The Crime Thread

I think we are all racist to some extent because we are conditioned to it from a young age and we all need to unlearn it and also to try and understand what it is like for black people and other minorities too. I also think if you think one group of people are less deserving of anything, then it isn't a grand leap to thinking the same of other groups. In Ireland  I am specifically thinking of the travelling community, who many of us have had no problem discriminating against.

Other than that, there are some books on the subject that I found enlightening. Akala, the incredibly articulate London rapper, wrote a superb book on the matter. Anything Afua Hirsch writes on the subject is similar, her book 'Brit(ish)' is based from being constantly asked where she was really from when answering Wimbledon.  Reni Eddo-Lodge 'Why I'm Talking to White People about Race' isn't a comfortable read, she certainly doesn't pull any punches, but it is really eye-opening. I have also started listening to her podcast which is also brilliant. I'm sure there are loads of other books and podcasts out there too. I think white people have a duty to at least try and educate ourselves.

I watched this today. It's from Oprah in 1992. 

Maybe it was just some trolls or whatever but there were posts going up from black ‘gangs’ congratulating the guys behind the attack and saying all the white boys are going to have their women taken as prizes for the black kings, etc.

As said, could be just online bullsh*t

I’m sure there’s as much coming from the white side too. 

That's a fake Twitter page. It's called the 33rd Dail. It was used before for basically anything anti government. 100% fake account.

The front page of the Examiner says released without charge.

What has surprised me the most has been the ages of those who have given interviews recently, especially the athletes. All relatively young (early 20's). Every single one of them painted a grim picture of what it's like to grow up here. 

Stefan Okunbor, the Kerry minor winner who now plays in the AFL, spoke about how he was racially abused by ex-team mates/friends during games when he played against them. He even said he had been called a "black b@stard" by an older person he worked with, who just received a warning and nothing more.

Why it surprised me is that I would have thought (naively, as I look back on it now), that those whose families arrived in the mid-to-late 00's had more chance at smoother integration as Ireland was starting to become more of a multi-cultural place, compared to when I was in primary school in the 90's (How multi-cultural Ireland really is is certainly up for debate). 

According to an EU-wide study, Ireland ranks worst among workplace racism, 10-15% above the EU average. As PM says, there seems to be this myth that we can't be racist because we were victims of oppression for so long. 

Have heard David McWilliams talk about the book "How the Irish became White" and how it examines the course of Irish America's relationship with the African-American community from the 18th & 19th centuries to present day. There's a free PDF available online for anyone looking to read it.