Earlier this week, a disturbing video emerged from the U.K. in which a young Asian boy can be seen being punched and kicked as he lay helplessly on the floor of Manchester Airport. Most reports say that three Greater Manchester police officers were attacked first – one of whom suffered a broken nose – and this led to police action. One officer has been suspended following the incident – by the way, the right-wing Reform Party wasted no time in politicizing it by praising the police action.
There was no national outrage following the incident, except for some weak debate about alleged police brutality. If a similar incident had been committed by an Indian police officer, the Western media would likely have blamed the entire police force, and emphasized India’s poor human rights record.
The Asian boy’s lawyer, Akhmad Yaqoob, described it as police brutality against people of BAME (British Asian and Minority Ethnic) background. Some people took to the streets to protest the police action as the incident reminded them of the George Floyd attack in 2020, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement across the West.
Racism, discrimination and misogyny are rampant within Britain’s police forces. Following a year-long official review of London’s Met Police last year, critic Baroness Casey said “the police force is plagued by institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia”, adding that “it is time for the force to stop ignoring these deep-rooted issues.”
The many types of racism
Racism is not just limited to police forces in the U.K. A number of recent official reports have highlighted racism in some key British institutions, including the BBC, the armed forces and various government offices. All of these are predominantly controlled by white men. For non-whites, it is nearly impossible to get into top positions in these institutions, and even if they do, it is mostly just a sham. Former BBC Director General Greg Dyke said in 2001 that the media house was “disgustingly white”, highlighting the lack of diversity in its workforce at the time. His comments sparked a widespread discussion about the representation of ethnic minorities in the British media and other institutions. True, there have been some improvements since then, but not much.
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There is also blatant racism, which comes to life during the 10-month football season (August-May) across Europe. I am a football fanatic and a huge fan of European club football; I have not only witnessed racism firsthand, inside and outside the stadium, but I have also been a victim of it. After being called a “Paki” or “Chutney” at times, I now prefer to watch matches on TV.
Still, there is little guarantee that you will be spared just because you are watching the match with your white teammates. But as I say, I have managed to avoid the worst of racism. Think of the black players who endure insults and inhumane treatment from fans of rival teams on a daily basis. Some call them “monkeys”, and throw bananas at them.
Colonialism, slavery, and subjugation
White, Western racism has persisted for decades, even centuries. The notion that the Western Hemisphere calls itself ‘civilized’ has been perpetuated by the media, writers, academics, and leaders who present themselves as champions of bringing ‘civilization’ to Third World countries. A form of that ‘civilizing’ role was long ago adopted by religious missionaries who believed that people outside of Christianity needed to be “led to the right path.”
Historical figures such as Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill have endorsed these ideas. The former’s The White Man’s Burden promoted this self-proclaimed ‘colonial duty’ to civilise colonised societies. Churchill once said, “I do not admit, for instance, that a great injustice has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia… by the fact that a stronger race, a superior race… has come and taken their place.” Churchill, who is seen as a racist and imperialist in India, is a national hero of Britain – and more specifically England.
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More recently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in 2019, “We are the custodians of a civilization that has evolved over millennia… We are the ones who built the modern world, who built the West, who built the European Union. We are the ones who wrote the rulebook for the world.” This statement not only shows the arrogance of the Hungarian Prime Minister but also exposes him as an ignorant fool. Sadly, this arrogance is rampant in the West.
Western hypocrisy
In this context, the speech given by US President George W. Bush during his official visit to London in November 2003 was interesting. He said, “The United States and Great Britain have the same mission: to bring the values of freedom and democracy to the world… We will not retreat. We will not be defeated. We will bring freedom and civilization to the world.”
Bush’s remarks came several months after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Two “civilized” nations, the US and Britain, had invaded a faraway country to civilize its people by establishing democracy there and imposing Western values. However, getting rid of weapons of mass destruction was the rationale presented to the world. The entire Western media jumped on the ‘civilization’ story, completely neglecting its duty to question the real reason behind the invasion. Ultimately, no weapons of mass destruction were found. It was all a bunch of lies, spread by the “most civilized country in the world.”
‘The greatest, the most powerful’
Who can forget the mistake President Donald Trump – the commander in chief of the world’s deadliest military force and the president of the most powerful country – made when he mistakenly claimed he met the “president of the Virgin Islands” without realizing it was US territory? How can we expect Trump to know about the ancient civilizations of India, China, Syria and Egypt when he has no idea of his own country’s geography? And yet, Trump once confidently said in 2017, “We are the greatest country in the world. If you think about it, we are the greatest. We are the greatest because of our values, our principles, our Constitution, our system of government and our economic system. We are the greatest because we are a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.”
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The West’s sense of superiority and its intense need to civilise others are shaping attitudes and policies. The challenge is to identify and eliminate these deep-seated prejudices. While Tuesday’s incident at Manchester Airport may not have the gravity of some previous incidents, it is still an example of the poisoning of institutions due to systemic racism and the West’s exaggerated self-image. These issues require continued scrutiny and action to promote a more equitable society. Indeed, many laws have been passed in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and things have improved compared to the 20th century. But legislation is difficult. From schools and police forces to media houses and private institutions, mindsets need to change.
(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a senior London-based Indian journalist with three decades of experience in Western media)
Disclaimer: These are the personal views of the author
