“It isn’t politics. It’s human rights” but it is also politics.
Racism has always existed. And with that, black people have always had their existence politicised.
Racists have always existed. They just took their white hoods off in 2016. Why does it feel like it has got a lot worse in recent years? Especially when people were fast to label society as “post-racial” after Obama’s presidency? The truth is, society was not post-racial in 2008 because the US had its first Black president and it is not post-racial now. However, in 2016, racists got the message. Racism is okay. When 62,984,825 Americans vote for a President whose entire campaign was rooted in racist rhetoric and dog-whistle politics it sends the signal to others that racism and hate are now openly accepted. If the leader of the free world can call Mexican’s “rapists”, ban people from selected Muslim countries travelling to the US, label black people as “Thugs” and refer to Japanese people as “the Japs”, then those who have been harbouring their racist actions finally received the message that their hate and discrimination is valid. Alongside Trump’s campaign and presidency fueling a new wave of racism, also in 2016 on the other side of the pond, Britain’s Brexit Referendum had the same effect. A referendum campaign with slogans such as “take back control” and discourse about immigrants “stealing our jobs”. The government blew the dog whistle and the racists heard it loud and clear.
THAT IS ALL POLITICAL. Neither of those political events mentioned race explicitly but the effects they had on race relations pushed our progress back a few years. Voter suppression is very real and is something that needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency but how can it be dealt with when the very person who has the power to do something about it benefits from voter suppression? As people not in power, political apathy is something we can very easily fall into. It is no secret that young people and ethnic minorities continue to have the lowest turnout rates in elections but for us to see a change, that has to change first. Presidential and General elections are not the only elections that take place. Local elections have a massive impact on government and society. The first step in realising just how powerful you are is beginning to realise that you can alter the manifestos of parties. For example, draw up your own agenda and put this forward to your local representatives and ask them what they’re going to do about it. We can’t dismantle a system in which we don’t engage with or understand.
There is no argument over whether or not the murder of black people is a human rights issue but it is the politics of the current government and the governments who have preceded them that continue to infringe these rights.
REGISTER TO VOTE. TURN UP TO EVERY ELECTION.
UK: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
US: https://vote.gov
