Individuals

Don't presume to tell me I am privileged

To say that all white people are privileged is as ridiculous as saying all black people are oppressed.

If you are black, were you're forebears enslaved, or did they benefit from the west African slave trade? Maybe they were completely untouched by it?

If you are white, did your forebears benefit from the slave trade? Or is it more likely, as was the case with my predecessors, that they were working class mill workers or farm labourers. Paid a pittance, living in squalid conditions, hoping their children would survive their early years. It was those generations who had to fight for labour rights, the right to vote, the right to a basic education. They most certainly did not benefit from the slave trade.

I don't dispute that inequality is still an issue today but the reasons are nuanced and so much more complicated than the slogans on the placards would have you believe. I have and always will be an advocate for equality of opportunity for all, and if the present campaign was designed to help all disadvantaged people, you would have my support.

We are not a homogeneous whole. We are individuals with our own stories and whatever your skin colour it is for you to choose the path you take. I and my parents before me had to study and work hard to achieve what we have. Beyond that, you don't know my history any more than I know yours. You do not know simply by looking at the colour of a person's skin what hardships they have had to endure, so please don't presume to tell me I am privileged. Don't tell me I should be ashamed of my history. Much like you, I am proud of my heritage and won't be taking the knee any time soon.

10th June 20202

#racism