The victim was black. The attack was racist. The BBC makes everybody very aware of those facts. But what they do not say is that the perpetrator was Asian, leaving the casual listener to assume that he was white.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33847293
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11793709/Bradford-school-stabbing-sentence.html
Boadicea's Chariot 
Sipu, Hi, I am not really sure what your rant is about.
I see a black person attacked by someone who had a racially driven motive. What does it matter what colour the attacker was? To say that they do not mention that the perpetrator was Asian gives the impression that it would have been important what shade of colour the attacker was.
I am sorry, but your comment smacks more of racism to me than the article does.
To answer the headline:
Probably quite a lot in both cases – but rather little compared with Zimbabwe, in my opinion.
The first time I ever encountered racism in my sheltered life was between the Afro-Caribbean nurses on the ward and the Asian patients. I was horrified.
As compared to which country, Sipu? When the Trayvon Martin case was taking up inordinate amounts of time in the public eye the media were doing everything possible to call the defendant “white” even though he was Latino. When Chinese immigrants were bludgeoned to death in San Francisco or shot in cold blood by black gang members because they wanted to commit genocidal acts against Chinese one was almost prohibited by social niceties to bring that up. When 2 male British tourists were raped and tortured to death by a black man who was proud to have killed them because of their race the obvious was not allowed to be discussed openly. Let’s not start with Sweden or Germany.
Gazoopi, If you listen to the BBC you will hear endless reports of black Americans killed by white police officers, particularly now, it being the anniversary of events in Ferguson. The same is true of reports of racially motivated crime in the UK itself. If the perpetraror is white, it gets plenty of coverage. The reverse is seldom if ever the case. If there was no need to mention the race of the attacker, why was it necessary to mention the race of the victim? Simply stating that it was a racially motivated crime would have been sufficient. The BBC never misses a chance to denigrate white British males. And when they are innocent, it does so by inuendo.
I will spare you pictures of the THOUSANDS of racially motivated killings that occur in South Africa that have never been coveredby the BBC the brutality of which is beyond belief.
Janus, have you ever been to Zimbabwe? I suspect not, or not recently at least. Which means that you probably get most of your information about it from the western media, including the BBC which deliberately distorts the truth. A year ago, I had the misfortune to meet the previous British Ambassador to this country. A more misguided and unpleasantly biased woman, it would be difficult to meet. Zim does have huge problems the causes of which can be laid at successive British governments who foolishly believed that western democracy could work in Africa. It barely works in the West, to wit UKIP with 4 million votes and only one seat in parliament. Compare that to the SNP.
Do yourself a favour and Google Clare Short Zimbabwe.
Despite its problems, I would infinitely prefer to live in this country than I would in the UK which has become a cesspit of spineless political correctness and which, despite its passion for that appalling TV genre has no sense of reality and even less collective integrity. And the weather there is crap.
We have been ‘celebrating’ two days of national holidays, Heroes Day and Armed Forces Day, known colloquially as Gooks and Spooks.
Sipu, I sense that you and I rejoice in the fact that we don’t live in the same country, whatever you mean by collective integrity.
PS I wonder whether you stay there under economic stress, with assets which are worthless anywhere else, salvaged from your ancestors days under the glorious Empire.
Oops, ancestors’
Hi Janus, we may never end up living in the same country, but there is every chance that we may, at some point, be in the same country at the same time. I have several friends in Denmark who have invited me to visit. Mostly aristocrats, of course, so hardly your milieu, but I will give you due warning so that you can be sure to remain in doors in case our paths should otherwise cross.
Actually, I never inherited a thing, well nothing significant, 7,000 pounds to be exact. As a younger son of a younger son, my chances were always going to be slim. Add to that the ZANU PF-like policies of successive British governments (excuse repetition of that phrase – I will abbreviate to ‘SBG’) which imposed ruinous inheritance taxes that brought about a redistribution of wealth, from responsible landowners to disreputable bankers and lawyers (excuse the tautology there), there was not much left for any other than the eldest son of the eldest son.
