Monthly Moans: June

So on the radio this morning I heard there was a huge banner going above a football stadium stating “white lives matter” (I don’t know what team it was or in what country it was). Now OK, I can initially understand why people are arguing that all lives should matter, when people of all colours are being affected by police brutality and other prejudices. However from looking at the statistics, it is quite clear that black people are affected far more by this that white people. In the USA, African American people are three times more likely to be killed by a police officer, compared to white people while in the UK, Figures released by the Home Office showed that 12 per cent of incidents involving the use of force that were recorded by police were against black people, who make up only 3.3 per cent of the population. Can anybody actually rationally justify this, or does this clearly show that there needs to be change?

Another pending issue relates to how white people are better off financially, health wise and concerning opportunities. 70% of ethnic minority workers in the UK say they have experienced racial harassment at work in the last 5 years, while 60% say they have experienced racial discrimination from their boss moreover 26.8% of black people in the Uk live in overcrowded accommodation compared to just 8.3% of white people. Now nobody can say this is “only a coincidence” but again it is due to historical inequalities, relating to how one another are viewed and how others are treated. The fact that people of colour are less likely to receive adequate treatment for eating disorders compared to white people, although eating disorders most certainly don’t discriminate, just shows how there are prejudices embedded into our minds, and these need to be gotten rid of. This too could explain issues like the pay gap, and police brutality where we don’t necessarily purposely pick on these people but it’s more  subconscious, as these judged characteristics are already apparent in our minds. 

Moreover I know that some people have been very oppressed to the protests which have been taking place, which could partly be to do with the way that a minority of these have been acting and also probably because due to social distancing. But what has been kept more hushed up is about how many of these police have been treating some of these protesters–being completely innocent ones. (enter facts about what’s been happening). Now surly should this not be getting as much coverage as the knocking down of statues has, if not then more because these are actual people being hurt?  While whatever aspect you may be opposed to, you need to realise that it is still only a tiny minority of people who have been getting involved in this, while the majority of protesters have actually been maintaining social distancing. However like with anything the protests  And if you want to argue the same thing concerning the police, then yes. I totally agree with you and I do respect the vast majority of police and the vast majority of what they do. While I would argue that we do need more police to keep our streets safer. Nonetheless there is a very visible problem and this needs to get corrected. Therefore I think it is important that police are collectively respected while we recognize there is an issue which needs to be fixed (within wider society too) meanwhile we need to respect what the protesters too are standing for. In fact it is essential to do so. 

Of course we need to view society as wholesome, rather than splitting people up into different groups such. But until all biases are erased, we need to focus on how we can do this. By making people aware and educated, while trying to better our own understanding. Therefore if we work to eradicate problems faced by the oppressed, then everyone can feel this sense of collectiveness, rather than there being members of our society who are still facing belittlement .And no, I am not suggesting that I have all the answers, however ignoring these problems isn’t going to achieve anything, thus it’s best to continue with open ears.