Racism, Thomas Sowell observes, is not quite dead. That’s because certain people desperately need to keep it alive. Politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as ‘racists’, are keeping racism (so-called) “on life support”, because a problem solved is an existential crisis for an activist. What would happen to the vast, taxpayer-funded infrastructure of “anti-racism”, if they admitted that racism — in the West, anyway — is almost totally extinguished?
Entire careers and billions in funding would vanish overnight.
So, better to stick to finding “racism” in anything and everything, no matter how trivial.
One of the longest serving members of the Royal Household and a close confidant of the late Queen Elizabeth has been forced to resign from her Palace role after becoming embroiled in a racism row.
“Racism row?”
On Wednesday [Ngozi Fulani] tweeted she had mixed feelings after [Lady Susan Hussey] approached her at the palace event, where she moved her hair to see her name badge then asked: “Where are you really from?” after Ms Fulani said she was from the London area of Hackney.
Lady Susan allegedly persisted: “No but where do you really come from? Where do your people come from? When did you first come here?”
After that, she put a noose around her neck and said, “This is MAGA country!”
The no doubt literally shaking activist claims “this event remains a blur after the violation”, yet somehow is able to regale us with a word-for-word “transcript” of the claimed conversation. The only other person who backs the claims is, it might be noted, another activist.
It might also be noted that the accuser has something of an axe to grind.
The campaigner, Ngozi Fulani, is a director of an east London charity Sistah Space, and was at the palace reception with 300 other women. Ms Fulani has previously congratulated Ms Markle for speaking out about racism, saying “Meghan is a survivor of domestic violence from her in-laws”.
Forgive me for suspecting that someone who regards unsubstantiated claims that someone merely speculated on the complexion of a mixed-race newborn is “domestic violence” is apt to see “racism” under every tree and rock.
But, even if the account is completely true and un-embellished, so what?
I’m 100% Anglo-European. Yet, over decades I’ve been repeatedly asked whether I’m Aboriginal, Maori (including people coming up to me and starting conversations in Te Reo), Hawaiian and even Chinese. That’s on top of people wrongly assuming European ancestries such as Spanish, Greek and Croatian. (I dunno — I must just have one of those faces. It also tended to happen more when I was younger, tanned and had long hair.)
I’ve never once felt insulted, “violated”, or been left literally shaking. Because I took in the spirit obviously intended: people using mild curiosity as a conversation-starter.
Ms Fulani also seems notably selective about when she feels “violated” about questions of ethnic heritage. The charity she oversees, “Sistah Space”, bills itself as “Supporting African & Caribbean heritage women”. In other words, women whose people came from somewhere that is not Britain.
Apparently, though, those sort of questions are perfectly fine if you’re black, but not if you’re an octogenarian white British woman.
A woman who has served the Royal Family for 60 years — only to be tossed aside in a woke nanosecond.
Buckingham Palace said the comments were “unacceptable and deeply regrettable”, and said Lady Susan has apologised and stepped down from her honorary post.
The Australian
The gimlet-eyed inquisitors of wokeism are less forgiving than a Stalinist firing squad.