It can be easily argued that racism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The problem when confronting racism in this climate of fear and hysterical over-reaction to anything which goes against the current orthodoxy is that when everything is denounced as racist, the word simply loses its currency.
But having said that, everyone knows flat-out racism when they see it, and there can be little doubt that the Lidl race row was a particularly unpleasant reminder that the knuckle-draggers and bigots are out there. And they’re becoming even more stupid.
For those of you who have been living in a ditch with a box on your head and missed the story, it was a weird mash-up of bigotry and conspiracy theories.
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The campaign features a mixed-race couple, Fiona Ryan and Jon Mathis. The ads were perfectly harmless and painted a nice picture of a modern Irish couple.
Unless you believe in the ‘great replacement’, that is. On the other hand, you might even have thought that this young couple represent a positive future for the country.
Well, if you believed in such fanciful notions, then you’re obviously a cultural Marxist and a race traitor dedicated to destroying our proud, white (always with the white) heritage.
The fact that this ‘German dump’ provides employment to thousands of Irish people, and feeds tens of thousands more, matters not a jot in the frenzied world of the defenders of the race.
The irony, of course, is that most people who argue in favour of white supremacy tend to be – how shall I put this? – rather poor examples of the racial superiority they believe in.
There have been calls for tougher hate-crime legislation, but the only thing that would stop these sad-sacks from losing their minds at the thought of a mixed-race couple is a dose of really good anti-psychotic medication.
The problem in the face of such arrant idiocy, however, is that any wider debate about legitimate issues simply becomes contaminated to the point where people are afraid to open their mouth in case they come across like the cretins who felt threatened by the Ryans.
For example, the people of Oughterard have been in the news of late following objections to a Direct Provision accommodation centre for 250 asylum seekers.
They weren’t helped by one TD going rogue about African ‘spongers’, but the vast majority of the locals have been at pains to point out that the – now cancelled – plans were badly thought-out and entirely unworkable. They pointed to the lack of amenities and the undeniable pressures the centre would place on the local infrastructure and services such as the town’s GP.
Were there some actual racists who turned up at the public meetings to spread their brand of intellectually bankrupt bile? Of course there were. But they weren’t locals. They were just miscreants and weirdos.
That didn’t stop the usual social-media crusaders banding everyone in Oughterard a horrible meanie who obviously hates foreign types, but that was a deliberately inaccurate reading of a complex situation.
It was also a reminder that people seldom think these days – instead they react almost robotically, reaching into their bag of insults to hurl invective at whoever says something they don’t like.
The reason for such a pointedly ignorant response? Because it’s easy and it makes them feel good about themselves.
The Ryan story was a cut-and-dried case of the biggest idiots in the country hopping on an innocent couple and trying to ruin their life.
Something like Oughterard, however, is far more complex. But in a culture where there is no room for nuance, we only ever get the headlines. Does anyone who has been slaughtering the people of Oughterard honestly think the locals are as bad as the anti-Ryan brigade?
The main issue with such a scatter-gun approach is that it removes the ability of people to explain their position without being shouted down by people who refuse to listen to them.
The people in that town who raised rational objections weren’t being racist; the paranoid losers who went after the Ryans were. These are distinctions with a very big difference, but as long as the hair-trigger mob simply tar everyone with the same brush, then nobody is ever gong to be able to have an honest conversation about any issue.
As for Lidl? Well, any store that can sell two confit duck legs for a fiver is a far more valuable addition to this country than the gobshites who think we’re being deliberately replaced by Johnny Foreigner.
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Ian O'Doherty: 'Enough with the lazy slurs: some things aren't racist, some are'
Ian O'Doherty: 'Enough with the lazy slurs: some things aren't racist, some are'
It can be easily argued that racism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The problem when confronting racism in this climate of fear and hysterical over-reaction to anything which goes against the current orthodoxy is that when everything is denounced as racist, the word simply loses its currency.
But having said that, everyone knows flat-out racism when they see it, and there can be little doubt that the Lidl race row was a particularly unpleasant reminder that the knuckle-draggers and bigots are out there. And they’re becoming even more stupid.
For those of you who have been living in a ditch with a box on your head and missed the story, it was a weird mash-up of bigotry and conspiracy theories.
Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.
Log In
New to Independent.ie? Create an account
The campaign features a mixed-race couple, Fiona Ryan and Jon Mathis. The ads were perfectly harmless and painted a nice picture of a modern Irish couple.
Unless you believe in the ‘great replacement’, that is. On the other hand, you might even have thought that this young couple represent a positive future for the country.
Well, if you believed in such fanciful notions, then you’re obviously a cultural Marxist and a race traitor dedicated to destroying our proud, white (always with the white) heritage.
The fact that this ‘German dump’ provides employment to thousands of Irish people, and feeds tens of thousands more, matters not a jot in the frenzied world of the defenders of the race.
The irony, of course, is that most people who argue in favour of white supremacy tend to be – how shall I put this? – rather poor examples of the racial superiority they believe in.
There have been calls for tougher hate-crime legislation, but the only thing that would stop these sad-sacks from losing their minds at the thought of a mixed-race couple is a dose of really good anti-psychotic medication.
The problem in the face of such arrant idiocy, however, is that any wider debate about legitimate issues simply becomes contaminated to the point where people are afraid to open their mouth in case they come across like the cretins who felt threatened by the Ryans.
For example, the people of Oughterard have been in the news of late following objections to a Direct Provision accommodation centre for 250 asylum seekers.
They weren’t helped by one TD going rogue about African ‘spongers’, but the vast majority of the locals have been at pains to point out that the – now cancelled – plans were badly thought-out and entirely unworkable. They pointed to the lack of amenities and the undeniable pressures the centre would place on the local infrastructure and services such as the town’s GP.
Were there some actual racists who turned up at the public meetings to spread their brand of intellectually bankrupt bile? Of course there were. But they weren’t locals. They were just miscreants and weirdos.
That didn’t stop the usual social-media crusaders banding everyone in Oughterard a horrible meanie who obviously hates foreign types, but that was a deliberately inaccurate reading of a complex situation.
It was also a reminder that people seldom think these days – instead they react almost robotically, reaching into their bag of insults to hurl invective at whoever says something they don’t like.
The reason for such a pointedly ignorant response? Because it’s easy and it makes them feel good about themselves.
The Ryan story was a cut-and-dried case of the biggest idiots in the country hopping on an innocent couple and trying to ruin their life.
Something like Oughterard, however, is far more complex. But in a culture where there is no room for nuance, we only ever get the headlines. Does anyone who has been slaughtering the people of Oughterard honestly think the locals are as bad as the anti-Ryan brigade?
The main issue with such a scatter-gun approach is that it removes the ability of people to explain their position without being shouted down by people who refuse to listen to them.
The people in that town who raised rational objections weren’t being racist; the paranoid losers who went after the Ryans were. These are distinctions with a very big difference, but as long as the hair-trigger mob simply tar everyone with the same brush, then nobody is ever gong to be able to have an honest conversation about any issue.
As for Lidl? Well, any store that can sell two confit duck legs for a fiver is a far more valuable addition to this country than the gobshites who think we’re being deliberately replaced by Johnny Foreigner.
Source: Read Full Article