Remarkable call unearths "deep rooted issues" in British society amid anti-racism protests
14 June 2020, 12:56
Remarkable call unearths "deep rooted issues" in British society amid anti-racism protests
In an eye opening conversation, Iain Dale was lost for words as a man broke down the underlying issues in the anti-racism debate.
Pablo phoned in to share his views on the clashes seen on Saturday as some right-wing extremists hijacked protests in London to wreak havoc. Iain Dale was debating whether singling out black people in black lives matter undermines the fact that all lives matter.
"It's true all lives do matter, but when people are raising awareness about cancer... someone jumps up and says 'well what about HIV'" Pablo said, provoking the idea that Black Lives Matter does not discount that all lives matter.
He said that "it is not about people's lives not mattering" but rather trying to raise awareness for the plight of black people. He went on to address an institutional issue in schools.
Referencing history lessons, Pablo told Iain that "all you hear about is transatlantic slavery" and "Africa's history pre that, is lost" as a result of the slave trade. He saw it wrong that "we have to teach our kids at home about Africa" and this teaching should be done in schools where children of all races can learn about it.
Iain pointed out that there is "tremendous curiosity for history at the moment" and now is a time to move on the trend.
Pablo told Iain that learning this history "empowers" minority children and couldn't express its importance enough.
He went on to address the protests that took place in London on Saturday and said that "the far-right in the city really emphasised the deep rooted issues in the working class" and that these "bigoted people on the road yesterday were helping prove our point."
Pablo told Iain that he could see why these people were hostile after anti-racism protests and acknowledged "we all feel under attack at this point."
He accounted their rage to partly be down to the boredom coronavirus left the public with and how extreme views had time to fester during lockdown.
The whole conversation with Pablo and Iain Dale can be heard at the top of the page.
