All Prejudice Is Everyone's Problem
It was morning. I was propped in bed waiting for a fistful of medications to work, reading Twitter and for pleasant change just chilling out and listening to the fabulous singer Alison Moyet on YouTube, having clicked a link on one of her Tweets, which made me giggle. I clicked around the site awhile, following current links and then progressing to Alison's earlier music, including old Yazoo footage in which she features with Vince Clark (later of Erasure). Great stuff. All was well.
Then I had a bit of an eighties moment, reminiscing about my teens and the awesome time it was - the breakdance craze and upsurge of rap in the UK, the uprising of gay people visible in the media and pop scene, the beginning of popular electronic music and the glut of pretty androgenous popstars wearing too much make up.
I know being a teenager in the 80s helped me become the queer I am today. I wish I had appreciated it more - at the time I was mostly bemoaning how we'd missed the 'greatest time' in music history, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and so on, which our parents had enjoyed and I had spent my earlier childhood listening to Buddy Holly and The Jackson 5.
Media - music - has great appeal and great influence too - part of my own draw to writing music was about how it communicates messages to people. As a teenager, it gave me such hope to see other queers on TV, as I was raised in a traditional army family while homosexuality was still illegal in the Armed Forces- not an option for soldiers, or their family members.
Gender rules were also big in the army back then, 'wives' and girl 'dependants' (which just means a soldier's family) had to wear skirts in the Sargeant's Mess and I used to dread going there for Sunday dinner.. women were not allowed at the bar either. Without those media people and performers, I would have had no idea who I was, or that it might be OK. I KNEW it was ok, I knew I was not alone because people were visible. So much can be learned from arts and the media and so much pride can be learned.
So, still on YouTube, I listened with a rebellious (if unnecessary) grin to some Depeche Mode and The Human League and whooped at how it was harder to tell boys from girls in those days - at least for me on the TV, if not around in my community where I lived behind barbed wire. All was still well.
OK.. I thought.. this wasn't really my favourite music back then, though I loved the people, the imagery and how it related to me and my gender and sexuality. I had pretty boys like Limahl , Boy George and The Human League on posters on my wall for the eye, but in the cassette player, in my late teens The Smiths rang out (or rather droned), morning til night at full volume, to the great irritation of my parents. I played some favourite Smiths tunes on YouTube. This is where it started to go wrong.
I shared one of my favourite songs on a Tweet with a favourite quote "Your prejudice won't keep you warm tonight". Apt for me eh? I loved that song and that band. I was happily listening to it and wondering about who might be enjoying it from my list of followers and Facebook friends. That's about 1,500 colleagues and peers I just shared that with. I try to think about what I share so I am not spamming them all, what I share has to be worth it. The quote was my justification.
I started to think about what a shame it was that this band split up.. and how I preferred their music to Morrissey's solo stuff (Morrisey was The Smiths lyricist and singer). That's when my heart sank as I remembered it later transpired that Morrissey is a purveyor of racialised prejudice - worse than that - one with a following. A following he does not need me to help him grow.
I had every Smilths Album but only bought two of Morrissey's solo albums because they were quite awful. Teenaged, I was happily listending to one of his first solo albums "Viva Hate" when I heard the most confusing and shocking song. I didn't understand it. It was about a man from Bengal in the UK - title is the cringeworthy "Bengali In Platforms". It was ridiculous and horrible, it was sarcastic about how crap the UK is and I didn't really understand much else it was about at the time, but presumed he was being in some way ironic.
I was living in Germany in the white male dominated army because my dad was a soldier - I didn't even know who a 'Bengali' was, or if I had ever met anyone whose family originates from Bengal and I thought he was talking about a train platform. Now I understand it better, of course, I hate it even more. Viva Hate.. wasn't an irony.
Even though I didn't understand it completely, what it did do was give me (at a quite impressionable age) a clear message that it was ok to talk about people this way - 'other' people.. 'othering' people. The message whilst mocking and pointing was very clear and about not 'belonging' 'here'. Morrissey was someone I looked up to and learned from. People in the public eye need to be consider the ethics and practices they promote, especially to young people.
