to other, safer subjects, such as the weather. Lady Susan was rude in continuing to question her, but racist? Not really.
It may be that her interest in getting a definitive reply stemmed from her grand background, her years of royal training – her age too, perhaps.
As the author Tina Brown has noted, a touch acerbically, Lady Susan hailed “from the Jurassic period of court etiquette”, having been offered by the late Queen as a source of guidance to Princess Diana then to Meghan Markle when she entered the royal family.
It was unfortunate that Lady Susan’s godson, Prince William, should have referred to ‘racism’ in his response to her transgression. The controversial and, so far, unfounded allegations of racism made by the Duchess of Sussex have heightened sensitivities amongst courtiers when it comes to race-related matters, which is why that Lady Susan, rather than being administered a public slap on the wrist, should have been obliged to hand in her notice.
But this sensitivity works both ways. Even if you can fault Ms Fulani for tweeting a full transcript of her conversation with Lady Susan (Nigel Farage has alleged that she “planned this right from the very start” and is an “antiroyal, anti-british Marxist”) her resentment at being singled out for such persistent questioning has to be understood. Why should a black woman have to endure such nosiness when a white guest plainly wouldn’t? Why should she be driven to feel, as she apparently did, that her very identity was being undermined?
As it happens, the race issue also materialised in Scotland this week, after the actor James Mcavoy spoke of the abuse that some of his co-stars endured when taking part in a play in Glasgow last March. He was, he recalled, saddened as most of the women of colour in the cast “got racially abused pretty much on a daily basis when we were there”. Shocked and dismayed (“scunnered” too), he and his colleagues were delighted to put Glasgow behind them.
Naturally, his allegations have prompted a good deal of soul-searching in Scotland – and, specifically, Glasgow. There was, of course, a backlash. One person said that any assertion that Scotland is racist “denigrates the fabric of our country”. Others resorted to mocking use of the word ‘woke’ as a means of undermining Mcavoy’s claim.
It is easy to make light of wokeness, especially when it is seen to become excessive. Ricky Gervais, well-known for his treatment of woke cancel culture, is at it again in his latest comedy show; Piers Morgan has written an entire book lamenting the rise of woke culture, and has rounded on what he refers to as the ‘permanently offended, snowflake, cancelculture mob’.
Amidst such woke-baiting, however, it has to be remembered that we still have a problem with racism in Scotland. In the words of an authoritative Runnymede think-tank report, Taking Stock: Race Equality in Scotland, racially motivated hate crime remains the most commonly reported type of hate crime in Scotland, according to data compiled by the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service .
The report also reminds us that recent attitude polling has shown that roughly a third of non-white black, Asian and minority ethnic people in Scotland report experiences of racial discrimination, with a slightly higher proportion considering racial discrimination to be a widespread issue in Scotland.
Studies and books have examined the experiences of Scotland’s immigrant communities, a presence spurred in recent times by the Scottish government’s drive to reverse our population decline. Ministers have launched many equality initiatives, which have had an positive impact. But it is perhaps stretching things to say that Scotland has always been a welcoming place for immigrants or to people of a darker skin colour. One caller to a Radio Scotland phone-in this week, responding to the Mcavoy controversy, spoke for many people by saying: “I’m absolutely not surprised at all. We have this perception that Scotland is exempt from racism somehow, but it’s not.”
Earlier this year, Cricket Scotland was put into special measures after a damning report found no fewer than 448 indicators of institutional racism.
Scotland may think of itself as a place of welcome to all, but the problem of racism has not gone away. We cannot afford to be complacent.
Farewell, Christine
FLEETWOOD Mac’s members may have been enduring much personal turmoil when they recorded their 1977 album, Rumours, but it was a goldmine of classic songs. No wonder it has gone on to sell 40 million copies.
Its success was down partly to the songwriting craft of Christine Mcvie, who died this week. Don’t Stop, Songbird, You Make Loving Fun, and Oh Daddy were all hers.
There were, of course, many others songs on other albums. A superb musician, Mcvie did much to keep the notoriously fractious group together.
As her colleague Mick Fleetwood has said, she was the least prima-donna kind of person you could hope to meet.
She will be missed – by her bandmates, friends and family, and by millions of fans.
Scotland may think of itself as a place of welcome to all but the problem of racism has not gone away.