#blacklivesmatter racism is a human problem

I've been a member on this forum for a few years .I typed in the BlackLivesMatter in the search engine .
To my surprise nothing came back . My concern is that this forum reflects many people for many backgrounds .The wall of silence on here is deafening. So I'm just wondering how this feels to the other
black members of this forum considering this forum is supposed to reflect London .Diversity and inclusion
are virtually non existent in cycling and this need to be addressed .This needs to be done by everybody not just by the people who are being excluded. I hope that every member of this forum can reflect on the little things you can do to the racial injustice .This isn't an American problem ,racism is prevalent in the UK

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Diversity and inclusion
are virtually non existent in cycling and this need to be addressed .This needs to be done by everybody not just by the people who are being excluded.

I hear you. This thread is needed.

I hope it resonates

Great that you started this
Was thinking about it but concluded that's its not for me to start a blm thread

No bro anyone can start the conversation

True.
I'm a polish jew, obviously sensitive to racism. Was waiting on a black person to start this conversation.

sub'd and will try to contribute when I have stuff worth sharing, had a lot of friends refer to various books/blogs/films etc I need to take a look at and try to understand how I'm best able to effect positive change...

We've got a BLM March over here on the Island tomorrow. All my family will be present. It has met with some resistance and derision ranging from spreading COVID (we have had zero cases for two weeks now) through to we can't influence what happens elsewhere. I don't subscribe to any of those excuses.

For the first time in my life I felt compelled to hit the streets, and march with BLM. Got shut down by the missus, she remains petrified about the Rona, and (I guess rightly) doesn’t want to jeopardise our upcoming IVF restart. So I stayed in and sulked. But also made a poster and put it up in our front window.

Recent events stateside are beyond comprehension, for me, it’s so fucked that this is still happening, and worse seemingly without any consequence to the perpetrators.

Change has to come. It would be glorious if we were living through real change and witnessing the cusp of the old guard waking up to a reality that in my mind is a no-brainier. Over the weekend such energy was palpable.

I’m white. And have little idea what being a black person in the UK in 2020 is like.

@Yellow_Peril @mattyc it's all about those uncomfortable conversations with family in the homes . It needs to be anti racist narrative

I’m glad you started the thread. Hopefully people can share useful material of any kind in here.

I think this forum is overwhelmingly white. Admittedly my only dealings with other members are buying and selling particular items so maybe it’s skewed slightly but when I bought a wheel off you, you were the first black person I had met from here.

I guess overwhelmingly white areas (forums) are exactly the kind of areas where these conversations need to be happening so I’m glad the thread is here.

Racism is rife in the UK and many other countries and has been for generations. My dad’s side of the family were colonial types who went to India and set up cotton mills in Gujarat- he still treats people like his “wallas” / servants and I’m the outcast in the family because I’ve had the audacity to challenge him..
I’m a 2tone kid which was a powerful movement back then with great music to boot. This is England sums up though some of the poisonous attitudes that are around.
I moved to Hackney in the early 90s and worked for social services there - my boss was from monseratt and took me under her wing and I had the best introduction to community back then- as a white bloke from Devon who turned up in a sports jacket and brogues I felt instantly at home and free from the snobbery of my upbringing.
The supposed leaders and generally men in power in this country have often been the most arrogant and hypocritical people you could meet- no wonder the mistrust and rejection of authority.
I’ve been guilty of prejudiced thoughts in the past and constantly have to reflect on my attitude and thoughts as a parent and someone who likes to think he “gets it” but maybe I don’t...
I hope this momentum continues and changes lives - we need tears of joy not tears of loss.
People also need to try and intervene more when they see bad things happening not just fucking filming it..

Thank you for starting this thread.
Agreed it shouldn't have been for you to do so.

I think the problem lies with people of my generation (predominently white mid fifties boomers) they excuse the uncomfortable truth of racism by hiding behind the All Lives Matter misnomer. The older I get the more I despair at the majority of middle aged people who would sooner cross the road or look the other way rather than do the right thing.

There is going to be a lot of defensiveness in the years to come and we all gonna make mistakes but this is long overdue. For me personally as a teacher of German-Turkish background, it has really been a matter of understanding that one can do racist things without really being a racist, of understanding that words, gestures, jokes or symbols that look innocent to oneself can be hurtful depending on who says them and who hears them.

That something as arbitrary and superficial (literally) as skin colour has been used to prop up such an enduring system of global inequality is absolutely astonishing from a historical perspective. I am always reminded of how the Belgians introduced the very concept of ethnicity into Rwandan politics by way of the Hamitic hypothesis, which later exploded into the violence between Hutu and tutsi.

Young people today make me hopeful though. But the history of empire has to feature much more prominently on school curricula.

I also agree with the sentiment in the Banksy post. White People cannot just leave all the emotional labour involved in calling out racism to black people.

I thought this was a good image that shuts down the ALM "argument" in a positive way

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@chokalateboywonder
It's a small thing but due to vagaries of forum search if someone searches "blacklivesmatter" or "black lives matter" they won't find this thread... Maybe fix the first and add the second?

I liked that cartoon too (although it could do without the sigh, some people have just been misled as to why BLM is important). ALM and BLM, as statements, just serve different purposes because, while they're both obviously true, only one of them is an urgent call to action.

The cycling population is painfully non representative of the UK population in so many ways and many organisation are working to address that. Given that cycling is still quite a fringe activity it potentially makes that harder, but also provides an opportunity to get things right from the ground up.

Happy this thread is here! I always through the years saw myself as a anti-racist when in reality I’m a non-racist with ambition to do better. I’m lucky that my wife has educated me to a certain level about what non white people face that I do not. Going to the Parliament Square protest was good for both of us. Seemed to be an outlet she needed and a wake up call I needed. I’ll contribute more to this thread for sure.

Thank you and I stand with you. As a caucasien father I’m terrified for my non caucasian son’s future, but silence is violence. And it shouldn’t take familial investment to demand change either.

Both of my daughter's were out yesterday evening making posters for today's demonstration. I'll update later as to how it went and the general reaction.

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While we're here... whenever I see your username, it jarrs a little. I wondered whether you're east asian and using it tongue in cheek. Or else what the reason is you chose it. I know it's an outdated phrase and therefore largely harmless.

@chokalateboywonder yes bro ✊🏿✊🏻
Those on power will always seek to divide and rule, one love.

Yes, I'm glad this thread exists. There's a protest in Leeds next weekend which I'll be at. In the mean time I'm just trying to educate myself on how to be a better ally, tips and resources on how to do that are much appreciated.