Carter Singh is a GP Partner and a nationally-elected council member of the Royal College of General Practitioners*
The recent race riots have stirred up some very raw unprocessed emotions from multiple racist experiences I went through whilst growing up in the 80’s and 90’s.
I thought the days of explicit racism were behind us and the overt violence and name-calling had been replaced by a more subtle, insidious, institutional racism; but perhaps I was mistaken.
It never starts with the gas chambers, concentration camps or the hit squads. It starts with a deprived, disenfranchised, leaderless, self-entitled population that unscrupulous politicians can manipulate and capitalise upon by using the narrative of ‘Us versus them’. Rather than looking inwards and considering the global context. they use the hateful rhetoric of division, othering and blaming traditionally marginalised groups for all that is wrong with the world. This further amplified by good people turning a blind eye. Bad things happen when good people remain silent.
We need to address the underlying cause of the racism, hatred, polarisation and intolerance that is now brimming over the edges into everyday life.
However – with that said – I’m hopeful and positive, because Sir Keir Starmer seems to be making all the right noises as the new Prime Minister. Vowing to lock up racist thugs quickly is a positive and welcomed step but it’s nothing more than short-term ‘symptomatic management’. We need to address the underlying cause of the racism, hatred, polarisation and intolerance that is now brimming over the edges into everyday life.
We need to help our politicians address inequity and austerity. We need them to address divisive issues such as immigration, education, health and policing to ensure a fair and just society. The very word ‘marginalised’ conjures a sense of us and them, and a space that ‘We’ inhabit and jealously guard from ‘Them’. The superficial focus on immigrants seems to exemplify this. We sometimes fear the marginalised or excluded patient, and such frustration in a system under pressure can lead to less charitable thoughts and feelings.1 Populist politicians can demonise those who can easily be othered on a much larger scale, not only focussing on immigrants but race, ethnicity, culture and other legally protected characteristics. Racist hatred has recently been directed at nurses and care workers, with practice staff fearing for their safety.2
Empty vessels always make the loudest noise and as always, it is the violent fascist minority that are being featured in the media. This misrepresents the moderate, tolerant, centrist majority; who on the whole are showing great ally-ship. We as individuals need to be the beacons of light to guide and lead by example. We need to convert our collective pain into progress by sharing our tapestry of rich cultural heritage and selfless service with our communities. We need to educate and raise awareness as it is insular, uneducated, ignorance coupled with purposeless thuggery that creates fear and division. The thieving thugs who think stealing shoes and bath bombs and smashing mosques and their own high streets is somehow in the name of upholding British values or serving justice for the children that were tragically killed last week are either deluded or looking for excuses to justify mindless hateful criminality.
We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends and colleagues and lead with kindness, compassion and understanding and look out for one another in a supportive way.
*Editorial note: This is a personal reflection by the author. The RCGP have issued an official statement here. See also by Carter Singh: https://bjgplife.com/football-racism-and-the-nhs/
References
- Papanikitas A. Un-demonising the marginalised. Br J Gen Pract. 2022 Feb 24;72(716):117. doi: 10.3399/bjgp22X718625. PMID: 35210236; PMCID: PMC8884429.
- https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/breaking-news/rcgp-urges-vigilance-as-gps-targeted-in-racist-riots/ [accessed 7/8/24]
Featured photo by James Eades on Unsplash
Well said Carter. Regrettably, humans fall easily into tribalism.
Hopefully most of us have learned that there are two tribes remaining: those standing for love and peace and those standing for hate and war. As a member of the far larger first tribe I want to help build bridges for the minority tribe to join us.
But you remind us of the underlying causes that must be addressed to work towards this. As it says in the book of Psalms: “Justice and peace kiss each other”. Deficiencies in social justice will never lead to peace.