By Eric King-
It seems very unlikely that British Mps can be trusted to uphold many complaints about racism after the poor showing of the Labour party for years in relation to anti-semitism
A freedom of information requests by Channel 4 between 2005-2012 shows that MPS only upheld 0.4% of complaints from the public about racist conduct- a worrying low statistic. This is most likely because most Mps cannot relate to racism , having never been on the receiving wend of racial treatment. Immediately identifying with those being complained about, the chances ate for most Mps to take a lukewarm attitude against racist complaints, instead of investigating them thoroughly and taking proper action against those responsible.
If Mps are reluctant to give racism the strong handling it deserves, there will be real questions on how they can be trusted to run our country effectively since they make the laws. A small survey of 50 individuals from ethnic minority groups revealed zero trust in Mps to effectively address complaints about racism. The survey conducted between the time of the BBC panaroma programme revealing anti-semitism in the Labour party showed that respondents believe Mps would rather take a soft approach to addressing reports about racial treatment than take a proactive approach.
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PARANOIA
Just over 76% of those questioned (38 out of 50) said Mps would likely interpret complaints abut racial prejudice as paranoia on the part of the complainant, and complaint about clear racism using a racist term will be expected to be sent to the police, with the victim having the responsibility of proving it. Of the 76% who shared this view, 70% (28) said a written complaint about racism to an Mp will not even get a response. Only when pushed for what they felt an Mps response will eventually be if they responded, did they say it would be interpreted as paranoia, a number of them saying it would be viewed as them ‘playing the race card’, the same thing as them being paranoid.
Michael Green, a black 26 year old accountant from Mile end, Est London told The Eye Of Media.Com: ”Mps are just privileged members of the public in political office. They generally view racism from the same lenses as general members of the public. In other words, without clear evidence, it is not there, but with clear evidence, then go to the police. You have to remember, they were once young and went to school like everyone else. They probably remember being racist themselves at some point in their lives, or had friends who were racist or sued racist language”.
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Sharon Miles, a 24 year old black nursery teacher from Manor Park said: ”Mps might condemn racism openly when the cameras are on and have the logical sense to know it is wrong, but when it comes to the having the will to confront it, they don’t have it. There are far more important things on their mind than addressing a racist complaint. They would view a complaint about racism as paranoia even if everything in the story points to racism.
They will tell you the same bad treatment could have happened to a white person. In principle, they are right, but in practise, complaints of racism should be evaluated on a case by case basis when it involved a person fro a minority group.
Nina Patel, a 31 year old shopkeeper said : I doubt Mps really understand racism in its depths. A written complaint about racism to an Mp is unlikely to get a response, given their very busy political life, but if a response does arrive, it would be along conciliatory terms. Expecting an English Mp to fight the course of a victim of racism is like expecting a cricket fan with no interest in football to write a comlaint about an unfair decision in a world cup match. It just won’t happen”.
The mixture of Black and Asian’s surveyed said Mps would interpret any subjective complaint about racism as paranoia even if the circumstances pointed to racial discrimination. The overall message was than Mps will not recognise complaints about racist treatment unless it was very blatant. Those surveyed all said the complaints about anti semitism in the Labour party was not surprising to them, and neither was the softly approach taking in ignoring the complaints.
MPs guilty of anti semitic language should not be treated lightly just because they are familiar with the leader or influential members of the party. The whole point of law is for it to be fairly and thoroughly executed, not to watered down to suit particular individuals or groups of individuals.
MORAL WILL
Many British Mps are not believed to have the moral will to handle racist complaints well, but believed to expect complainants to go to the police if their complaint is provable. If the evidence is not clear enough for prosecution, any potential victim hoping for a formal condemnation of racism should forget it. It simply won’t happen. Not necessarily because the Mp is racist, but because he or she probably has their guard up against allegations of racism that sometimes occur when a person from a minority group rightly or wrongly feels a particular offence against them is because of their colour.
Because such complaints are sometimes exaggerated, those who have been on the receiving end of such complaints could develop a subconscious objection against allegations of racism. The same is also true that a racist Mp will have no drive or desire to address a racist complaint effectively. Also because no Mp would want to accuse anybody of racism without the level of evidence that the alleged racist can be prosecuted with. Although if the evidence is deducible from known facts, but not clear enough to prosecute, honourable Mps should call spade a spade.
In saying this, if British Mps have for months been totally lost and confused about Brexit, then it can be no surprise if complaints about racism are simply too challenging for them to handle.However, any lack of interest Mps may show in addressing racist complaints means they need to put on a professional thinking cap and confront individuals and organisations who act in ways that can be viewed as racist to minority groups on the receiving end. This will be necessary where the conduct is so wrong and inexcusable that offenders should be told to be sensitive to the potential perception of their actions.
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