Institutional racism: the UK's shame.

[johnny9fingers]

Over the last few years I have been wont to describe the UK as a place where there is less racism than in any other major Western nation, despite the obvious pockets of racist behaviour. In fact I have said as much to many of my friends on LJ.

Alas, proof has come to the contrary and I must eat my words.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/11/black-prison-population-increase-england
 
Now for a nation the prides itself as the birthplace of modern parliamentary democracy; a nation whose foundation myths are based upon honour, nobility and decency (and adultery, but we can leave aside Lancelot and Guinevere), and which prides itself on Justice and 'the Rule of Law', the figures presented in this landmark report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission are not just a blot on our country's escutcheon: they are a fucking disgrace.

Can we really claim that certain ethnic minorities (and admixtures thereof) in the UK are all inherently more criminal than those same ethnic minorities in other nations? I don't think so.

We need to get this fixed. This is so wrong it screams to heaven for redress. I say again: this is a fucking disgrace, and a shame on our country.

Comments

[e4q.livejournal.com]

not terribly surprised, given that women get locked up for lesser crimes than men, it stands to reason that the system is not objective.

[winterlion.livejournal.com]

on one side - Britain has a history of racism. On the other - it has a history of being a refuge from racism. Both, sometimes, at the same time... (WWII being such a time)

This DOES need to be fixed!

According to stats re: women in prison though, over here it seems to be a cultural shift - we're getting the same change. (am going from a police report, and they may be biased. They certainly are where I live)