Letter of the Day | When racism rears its ugly head

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Since England was defeated in the recent Euro Cup final, there has been a lot of online abuse hurled at three black players on the English team who missed their penalty shots. This is disgraceful, deplorable and should be strongly denounced.

We shouldn’t generalise, but English soccer fans are known to be violent, abusive, racist and rowdy – they do not take losses well. When we hear of fans booing a national anthem or see the English team members removing their medals immediately after it was placed around their necks, this speaks volumes about the attitudes they bring to the sport.

I was rooting for the English team for many reasons, but the better team won. This has nothing to do with race. The English teams tend to be sore losers. Perhaps if they set a better example, fans would follow and learn to tone down the viciousness in the sport. When English players took ‘the knee’ as a visible stance against racism, many were critical, even in the midst of the Black Lives Matter global movement.

Racism is insidious, it often creeps up when you least expect it. It can be direct or indirect, subtle or blatant. The British PM was quick to denounce the abusers, suggesting that they “crawl back under the rock from which you emerged”. Prince William who attended the finals said he found the racial attacks “sickening”.

The truth is, you cannot denounce racism only when it is convenient. It wasn’t long ago Prince Harry and wife Meghan spoke out against the racism Meghan, who is of mixed race, suffered in the British media; their unborn child was even referred to as a chimp. The firm and at least one person in the family were also accused of racism when someone questioned the skin colour of their unborn child and what this could potentially mean. No one denounced this, or supported the young royals as they complained. Prince Harry and Meghan quickly exited Britain to relocate to the USA, resigning royal roles, leaving all the perks and privileges behind.

LONG HISTORY

England has a long history of imperialism (and slavery), with lingering sentiments remaining in the country and the Commonwealth. It was reported that up to the 1960s coloured immigrants or foreigners were banned from serving in clerical roles in the royal household.

Up to recently, our governor general wore a controversial British insignia and surprisingly no one noticed. The medal, known as The Order of St Michael and St George, depicted a white man, with his foot on the neck of a black man lying on the ground – said to be Satan.

Although we are in 2021, countries like England still have a lot of work to do. It must start at the top where leaders lead by example. There must be a cultural and institutional change in terms of what is acceptable and not.

Many in the British media must step back and do some serious introspection. They must learn to acknowledge how abusive words and tone can be hurtful and considered racist when used consistently against people, especially those of colour, to insult, belittle and “put them in their place”.

P. CHIN