Who’s the Racist?

So there’s been a right royal racist controversy between Ms Ngozi Fulani and Lady Suzan Hussey. The three races involved are the English, English royalty and some unnamed equatorial country. Being myself an indigenous English man, white skin, black garb, flat cap etc, I would bristle against royal condescension but understand Lady Hussey at 83 would have certain attitudes. Our conversation might go, ‘Where are you from? / Bolton mam / Really, where’s that? / North Manchester mam/ Lovely. Do you like it there? / Left when I was five mam / Really.’ and she would move on. Her conversation with Ms Fulani went, ‘Where are you from? / Utoxiter mam.’ Lady H, seeing before her a black woman in the bright colours of something like an African national dress, continued, ‘Yes but where are you really from?’ Ms Fulani in a flat denial of her African roots, which we are led to believe she would be rightly proud, continued, ‘I was born here, I’m British.’ This perplexed Lady H so she pursued the matter. This has now become evidence of institutional racism at the heart of our Monarchy. Actually it brings into question whether the status of being an indigenous English man has any meaning whatsoever. My family struggled over at least six generations through wars and the industrial revolution working in cotton mills, continuing a culture formed over 2,000 years. These are the roots I am proud of. Well not all together proud. We English went to America, India and Australia and assumed supremacy over their indigenous people so it’s only coming full circle. I don’t doubt Ms Fulani is a good person but accusing people of institutional racism contains an element of racism in itself. I know many people who deny being racist but few who are not.