15 September - I’m in trouble again
On
Saturday in connection with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I used the words
"true British". Not without some thought and hoping that would include everyone
loyal to the Monarchy and the country as a whole. On reflection it should have
included those from overseas who share our values and not just the foreign dignitaries mentioned.
Someone decided it was so important, or maybe outrageous, a comment that they
demanded an explanation. In providing one I referred to the fact that a friend went
up to The Mall on Friday and was struck by how the crowd was comprised almost
entirely of white British in a very cosmopolitan city. (He listened to the languages spoken.)
His observation was in my mind when I was at Duxford (Imperial War Museum) last
weekend for the Battle of Britain anniversary flying display. Not quite the same
thing but another event that may attract those with an enthusiasm for British culture and history.
While there I saw a fair number of oriental appearance and some who appeared to
be from the Indian sub-Continent and a few of Middle Eastern appearance.
What I didn’t see was a single black African face among the many thousands
thronging the old RAF aerodrome. Maybe they are not interested in aeroplanes but
the experience was exactly the same as my friend had observed the previous day in The Mall.
For mentioning these observations I was labelled a racist with some personal
specifics that I will not go into here.
Since then I have watched more than three hours of YouTube videos of the Lying
in State. A wide variety of people showing respect to our late Queen in various
forms. Bowing, curtseying, kiss blowing, praying, crossing and crying. Once again Orientals,
Indians, Arab looking but massively outnumbered by white. In hours of viewing on
the biggest screen Sony ever made I saw four black ladies and three black men.
One was either David Lammy MP or his double. All the black people were alone
whilst the others were frequently in family groups.
This spectacle may be seen by anyone for another three days so my observations
can be easily checked. I find it more than just strange but a trifle worrying
that there appear to be such divisions in society.
The Reading of the Proclamation (Photo above) in Bexleyheath tells the same story.
Probably I should be more worried that people are prepared to shout racist when
confronted by observations that anyone can check up on. An email address is now
registered on my mail server for instant deletion. I suppose abuse will arrive via the Contact form now.