Once again here goes a WHITE person trying to tell a POC what racism looks like. YOU HAVE THE OPPUNTIRY TO LEARN SOMETHING. THIS IS NOT A BATTLE. RACISM IS UGLY AND IT TEARING UP OUR SOCIETY. STOP AND LEARN. THAT TITLE IS RACIST.
Yes. Racism is exceedingly ugly. It’s hidden beneath layers of repression, unwarranted assumptions, microaggressions and above all, in the UK, classism.
I can certainly see how LSH’s questions may be perceived as racism. May I offer a few counter-points, though?
1. At every RF affair, be it a garden party or at the new wing of a hospital, ‘where are you from?’ is a stock question. It is designed to show interest in people, but is not so open-ended that the Royal Family member is monopolised for a significant amount of time when they should be meeting-and-greeting other guests.
2. Fulani appears (note: *appears*) to have set out to confuse. She wore the dress of an African social entity when she has a Caribbean background - an entity with which she has no commonality, either linguistically or culturally. I do not want to speculate on her intent in dressing and presenting herself thus, but she certainly invited questions.
3. LSH is pretty deaf. Many elderly people are - especially at a reception comprised of hundreds of people, each speaking at an above-normal pitch. Personally, I give her the benefit of the doubt: she was introduced to a woman who, flamboyantly and emphatically, was wearing cultural signifiers that were not her own, and failed to give a straight answer to questions asked. Moreover, she went to postmodernism’s judge and jury: social media. I must confess that I find such an action a little suspect; individuals only resort to SM if they want immediate polarisation, a witch hunt that nullifies logic and, in true Lyotardian fashion, relies on feelings and emotion.
What do you think of the above? It’s an interesting debate, and one through which I hope we can come to some kind of consensus.