You are reading a single comment by @dst2 and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
dst2
absurdbird
I’m not sure I agree.
Living in SE London over much of that time it definitely felt like things were improving- hip hop and rave seemed to have a positive effect on my generation, yet the casual misogyny and inherent racism of ‘lad culture’ was there at the same time.
Racism never went away, just moved out of London -and other cities where there was white (working class) flight.
There aren’t NF pubs in Lewisham (I know someone who lost an eye sticking up for his Indian mate) - but there are plenty like that in Rochester or wherever.
Gauging the prevalence and degree of racism depends on what metric you’re using. Public expression of racist views has been mostly shut down, yet they thrive in the anonymity of the Internet.
Systemic, institutional racism is being addressed - in some quarters more than others, but this hasn’t changed the private opinions of many in this country. In fact working class white men now identify as a victim group.
Tidying up the surface doesn’t get to what lies beneath- and often seems to make that worse.
Which is kind of my point about pitchforks for some twatty teenage tweets - when there are serious things that need addressing.