On toxic and divisive populist falsehoods
JVL Introduction
A fundamental reality overlooked in most of the fevered discussion about events since the Southport stabbings on July 29th is, according to historian David Olusoga, that riots are not protests and there is a difference between motivations and excuses.
In this closely argued and thoroughly sourced piece, Olusoga reminds us of the centrality of class, saying:
“To put the violence directed at British Muslims, Black Britons and asylum seekers down to ‘legitimate grievances’ is to fall for one of the most toxic and intentionally divisive falsehoods in the populist handbook: the myth that class and race are diametrically opposed, the assertion that non-white people have no class identity.”
Far-right groups have no interest in addressing grievances. They seek to exploit them in order to target those whom they will never accept as fellow Britons. We have to ask if the current Labour government has the will to drop its pandering to the racism popularised by Farage and many others and confront the serious challenges society faces.
NWI
This article was originally published by The Guardian on Sat 10 Aug 2024. Read the original here.
There can be no excuses. The UK riots were violent racism fomented by populism
Culture wars have poisoned political debate, normalised Islamophobia and opened wounds that a generation blighted by nativism hoped had closed.
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As far I recall, Blair/Brown’s New Labour used a collective guilt narrative of ‘Militant Islam’ and/or ‘Radical Islam’ to dehumanise their victims – the vast majority of whom had no connection to 9/11 or the Saudi Arabian cult that was responsible. The language of collective guilt, was taken up by violent racists and in more recent weeks, these rioters.
The US had two Women’s organisations which fought the lynching of African-American men – The Association of Southern Women Against Lynching (white) which worked in tandem with The Commission of Racial Cooperation (Black & a sub-group of the NAACP). They were fighting the largely KKK based conspiracy-slur that Black men were a threat to white women and this justified torturing them to death.
New Labour used the same slur about Muslim men being a threat to women – flying in the face of the fact the statistical percentages don’t remotely back this up. Again, violent racists and more recently rioters have adopted this language.
Despite this– and for the umpteenth time – David Olusoga comes galloping to the rhetorical rescue of the establishment. This might help him network and further his career, but it does no good for the victims, nor for the gullible fools who have been ideologically groomed into racism by a scapegoating establishment.
This deeply insightful piece should be placed on the PM’s desk. Starmer’s dangerous and intentionally misleading interpretation of the cause of the riots should be exposed.
Brilliant, David, as always!
This is a poor article in my view because Olusoga doesn’t say that it is the lack of political leadership from the left, and of course the establishment attacks on the left including by the Labour right, that marginalises class politics he correctly identifies and also enables the racist right. Addressing inequalities and racism go together and are not separate entities.
I wouldn’t expect the Guardian of course to do much on joining the dots as it exposes their man Starmer.
Olusoga should not be given a platform by JVL. He has been, to his eternal shame, completely silent on the genocide in Gaza – despite having a privileged position as a nationally renowned broadcaster and historian. For someone who is supposedly an authority on Empire, slavery, racism and colonialism to stay silent at this time is simply unforgivable.