Being mixed race, I’m often made to feel like I need to justify my opinions on racism. Black people on the hard-left will tell me I don’t understand racism, which let’s be honest, is a racist implication in itself.
I didn’t have the privilege of growing up in a multicultural metropolis. I’m a Midlander born and bred; my family were one of if not the first black family in the town and remained so throughout my childhood.
I didn’t grow up in a black London neighbourhood, with faces similar to my own. Perhaps the reason these metropolitan liberal elites play the victim card so often is that they’ve actually lived a somewhat sheltered, privileged life and have grown a sense of entitlement because of it.
On more occasions than I can count, I was called a “nigger”, even a “Paki”, which just goes to show the ignorance of the types of people who use these racial slurs. I’ve been spat at; had bricks thrown at me; had fireworks lit and let off through my letterbox.
Believe me, I understand what real racism is.
There are still elements of racism in this country that we need to stamp out. I, as much as any man, am aware of this. Labour MP Dawn Butler, however, is a prime example of those on the hard-left who are so keen to see racism everywhere that they’ll go as far as inventing it where it doesn’t exist.
Ms Butler posted a tweet yesterday exclaiming that she had been stopped by the police due to racial profiling. The look of excitement on Ms Butler’s face at the start of the video matched the capital letters and hyperbole of her tweet. This was her moment! Her chance to prove how racist our police force is.
The police statement on the issue is quite clear; the police made a mistake and attempted to apologise. Ms Butler’s highly edited video footage appears to show her being very irate towards two pleasantly calm officers who weren’t given an opportunity to get a word in edge-ways. Ms Butler went on to use her parliamentary privilege in a very crass manner, much akin to a Z-list celebrity yelling “do you know who I am?!”.
The whole scenario paints the Member of Parliament in an embarrassing light. What it does not show is any evidence of racism, neither of the individual officers in question nor of the Metropolitan Police force as an institution.
Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, who is black, rightly stood up for the police, only to be told by Ms Butler that he doesn’t understand racism, disregarding his lived experiences entirely. Further evidence that the hard-left seem to think they have a monopoly on racism; only they truly understand bigoted behaviour. That probably explains why they exhibit it so often themselves.
Dawn Butler has since featured in a number of media interviews claiming she was stopped by the police due to racial profiling, and that the police force is institutionally racist. Unless she has evidence to back up these claims, it seems to me that she’s stoking up racial tensions for political gain.
It’s incredibly disappointing to see a member of Her Majesty’s Opposition, the former Shadow Minister for Equalities, of all people, resort to public race-baiting. It’s irresponsible and reprehensible behaviour, and Dawn Butler should be held accountable for her false accusations.
Calvin Robinson is a state secondary school leader and signatory of the Don’t Divide Us campaign
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