New Labour Race Industry, New Racism

Old Trevor Phillips, is behaving like a complete tit all over again. Not content with wading in with ill-advised attacks on the veil and segregation (remember, it's their fault, not ours), he has now decided to complain about these racists, coming over here, taking our jobs. A really really mad line of argument.

Now, let's suppose, for a moment, that Phillips is right, and, based on hearsay, Eastern European immigrants have unenlightened views regarding blacks, that resemble ours in the fifties. Well, this may be the case. The fact is, that people, from other cultures, however strange those may seem, desire to come here, regardless of the black people or the gays that we leave mingle around here, so, they can't be that bad. I certainly haven't heared yet of racist Polish dentists stockpiling weapons. Also, this debate, regarding the import of dodgy views, this forgets the times that this traffic goes the other way, so, for instance, Indian immigration brought a culture that was traditionally more favourable to gay rights.

Another, more insidious, problem with this debate, is that it views immigrants as being unable of rational analysis, change, or response to argument. They are racist, unlike us, pliant, wise indiginous ones. Variants of this are used by those nutters who believe that brown, Islamic people, can't understand our democratic ways, or, as New Labour are fond of implying that the socially excluded can't help but vote BNP if brown people turn up.

The base truth underpinning this farcial debate, regarding the unsavoury behaviour and of immigrants is that, well, the history of humanity is a history of immigration, and to stand on the beaches, looking in disapproval at your newest compatriots is just what people do. Of course, this is irritating enough, when it comes from the likes of Tony Parsons or Avid Merrion, but when it comes from the man who is the Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, a campaigner for equal civil rights, for a colour-blind, other-embracing culture, it's baffling, depressing and embarrassing.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?

Dr. John Reid is a prick. A big, terrifying prick of a man.

The recent onslaught against Muslims has been astonishing. Jack Straw's comments were both ridiculous and staggeringly insensitive. A man who has represented a constituency with a large Muslim population (rather well, if we forget the wars) for a large portion of his life, kicking a community when they are down.

Now, this is, here, phrased with a certain degree of exaggeration, and the defenders of Straw have said, correctly, that he only suggests (and doesn't demand) that his veiled constituents undress, and that he has the right to do so, as an individual doing a job the way he sees fit. But still, the issues of timing, lack of respect for choice (surely a cardinal sin in New Labour theology) and, well, a far less important issue, an incredibly blase attitude to pissing off a large section of his electorate, who, as a community, vote for him more than any other.

Now, I'm all for Jack Straw being hoofed out of office, for his participation in the morally bankrupt New Labour project, various illegal wars, and generally, for being a smarmy twat. But, really, his voters, that are having their veils ripped off, that are being considered oppressed by various commentators who before he mentioned his absurd request probably mistook niqab wearers as letter boxes and that are being considered by those who see them as doormats or terrorists, may be getting the distinct feeling that they've been cheated.

Ok, and back to the key issue of Dr. John Reid being a prick. He is a prick. His latest prickish behaviour was his decision that immigrants from Eastern Europe are no longer good enough, despite our reliance on them for growth over the years, and their general lack of problems regarding integration (unlike the darn, pesky, unBritish muslims). New Labour now needs the votes of a paranoid, scared public, in order to retain credibility with its last refuge of support, the floating voter. Having alientated Scottish, Welsh and Northern voters with, war, war and privitisation, it's now seen a gap in the market, now the Tories are more Guardian friendly than Dr. Reid and his ilk. However, going after the insane is never a policy, and hopefully, alongside all of his fellow pricks, he'll be hoofed out, rightfully, by the pressure of the mass

Evening All
Steff

Squish

Again, another large gap. My brain has turned off after exams, before that there were exams. But I just cracked open the new Scott Walker CD, and, as my moods are very easily influenced by music (in this case, to a state of angry terror), I decided to blog away.

The main fun issue of late has been the issue of civil liberty for terror suspects. It's been one of those times where everything we've suspected was true has come to light. Firstly, the Council of Europe said that Britain had colluded in the extraordinary rendition of suspects to secret prisons (Blair responded in PMQs by saying it said nothing new - oh, that's ok then). Then, the US described the suicides, admittedly planned, of 3 Guantanamo inmates, first as 'assymetric warfare' and then, in a fit of kindness, downgraded their contempt to 'PR stunt'.

Though in this last week, the Supreme Court declared military tribunals illegal (I must add the Brentish cavaet 'in a way', when saying that), and the High Court has said that some of the indefinate house arrests set up in the stead of internment are illegal. Comes to something when judges seem more progressive than the establishment

Scott's epic 'Clara' just ended. It's about the execution of Mussolini. From where I'm standing, it sounds distinctly cheery.