Image credit: Runneymede Trust: https://x.com/RunnymedeTrust/status/1821205291729395854
What has our country become? I ask myself this as I sit in my flat, worrying over the safe return of my fiancée from work, simply because he is a British Indian man. I ask myself this as I scroll through the news and social media pages, heeding warnings of the racial violence that is expected on our streets this evening. I ask myself this as I call my friends and family, warning them to stay home, to lock their doors and to stay safe. I ask myself this as I beg my father not to drive across the country to visit my terminally ill grandfather. What has our country become?
Many would say it’s the country of greatness, great is in the title; is it not? Many would say this is the country of success, we dominate in many fields across the world, science, art, literature, and sport; do we not? Many would say we are a country of kindness, we set up the Kinderscheme in the Second World War; did we not? I would say, we are a country of anger, divisiveness, and inequality.
I can’t help but become ashamed of what this country has become. Where is the kindness for our neighbours? I can’t remember the last time I saw someone offer their seat to a fellow passenger on the tube, pick up something someone else had dropped, or hold a door open for the person behind them. We have all become so wrapped up in these insular and online worlds, focused on ourselves and our Instagram likes, so that in times of distress, we don’t lean on each other, no. We destroy our communities and punish those who have no responsibility in our distress.
I will never truly be able to understand how black and brown communities are feeling right now. I am a middle-class, white woman, who has lived a life of privilege, and I still feel scared. Scared of what my community will look like tomorrow, of whether my family will stay safe and whether my fiancée will be able to leave the house and not fear for his life. To those that are seeking refuge in this nation, I apologise for the atrocities you have witnessed at our hands. I hope that one day you will find a refuge with us and a kinship with your neighbours. To all of these communities that have been targeted in recent days, I pray that you stay safe.
It’s time for some reflection on what the United Kingdom really is and what it stands for. Do we condone violence? Do we condone racism? Do we want a society divided on racial lines? We can do better for our brothers and sisters. We MUST do better for our brothers and sisters. The next time we share a post, we should consider how it might be interpreted by others. Is it going to be of benefit to the communities we are part of? As so many people showed last night, we can all do our bit to ensure that the hatred which is so often promoted on our timelines and threatens the lives of so many, is quelled once and for all.
The choices we make make every day of our lives can prevent the racist violence from thriving.
What has our country become?
What CAN our country become?
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