The truth is I don’t know.
When I was growing up no one ever called me a racist. Then I joined the Police and became institutionally racist without doing anything. It was not like driving where you had to pass a test to get the licence, you just became a fully paid up member no matter your race, creed or religion and there was no opting out.
There are obviously degrees of being racist and when joining the Police they have a test to determine that. Depending on the number you see it will show if you are racist or if you need further training. Obviously if you are not racist you don’t get in. I will tell you what the results mean later so feel free to try.
The police also gave me a short piece of hardwood often referred to as a truncheon to hit “very naughty” people with. It came with instructions which had to be read, memorised and destroyed. I still remember the directions now. “Only to be used on people of colour and should be turned up to full, Police, brutal mode”.
Then, various groups and individuals started shouting that I was racist, the mainstream media told me every day that I was racist and eventually Facefook began saying it as well, which of course means it must be true.
This went on until I retired. On the day I left I had to hand in my warrant card, uniform and my paid up racist membership. No one was shouting at me any more and as far as I know Facebook thinks I am OK now and I don’t need retraining.
As I am now retired I can tell you the truth of what happened during my 30 years in the Police and just how racist they really are.
I joined in 1979 which was a time when correctness of any form did not exist. Political correctness was still swimming in the primordial soup and would not be pulled out by the tree huggers for years. There were certainly plenty of men who still believed in dragging women back to their caves by their hair and calling a “spade a spade”. It was a different time and most people were unaware they were causing offence and did not know what being racist was all about. On the other hand some people were overtly racist but were never challenged over their actions.
As a Police officer there were differences when you spoke to people from different backgrounds. Then again, the job of a Police officer was to communicate effectively with anyone. In general it was a lot harder to speak to a young black person. Many would instantly be defensive and aggressive in the way they spoke. It does not mean they were more physically aggressive, just that there was a cultural difference that took time to understand. There was that feeling of a barrier being put up which made communication difficult. It still is in a lot of cases.
The MacPherson report told me and everyone I worked with that we were racist. We even had compulsory, open, and frank discussions in training about it. When I say open and frank we were told we could say what we thought but if anyone said anything perceived (now that is a BIG word) to be racist they would be reported, disciplined or sacked. That was the end of that discussion. No one dare say anything at all. Still to this day officers are scared to talk about racism for fear of being sacked if they put the comma in the wrong place.
That was until George Floyd’s death and the protests that followed. That changed everything and made me think. In a way the reaction to it by some groups is the one thing that has pushed me, not towards being racist, but towards being prejudiced. There needs to be conversation but instead some people are doing a whole lot of shouting and more. The trouble is that you learn nothing from shouting, only from listening.
I am not so stupid as to think the movements and violence against authority in the UK are a reflection of what the vast majority of the public of any colour think.
In my opinion those who are shouting, being violent and making outrageous demands are causing more damage to race relations in this country than any movement that has gone before. I hear a lot of noise but I don’t see anyone who can actually talk.
I see violence and anger because a man in another country was killed. That man was black and the Police officer white. Why does what happens in America cause violent protests here? Why are people being told if you don’t take the knee you are racist. What will taking the knee and holding your fist up do that talking cannot do better? Why are police in the UK targets? It just hits me as ironic that you see police standing there behind shields with bricks, petrol bombs, bicycles and almost every object imaginable being thrown at them but the placards shout “Police brutality”, “I can’t breath” and “black lives matter”. Tell me anywhere at anytime when police have ever said “black lives don’t matter”.
On TV today I saw a young black political activist saying why “Rule Britannia” should not be sung. He was doing this whilst displaying a teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb. When has throwing a petrol bomb ever been depicted as a non violent, legal action. Why has that become acceptable?
About 80 Police officers are assaulted each and every day in Britain and there are far less Police than black people. If 80 black people were assaulted every day there would rightly be outrage yet Police are expected to take it as part of their job. The same people shouting and assaulting Police are also the first to shout “Police brutality” towards an officer defending their right to protest ….. against the Police.
Let us quickly look at stop and search. The reason why police search people is for no other reason than to prevent crime. Why does that cause problems? People are happy with searches at an airport when they are going on holiday or even to gain entry to a nightclub but not when the Police do it. You may argue that it is because Police use it against black people. That argument is used again and again by those who want it removing from the Police tool bag of protecting people.
Then you get the various back activists, MP’s and even black Police officers who make mountains out of mosquito bites all for their own political or monetary gain. The trouble is, they are listen to and this causes yet more violence and hatred toward a Police that protect their right free speech. The only people who are not allowed free speech are the Police who, like a punch drunk fighter, stagger under the constant blows but offer no defence.
As an ex police officer and someone who has not only lived through the many changes in society and attitudes to racism I have to wonder. Why are the Police the only group who are institutionally racist? The NHS and doctors kill far more people than the Police ever have. If you look at mistakes in the NHS the deaths each year run into thousands. Imagine a Harold Shipman in the Police. It would not be him that was to blame.. it would be the whole of the Police service and every officer would be tarred with the same brush. Just look at what happened with Wayne Couzens and the way it tarred every officer and eventually lead to Cressida Dicks resignation as Commissioner.
So, what number did you see in the colour blind test at the beginning. Probably the same as most Police officers. There are no numbers as the Police are, or should be blind to colour.
I have always believed that everyone should have the same opportunities. At the moment it appears that some groups want everything to be given to them without working for it. The trouble is I see a woke country giving in… statues, television programs, radio, press and the government are taking the knee and most do not know why or what it stands for.
I think that no one is born racist so those beliefs have to be learnt. That could be from family, friends the job or … from those trying to ram beliefs down your throat and calling you racist if you do not agree. More than anything in my life, watching and listening to groups like BLM has tainted my view. Not of black people, but against various groups whose aim is anarchy.
Law and order is so called for a reason. The Police are there to keep us in a world we understand and feel safe in. They are there for everyone, to protect the lives of everyone, and the way of life of everyone.
Being racist is now finding a different meaning. It is beginning to stand for those who have a different view to those wanting anarchy. We are told if you are silent then that makes you complicit. If you do not agree to everything that is said to you by groups, if you refuse to take the knee, if you refuse to de-fund the Police, if you have your own opinion then you are racist.
What are your thoughts?