Back over on Twitter, I found my post with the Smiths song and hit the delete button shamefully, removing it from my wall. I tweeted again to apologise for publicising someone who promotes racialised prejudice and I posted in its place a song by Chumbawumba called The Day The Nazi Died ( lyrics here).
I won't promote someone like this and none of us should. I'm only sharing encyclopedia links for Morrissey's work on this blog, unlike all the other artists, each of whom has their own current website linked. I'm offering Morrissey no clicks nowhere. If you want further evidence, or want to hear a good example of the kinds of things not to do and say about people (not 'other people', PEOPLE) look the song up, or its lyrics, for educational purposes yourself.
Apologists, probably hoping like I did as a child that the irony makes it ok, have defended Morrisey and suggested his own experience as someone raised in England by parents who were born in Ireland may be why he wrote the song. Sorry dudes.. Morriseys polycultural background does not make it OK to publicise hatred and racialised prejudice. (Morrissey also has a nasty song about a disabled infant "November spawned a monster", and being hard of hearing does not excuse that either.)
I end this section by saying, sadly, in complete contrast to his quote "Your prejudice won't keep you warm tonight", Morrissey's work continues to keep a roof over his head and blanket on his bed and he is happy to promote these ideas in his work. He does not apologise for publicising his prejudice, or view it as an error - he just assures the public that none of us would belong in an 'other' country either. Such a small town view, from someone raised in Manchester, who now lives in the USA!
So.. onto the real point of this blog, which wasn't a trip down the 80's memory lane to bad haircuts and early techno.. this isn't even (just) about promoting the information that Morrissey is a person who profits from prejudice. This is about how, while we're going about our lives minding our own business, it's easy to promote bigots who don't deserve it, if we don't think much about it. Especially well known people, for whose unpleasant behaviours media and promoters can have quite short memories. Even we ourselves would often rather ignore, selfishly clinging onto whatever we gain from it.
So what should we do?
Step one: we each have a responsibility as part of this society to never promote people who spout prejudice or hatred. It's easy not to promote people whose views are heinous, just don't. Don't share their stuff, don't buy their things, pretend they don't exist unless you intend to make a direct challenge. If you make a mistake then be brave enough to call it out and fix it.
Also - don't harbour bigots - don't give them a platform. I have a strict policy on my Facebook wall, and everywhere else, that hatred towards anyone is unacceptable and will be removed, and that friends / followers / member will be blocked for ignoring my request to stop. I will not give it space because I believe that gives it credit. I have blocked my own followers for this before and I am sure I will again.
The next bit is harder. If step one is not promoting it, step two is calling out prejudice. Simply saying; "That's hateful." "That's not true." "That's prejudice." And so on. Don't let it go ignored or pass as if it's ok. This can feel quite difficult sometimes, but every time we stay silent, or still, in the face of such behaviour, we tell others around us that we silently agree. Whether we want to or not.
Step 3 is challenging it. Today I'm moving to action by utilising my error for a piece of motivational writing to share my journey today into a thoughtless mistake and state my commitment to being vigilant about these matters.
There are so many ways to take action: supporting organisations and activists who work against prejudice by working with them, by promoting their work or making donations to help people continue their work. Writing letters which challenge prejudice anywhere you encounter it - for example, if the staff somewhere are being prejudiced or discriminating against someome, tell their managers. If you are too shy to do it there and then, send an email or letter when you get home. Write blogs and other articles. Do research on the available information to re educate ourselves. If you see someone being verbally abused or bullied, speak up, or call police or security. Make sure people know everyone is welcome at events you are involved in organising, and get help if it doesn't work. Show that everyone is welcome by keeping your imagery diverse. Have a policy about fairness, for all. Fight back and encourage others to fight back too. If you see someone standing up for themselves in the face of prejudice, back them up.
