“Muslims must combat hate speech”: Why…?

It is sometimes far more interesting to read the comments posted in response to articles on the Guardian’s, Comment is Free than it is reading the articles themselves. This is not to say that the articles are poor, but rarely do they pose really challenging questions. Instead, they typically say what might be expected and ‘fit’ the generic message of particular writer (as indeed this blog does of me).

This is true of Inayat Bunglawala’s latest post on Comment is Free, ‘Muslims Must Combat Hate Speech’. Well written? Yes. Challenging? Not really.

In fact after every ‘Muslim’ incident since 9/11, one or more Muslim organisation, spokesman (rather than spokeswoman), scholar and/ or commentator has written something similar, stressing the need for ‘true’ scholars to preach ‘true’ Islam. Indeed, many have themselves reinforced the notion that only ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims exist – and never the twain shall meet.

In response to Inayat’s article – which draws a little to heavily on the opinion of his ‘friends’ for my liking – 1830 responded:

The idea that Muslim associations should be praised for dissociating themselves from the actions of the lunatic at Fort Worth is utter nonsense. Its what any decent, rational person would do.

This dissociation in itself no more deserves praise than the man who never beats women deserves praise for never beating women, or footballers deserve praise for not cheating. Not beating women and not cheating are (or should be) the norm – we do not praise people for not doing them any more than we praise people for not robbing banks.

And they have a point don’t they…???

Bruce and Anton: Strictly Don’t Use the ‘P Word’

(Please note, this article contains words and phrases that some might find offensive)

The BBC website is reporting that Bruce Forsyth has said that people should have a “sense of humour” about the Strictly Come Dancing race row involving professional dancer Anton Du Beke who admitted calling his show partner, actress Laila Rouass, a “Paki”. Forsyth says that in the past the “slip up” would have been treated in a more light-hearted way. Talking to TalkSport he said:

“You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing. Americans used to call us ‘limeys’ which doesn’t sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. Everybody has a nickname.”

Is he right…???

Beyond Statistically Challenged: ‘Changing Populations’ conference at the West Midlands Regional Observatory

Below is a transcript of a paper that I presented at the West Midlands Regional Observatory conference, ‘Changing Populations’ on Tuesday 31st March 2009.

When considering issues of equality and diversity, it is very easy to get sidelined by statistics. This event today is not only about looking at the statistics of today but also about planning for the future: about making sure that we do not become statistically challenged and that our policies and strategies are ‘fit for purpose’. If we fail to achieve this in terms of equalities, then we will fail the challenge of ensuring the West Midlands region becomes a fairer and more equal place to live.

So how might we be statistically challenged?

Well a quick review of the information we have already highlights some real challenges in terms of equality and diversity, terms in themselves that we routinely bandy about but rarely engage with. So what do we know?

Headline figures and trends lay claim to the fact that the West Midlands is becoming increasingly diverse. Take for instance the marker of ‘race’ or ethnicity.

White, Working Class & Racist: It’s far from black and white

A recent report by the National Community Forum (available here) has once again highlighted how some white working class people in today’s Britain feel that their concerns on a range of issues are being ignored. In fact many believe that the Labour Government have abandoned them completely.

Based on a series of interviews that were undertaken on four predominantly white housing estates around the country, the report found that some in the white working classes felt a sense of resentment, unfairness and betrayal. As a result, many were prone to believe the many rumours that are routinely spread by the far-right about migrants and other minority communities thus exacerbating tensions between them.

One particular issue was the belief that white working class families were failing to be allocated their rightful social housing due to immigrants who were – or so it is alleged – going straight to the ‘front of the queue’.

Things the Year 2008 has Taught Me…

So here goes, 2008 has taught me (relevant links added where appropriate…) that:

My life has been in a constant state of flux – something that doesn’t (yet…?) appear to be changing…!

A lot of nastiness, rubbish and nonsense has been thrown my way

You shouldn’t ever get comfortable and think that things are getting better as there’s always something else just around the corner

People get offended about almost anything and everything, here

The weight of expectation resting on the shoulders of Barack Obama seems to be beyond the capabilities of any one human being, here

At the same time, Barack Obama is also (allegedly) the Anti-Christ, here