The word tolerant means “showing willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behaviour that one does not necessarily agree with.” Tolerance is the performance of humanity, the pretence that the majority are willing to give permission to a minority to exist, even though they might not necessarily agree with their existence. So, when Home Secretary Priti Patel says that Britain is a “tolerant country” it’s clear that she is merely performing benevolence and virtue. And doing it badly, might I add.
Yesterday, after the far right racist thugs clashed violently with police, those who have long upheld Britain as a utopia of humanitarianism, despite evidence to the contrary, were left wondering out loud and on the front pages, without any sense of irony, “what happened to the tolerant Britain that we love?” I’m here to tell you beloved, tolerant Britain never existed.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Shukri Abdi. The 12 year-old drowned under suspicious circumstances. We await the outcome of the inquiry into her death.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Dale Semper. The bank manager was hounded by the Metropolitan who simply refused to accept that this black man lived well yet wasn’t a criminal. His life and career ambitions now lies in ruins.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Sara Reed. Sara was found dead in cell after her mother was ignored when she told authorities her daughter suffered from mental health issues and should not have been in Holloway Prison.
Tolerant Britain never existed Stephen Lawrence. In 1993, the 18 year-old was murdered by Gary Dobson, David Norris and other white men in a racist attack. It was 19 years before his murderers were brought to justice during which the Metropolitan police force conducted a smear campaign against the Lawrence family.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Cynthia Jarret. Cynthia died of a heart attack when 4 police men burst into her home “looking for stolen property” following the arrest of her son. They found none.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Dorothy Cherry Groce. Dorothy was left paralysed when she was shot by police in 1985 when they were looking for her son. Pathologists believe the bullet fragments lodged in her spine contributed to her death in 2011. The Metropolitan police finally apologised in 2014.
Tolerant Britain never existed for Anthony Bryan. Anthony was accused of having no right to live in Britain, denied legal rights, detained and threatened with deportation when the Home Office were unsatisfied with his and 850 other Caribbean born people’s residence in this country in the Windrush “scandal”. Eighty-three members of the Windrush generation were confirmed to have been deported despite having the right to live in the UK. At least 13 of them died before the government acknowledged their error.
Tolerant Britain never existed for the disproportionately high numbers of black and brown people who have died from covid-19. A newly revealed leaked government report now shows that racism and institutional inequalities are responsible for their deaths.
Tolerant Britain never existed for the people who died in Grenfell nor those who to this day are forced to live in buildings clad in flammable materials.
Tolerant Britain never existed for the black women who are five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
Tolerant Britain never existed. Period.
Tolerance is a myth the use to paint Black Lives Matter protestors as violent thugs who are ungrateful for all this country has done for them while portraying far right extremists as “statue defenders.” Tolerance is a veneer used to hide the violence Britain continually perpetuates against black and brown people and other people of colour. You cannot “tolerate” someone’s life, their dignity and right to justice. This country, by ways of the government and media, has internalised this grudging tolerance where they’ve had to endure people are not white as if we are a burden, like we don’t contribute to society.
I’m tired of having seen it for so long. I’m tired of having known all these stories, countless others, and still having to contend with the lie that I should be grateful to be here and if I don’t like it, I should go back to where I came from. Like I wasn’t born right here.
Britain is and has always been racist. Denying how very deeply entrenched white supremacy is in this country delays the very urgent work of reconciling the problem and going about dismantling the racism that takes place in institutions but more crucially has taken root in people’s minds.
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