Awesome polycultural activist and scholar Y Gavriel Ansara told me,
"Working against prejudice can mean grand gestures that take time, effort, and commitment. But for those of you with limited time and energy, starting to address the problem can be as simple as incorporating ways of challenging prejudice and discrimination into your existing activities. This might mean signing an online petition, making sure your next conference includes genuine diversity and not just tokenistic inclusion of diverse ethnicities, flagging a video as objectionable content, or challenging bigoted comments made by friends family and co-workers - including those that people attempt to pass off as jokes. These actions are small and manageable steps that even the busiest people can take; adding a few minutes of reflection and action to your activities can make a difference over time."
See here for more ways to take action on my blog "Join in and fight back - ways to campaign" and if you need more encouragement try "Feel the fear and fight back anyway".
Challenging prejudices we haven't experienced
It's easiest challenging the prejudices we face ourselves because we know a lot about them, how it feels, the problems it causes and their consequences. Talking about prejudice we have not experienced is a little more complex and we need to be sensitive about how we do it.
I used to be too scared to talk at all about prejudices I hadn't experienced because I was afraid to get it wrong, to be patronising or make it worse, to speak 'about' people instead leaving space for others to speak up themselves. I'm deeply aware of it because we disabled people have a lot of people who like to do things 'for us' who get it horribly wrong, to the point that people are left to die sometimes 'for their own good'.
It's a bit too close to just 'letting it happen' though, isn't it, if we're saying nothing when nobody else has.
My spouse Mxs Phoebe Queen taught me the following about being an ally.. she learned this via a reading group at Race Revolt . If anyone has a current site link for them please share as their link www.racerevolt.org.uk won't open.
Phoebe: "It's not legitimate to ignore that we are part of a society which systemically oppresses, or priveleges, people depending on their cultural background and we all have a responsibility to work against it."
Whilst we need to be careful not to 'other' people, misrepresent or speak 'for' people, it's better to challenge prejudice and hatefulness than say nothing for fear of getting it wrong. Speak up, but be ready for criticism from people it relates to and learn to be better.
If it's a prejudice we haven't experienced ourselves, or don't have in depth knowledge of, don't try to be the expert, signpost to people who can give further information. If you know an expert, ask them if they mind advising you. I took advice and guidance from Y Gavriel Ansara for this piece and I have made changes and done research accordingly. I'm also going to share some awesome links relating to racialised prejudice below this article, which he gave me.
Keep on making the world better!
The world changes every day and each of us plays a part in it. We can be part of the solution or part of the problem. Even the things we do which seem tiny matter as every one of them influences what happens in the world. You make that happen every day and so do I.
It's not governments who make equality happen, it's a critical mass of people taking responsibility for and making a commitment to create the kind of world in which everyone belongs.
Just like every a time bit of prejudice goes unchallenged it sinks into someone's world view somewhere, each obvious challenge does too: instead of role modelling hate and acceptance of hate, we model respect, responsibility and kindness towards others.
Be brave - do what you can - always resist prejudice.. about you, or about anyone else.
With thanks to Y Gavriel Ansara for his direct support and advice to complete this post with enhanced knowledge about discussing matters relating to racialised prejudice. I'm sharing some links he shared with me below in case they are of interest to anyone else. Thank you also to Mxs Phoebe Queen for sharing her knowledge about being an ally.
LINKS
1.
darkmatter journal
"darkmatter is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal committed to producing contemporary postcolonial critique.
In a world where anti-racism is mainstream, where racism is disavowed, and yet where ideas about race continue to structure and shape our realities, darkmatter gathers together and articulates critical thinking about race in the twenty-first century. Working within, outside and beyond the institutions and disciplines of the academy, darkmatter is a multimedia journal reconfiguring transnational anti-racist practice."
2.
"How do bodies matter? understanding embodied racialised subjectivities" by Damien Riggs
3.
Racialisation
4.
‘Ethnic issues’ in the mental health field: Is psychiatry racist? by Suman Fernando. Paper presented to the Beyond Multi-culturalism: addressing issues of 'race' and privilege Conference, Manchester March 18th 2005.
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