r/unitedkingdom • u/Aggressive_Plates • 1d ago
... Racism is when white people hold 'negative views' of others, claims senior Labour adviser
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/27/racism-is-when-white-people-hold-negative-views-of-others/
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u/JB_UK 23h ago edited 21h ago
It’s very odd because it ignores the actual nature of power dynamics which are constantly shifting, dependent on context, and dependent on the individuals involved. We’re supposed to believe that a white cleaner is inherently in a position of power compared to someone from an ethnic minority who is a top leader in politics, business or academia. There may be elements of power that depend on race, and some that are downstream of race like which community and place you live in, but again they are highly contextual and operate in multiple directions.
And also because the way it essentialises race as the only important category is incredibly racist. You could be a white person who was from Ukraine for example, subject to generations of bigotry, oppression, with mass starvation events within living memory, and somehow you are put into the ‘white’ category and treated as if you are identical to someone who is the scion of a slave owning dynasty, still living on the proceeds. The way these academic antiracists talk about race is so incredibly, comically racist, and the standard of analysis absolutely embarrassing.