In 1958, my parents sold up in the UK and, with encouragement from the British Colonial Office, moved to Southern Rhodesia where they bought a tobacco farm. Of course SBGs, under pressure from the US (which a) was envious of the British Empire and b) was encountering a Civil Rights Movement of its own), broke its word of a promise of independence to the Rhodesian people. At the time the government here had an electoral role based on a minimum level of education and capital assets/income. (Very sensible system and one which should apply in the UK).
In any event, following UDI in 1965, sanctions were imposed which had a severe impact on the economy here. In 1980, following the coronation of Robert Mugabe by Lord Soames, my father sold the farm to one of my older brothers, who had shown the most propensity for farming. By definition, that made my brother the legitimate owner of the farm as all such transactions had to be approved by the Zimbabwean government.
He farmed successfully until Clare Short reneged on the Lancaster House Agreement, at which point he was chucked off the land without any form of compensation. He lost virtually everything
I had already left the country and was earning my own way in various parts of the world. While I would not describe myself as wealthy, I am independent. I returned to Zimbabwe about 3 years ago. As it happens, I actually have a proper job here and am working pretty hard. Riley has taken a leave of absence.
The thing about this country is that it is very beautiful and the climate really is one of the best in the world. We are at 5,000 feet and in the tropics. Never too humid never too cold and never too hot. Although it is now August, (equivalent to Feb where you are), it bright sunny and warm. It has been that way for most of the winter. You really have no idea how such sunshine lifts your spirits and dispels the harshness of life that foreigners see or imagine exists here. Despite the politics, the people are very pleasant, for the most part and for the most part, they are simple and undemanding, otherwise they would have thrown out the government. Life is much easier than you suppose. Maslow’s hierarchy and all that. Some people are unwilling to make the effort to rise higher.Enough is enough.
You should read this article.http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/09/world-in-context-mindware-tools-for-sharp-thinking
People are different at a cultural, ethnic and racial level. The Shona people, as long as they remain ethnically Shona, will never be the same as the Anglo Saxon or Chinese races, no matter where they are raised; and I am not talking about colour. A greyhound is a greyhound and a bulldog is a bulldog. Although they can breed and have much in common, they also have a great deal of differentiating characteristics. It is the same with the human race.
Anyway, enough erudition. I am going outside into the sunshine.
I hope that I will not be despatched like a Ndebele at the hands of Mugabe’s thugs for dipping my oar in.
Zimbabwe by most accounts remains a largely pleasant, civilised country despite the problems rooted in Mugabe’s policies. Or, for that matter, stemming from the man, I use that term with artistic licence.It also remains a country with great potential which needs only a reprieve from the madman currently dominating the country and his merry band of miscreants.
Au contraire, mon brave! How many euroroyals can you count among your familiars? 😳
Talking of Maslow, I understand why you prefer to live among people who don’t challenge your ideas. As for sunshine, I lived in Med for five years. Too much affects the grey matter.
Good morning, Sipu.
Can I just say how much I am enjoying the free, frank, full and, above all, civilised exchange of views between Janus and your good self?
My answer to the questions in your post is that I do not think there is very much wrong with my country or the BBC, They definitely have problems and challenges to face but I am confident that both of them will continue to survive and even, I hope, prosper.
On the specific matter of the BBC not telling us that the perpetrator was Asian. They did this in their very first report of the incident:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33094807
As you will probably be aware, English Criminal Law does not allow any information that might help to identify an accused under the age of sixteen to be published. Anonymity can be removed after conviction but the judge refused it in this case for reasons which seem to me to be perfectly valid and not related to ethnicity:-
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/10/judge-upholds-anonymity-of-14-year-old-convicted-of-stabbing-teacher
The fact that this was a racist attack had to be reported because that affected the sentence but I agree with gazoopi that the ethnicity of the attacker should be of no relevance.
And, I can assure you that any resident Brit ‘casual listener’ who picked up on the fact that the attack happened in a Bradford school would not make the assumption that the attacker was white.
