RACISM

Try as hard as you like to abolish it, it exists. Racism is everywhere and it seems to me to be part of human nature. The Scots say they hate the English, the English say they dislike the Scots, the same can be said of the Welsh and the Irish. The English and the French seldom have anything good to say about each other in general (not on a face to face basis). In fact, just look round Europe, every nation has a derogatory name for its neighbours. Some may call this nationalism but basically it is racism and that’s before you even start to bring colour into it. In general Europeans feel superior to everyone else in the world. So do the Arabs and the Asians and certainly the Chinese have always felt it. In many ways the Chinese are proving that they could be right.

Look at Africa. Ridden with racial conflict. It’s called tribalism now and I suppose that is just what it is, nothing but one tribe or nation feeling far superior to all others. For example, the Zulus in Southern Africa always felt superior but so did the surrounding tribes and so they were always fighting. The Zulus usually won because they were better organised. The Ethiopians set up an empire and even managed to beat a European an army of invasion. The Egyptians had one of the greatest empires in the world and there were others in central and western Africa. All of them felt superior and regularly beat their neighbours.

Another example, if one is needed, if you are living in a foreign country and you get into trouble with the law, in general, it will deal with you more severely than a local committing the same offence. If this isn’t racism what is? In Europe we kid ourselves we live in a multicultural society where everyone is equal and treated the same. Well ask black or Asian kids what they think and you’ll find a good percentage will claim discrimination. I live in France and wanted to start a business. To do so I had to produce all manner of papers to support my qualifications before I could be licenced. Every time I complied there would be a further demand. Eventually the authorities told me I wasn’t going to get the licence because there were already too many people doing the same job. The French are not keen on competition so I understood. Ok, so I accepted that, then a few weeks after being told, two new offices opened up in my area both run by Frenchmen. So racism exists.

Look at the whole world and anti Semitism, it exists everywhere and is very difficult to explain. Ask your average anti Semite why he/she doesn't like Jews and the answer is usually garbled, totally illogical or just don’t know. It is an illogical form of racism because the Jews usually fit in wherever they settle and are often indistinguishable from locals. They are a small race who in general, hurt no one and often do wonders for the local economy wherever they settle. The Jewish state is hated by the Arabs and Iranians who want to wipe it off the face of the earth. It is not much liked by many in Europe and the propaganda against it is rife throughout Europe and it seldom gets a fair hearing in the press. On the other hand the Arabs get all the sympathy and use it to their advantage. In general people forget the number of times Israel has been attacked by far superior forces and has had to defend itself.

The United States considers itself race free and has done a great deal in the last 50 years to abolish racism for the African Americans. It still exists. If proof be needed just look at the way they treat the native Americans. Not even third class citizens covers the way they have to live. The treatment of these poor people is still a disgrace and a huge stain on their governments across the whole country. In fact, they have managed to nearly wipe out the indigenous population. Thus, because they are few in numbers, unlike the African Americans, they have very little power to change things. They are seen as primitives by the white population who actually forget the number of broken treaties and promises by the governing powers. The same can be said of Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and wherever there is a small minority. For some reason people and governing bodies always seem to see them as a threat, whether they are or not.