Racism and Intolerance 2020

Stop the World! ...... I wanna get off.

What is happening. Just when the world is dealing with a major global health crisis, the US explodes in the greatest orgy of race related violence since the assassination of Martin Luther King. I have some very good American friends who are level headed, reasonable citizens of the world. I am not anti-American, but I am dead against certain aspects of today's version of the American way of life.

Racial tensions exist in all countries in the world that are blessed with a diverse and multicultural populations (I mean who would want to eat British cuisine every day without fail for life! Not me) and to a greater or lesser extent. Stupid people abound everywhere on this blue planet of ours, but it seems to me that some countries are more capable and dare I say it willing to address the issue of racism than others. In the US, it would appear that the evils of racial segregation and attitudes towards the black community that existed in certain States have never been fully exorcised within elements of the population and more alarmingly in the law enforcement community.

Trump is on the verge of bringing in the Armed Forces to quell the violent protests that are currently raging nightly across the country. To do so, he must invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, last brought into force in 1992 after civil unrest followed the acquittal of four LAPD officers who were filmed beating up Rodney King. Same old shit...

If the US is ever to live up to the epithet of the 'Greatest Nation in the World' that has been uttered by Presidents, both Democrat and Republican, this issue must be tackled and not by a Commander-in-Chief that pours fuel onto the fire in late night policy statement bursts of the 280 character maximum of Donald J. Trump's Twitter account!

This week the social media has crackled on the subject. Many people have contested that 'Black Lives Matter' is a distraction when the truth is all lives matter and that of course all lives matter, but as I see it in the current situation 'BLM' is a bloody good starting point.

Allow me to share some words on the subject, posted by Terry Hall of The Specials yesterday:

'A pic of me and my mate taken over 40 years ago.. we are still best mates... our love for each other is unbreakable.. we know each other inside out.. we breathe the same air.. we have mutual respect..we only feel love.. people point out a difference.. I am white and he is black.. I've seen the hatred directed towards him because he is black.. he has suffered this for over 60 years.. it breaks my fucking heart.. he has the most beautiful soul on earth ..

I will never really understand what he feels when he's subjected to this hatred.. but I will stand by him and support him until death calls.. We've got to keep trying to change this shit...

it's TWENTY FUCKING TWENTY...
So this is step one..
BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!! Love..peace.. later'

Terry Hall

Lynval sums it up best....

'BLM' The Specials

DeMontfort Hall Leicester 24th April 2019