Moving on, I have googled Clare Short Zimbabwe and am disgusted, but not surprised, by her 1997 letter. I find it deeply offensive that any Minister of the Crown responsible for relations with former British colonies could write the words:-
‘We do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the cost of land purchase in Zimbabwe.
“We are a new government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers.”
I’ve also read David Hasluck’s interview when he retired as the CFU head and it casts an interesting light on Mugabe’s sense of being betrayed by the Blair Government over the Lancaster Gate Agreement.
I still think that Mugabe is a monomaniacal dictator who is ruining his country but can see where you are coming from in your criticism of SBG interactions with both Southern Rhodesia and Zimbabwe.
JM, you were always one to let tye facts get in the way of blind prejudice. 😊
Thank you Christopher. I can assure you that no Ndebeles will be harmed in the writing of these comments. Of course those good people only arrived in the country a mere 50 years before Rhodes’s Pioneer Column, so they were hardly more entitled to the land than the white man. And they killed, almost certainly, far more Shona than the white man ever did. In fact the first Matabele War came about as a result of the colonialists fighting to protect the Shona who were being attacked by Lobengula’s armies.
The Shona, themselves pretty much exterminated the San Bushmen who were here before them, so Uncle Bob should hesitate before casting stones at us whiteys.
The potential of this country is enormous, and it has been suggested that the indigenous populations of Zimbabwe and the UK swap places. I would have probably gone along with that idea a few years back, but looking at Britain today, I think I prefer this lot. And I am sure that they love me too.
Janus, you have me there. My last proper royal ancestor was Charles II courtesy of the ‘sexually voracious’ Barbara Villiers.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2125878/Racy-exhibition-reveals-court-Charles-II-Tudors-look-like-amateurs.html.
You are right too about my choice of country. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.Though to be fair, in the UK, the government makes it its business to blind everybody, so merit is no basis for success. But in this country I say to one ‘come’ and he cometh and to another ‘go’ and he goeth. So I am able to live out my Biblical fantasies as well.
The Med is far too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Zim is perfect for 9 months of the year. Jan to March, it rains a bit too much, but it is very pleasant otherwise.
Good afternoon Mr Mackie. You may state your enjoyment as often as you like. I am very pleased to hear it.
On your first point, we can but agree to disagree.
I will challenge your second, because I have to, by saying that the article came out while the police were still searching for the offender. It was necessary to give a description to help apprehend him. Though as you say, given that it was Bradford, it was unlikely that he would have been of Anglo Saxon ethnicity. I had already made that connection. Once again, my ‘blind prejudice’ stood me in good stead!
But since then, his race has not been mentioned by the Beeb, or very rarely. I listen to a lot of Radio 4 (just so that I can gloat at my good fortune, you understand) and the fact that the youth was Asian has not come up once; in my hearing anyway. Compared that to the killing of TBTSL (The Black Teenager Stephen Lawrence) the skin complexion of whose aggressors is never not mentioned by that organ which you so admire. Your fellow Jock (for the sake of this discussion, I am side stepping my Highland heritage), James Naughtie, may he rot in a very smelly place for a very long time, takes the greatest pleasure in trashing any white male who exhibits the slightest whiff of testosterone or common sense.
I will accept with reservations your observation that English Law prohibits publishing information that may help identify the under-aged convict. The Telegraph seems to have no problem with breaching that law. And, as you pointed out, he was from Bradford. Stating that he was Asian, was hardly likely to narrow down the numbers.
As for the race of the the perpetrator not being relative in a racially motivated crime, I could not disagree with you more. Of course it is relevant, for precisely the same reasons that the fact it was racially motivated was relevant. ‘Hate crimes’ (not a term I am fond of – weasel words) are stated as such so that, presumably because society is trying to understand them and so eliminate them. To do that you have to know the background. In this case it was not a member of the white indigenous majority harming a minority as was the case with TBTSL. This was one minority attacking another. The pattern is very different. It might not be relevant if it were not considered a race crime. But it is a race crime and so the races of both parties are relevant.
You might just as well say that it is irrelevant that a convicted burglar also happened to be a policeman.
What this story tells us is that it not just disenfranchised white youths who are subject to this kind of behaviour, a line that the left-leaning BBC constantly implies, but that racial hatred extends beyond the stereotypes portrayed by the media and government.
As for the Great Man Himself, I completely share your sentiment of him. But I will say it again, Africans cannot do democracy. It is not in their genetic make-up. It would have been better if Mugabe had been given a twenty year term without having to mess around with meaningless elections which he was forced to manipulate in order for him to win. He would have governed the place a lot better had he not had to confront the risk that he would lose if the elections were truly free and fair. Put it this way, he could not have done any worse.
The West’s belief that African democracy can thrive is naive and idiotic in the extreme.And sadly, it is very expensive for those of us who suffer from their misguided ideas.
Having said that, the last thing I want is for Zimbabwe to reach its full potential as envisaged by the West. Imagine the loss of freedom we would have if we became like some of our colonial cousins who did a better job of exterminating their indigenous populations. No Nanny State here.
“The BBC never misses a chance to denigrate white British males. And when they are innocent, it does so by inuendo.”
From what I see in the USA of the BBC World news programmes, this is undeniably true. It appears that any bloody wog from anywhere is de facto always to be believed, the victim, the put upon etc etc.
Re black versus brown, anyone who has either lived in Birmingham UK or the Southern half of the USA will well know that they hate each other far more than either seem to hate the whites. Whites are generally used to referee any given situation.
I very much second the title of this piece- What the hell is wrong with Britain? Just reading the papers these days. The lying, thieving. cheating, casual violence, bullying and general nastiness of life in some of the UK makes the place unrecognisable. I’ll say one thing for this neck of the world. Gun ownership makes people far more polite to each other and far better and more careful neighbours. Plus sentencing for any crime is far more draconian and pretty automatic. Crimes that get suspended sentences in the UK would get 5 years with no remission here! And quite right too.
It appears from the outside that Britain is slipping into an immoral pit greased by PC and ennui. Fine if you are the top ten percent, but God help everyone else! Too much nepotism and croneyism by half.
So I agree with the vast majority of that which sipu has typed here.
Of Rhodesia, I know nothing, and never will. But i can understand that it is a far more pleasant lifestyle whatever its drawbacks, as is here. Thank God Wales is very much behind the times by a good 50 years, at least away from the coast and still worth visiting!
Hello CO, thank you for your support. MY problem is not so much with the different races as with the people who refuse to accept that differences, beyond physical appearance, really do exist and that they can be very stark in how they are manifested. It truly is nonsense to say that race is only skin deep. Until society abandons the ridiculous PC mantras that are thrust at us at every opportunity, things will only get worse.
Enjoy your day.
I need a quote about strange bedfellows here…… 😕
Sipu, I think they do not admit the differences because they do not really see them. Most people who are articulate and intelligent have decent incomes, they do not live in necks of the woods with large immigrant populations. If there is a token coloured of any variety in their neighbourhoods, they are ones who have ‘made it’ and out white the whites, so to speak and are generally very civil. You obviously have lived with them all your life, me- 6 years in Memphis where the city is 80% black makes one hell of a steep learning curve. I never moved without a .38 in my handbag or pocket! To most, other races/immigrants behaviour is seen on TV/newspapers etc, not right on the doorstep. Makes one hell of a difference.
CO: a few years ago a study was conducted in homogeneous, upper-class Boston suburbs. Naturally, these places are among the most snobbishly PC-left around. Members of ethnic minorities were planted in public places and public transportation after a series of polls were conducted on multiculturalism and diverse neighbourhoods. After a few weeks of this, similar questions were asked again and these suburbs suddenly became much less tolerant of “enrichment” and “vibrancy”.
CO, rural SW Wales is God’s Own Country. Now I’ve heard ’em all! 😱
Wales is a very pretty country, Janus.
Yes, but doesn’t N Korea have scenery? 😳
What I mean is:
What kind of state do Sipu and CO want to live in? I can’t believe Zimbabwe ticks many boxes for families, unless you believe less is enough for inferior races.
And doesn’t CO have family/friends who don’t share her indecent/inhuman ideas about life?
Zimbabwe has excellent music and some of the best writers today. There are also many skilled, talented artists there. That, for me at least, makes it a not irredeemable country.
Furry Nuff, C, but as they say oop narth, wha’s tha’ go’ to do wi’ the price of fish? Populations need stuff at the base of Maslow’s triangle: food, shelter, security. And not at the subsistence level. A Welsh choir offers little or none.
Welsh cheddar is quite good, as is the lamb. Although I’d much rather live in England, I found little about Wales that I could dislike, unlike Ireland which had precious little to like. It makes little difference to me if Wales is 50 years behind or if Zimbabwe is crushed under the weight of the black Mao. I live in neither and have more than a handful with the Han.
Hi Janus, have a look here. Maslow at work. I truly can identify with the happiness of the people. I can assure you the average Zimbabwean ‘peasant’ smiles and laughs a lot more than the average British professional.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33728876
And there are no dentists, or celebrity make over artists to tell her teeth need fixing, so she is happy with the way they are.
The BBC is symptomatic of what is wrong with most British Institutions incl. HM Govt and the Civil Service.
Staffed with smug over educated progressives most of whom have never had a proper job (i.e. one that depends upon commercial survival ).
Sipu, yes. And this time I should buy the Beeb’s spin?
Jazz, i’ve been tasting the Danish version for eleven years. Be careful what you wish for.
Hi Jazz, I very much agree with you. I sometimes wonder how they all get to be so superior.
Oh come on Janus, either you do or you don’t. Seriously, Epicurus had it right, the less you have the happier you are. An absence of pain and discomfort goes a long way to making a person happy.
Medicine is one of the few technological advancements that are worth having, especially pain-killers, but even that is over commercialised so that we are made to become victims of the modern blood-sucking health/pharmaceutical industry. You only have to look at the whole ‘animal fats are bad for you’ argument which is rapidly unravelling.
Sipu: or, as Siddharta said, desire is the source of all misery. The middle course is best — lacking little, but avoiding gluttony and affluenza.
And our old mate, Aristotle, went in for moderation.
Christopher, there’s no jab against the affluenza virus! 😝
J, I do not know anyone in the UK who does not think as I do. They all want them deported en masse. Most feel like it, they just don’t say so in public these days. Cowed from free speech by accusations of ‘hate crimes’ etc. I don’t give a damn and say exactly what I please.
Why should anyone anywhere be entitled to food, shelter etc at our expense? They breed like flies, become too many for their environment and then engender wars like lemmings. Then the losers head off to somewhere else they consider a soft touch. Not on my dime!
The sheer stupidity of do gooders stopping grim reapers like ebola, let it rip and clear out the population. Rescuing those on the med. take them back and dump them on the Libyan beaches. The sheer idiocy of letting them run round the country, lock them up in internment camps permanently until shipped home.
The Australian are the only ones who have it right. Funny how most. seem to have stopped trying to get there now!
If you are so all fired enthusiastic to take in wog detritus, I suggest you volunteer to have half a dozen of them billeted at you nice Danish home in the woods. Not likely eh?
You do not know rural south Wales, which is perhaps for the best. The more outsiders that stay that way, the better for us! Life is traditional, pleasant, friends of mine have not locked their front doors in a lifetime, we look after the old in the community and organise our own entertainments, help each other out at harvest time, and long may it stay that way.
Try living like that in England these days!
Tina: it’s still quite pleasant in the West Country and away from English urban centres. In Germany things are reaching a tipping point. Everyone knows that the country can’t take millions of semi-literate detritus.It’s reached the point that there is simply nowhere to house them, much employ them and integrate them. The UK has escaped the worst. In Germany it’s simply intolerable and in Sweden little better.
CO, maybe, just maybe mind, you’ve found out why we live in the wild wild woods with no neighbours and nothing to attract the migrants!! 😎