This publication has a solid track record of fiercely attacking racism in football and beyond and, once again, racism has reared its ugly head in England. And, most disappointingly, at the highest level of the game in terms of ‘mass’ influence. What would be wrong though, is to look at the Mackay case as a one-off, as a singular event that cries out for (meaningless) punishment in case the allegations are proven. Punishment that would be in line with the toothless fines FIFA and UEFA keep issuing in similar cases.
The Malky Mackay case, if proven, has nothing to do with football.
None of the other racism incidents that were either very nasty (Suarez-Evra) or plain ugly (innumerable cases in Central Europe and Spain) are specific to football, although they come to broad attention because of the global relevance of the game.
What needs to be reviewed and scrutinised, rather than focusing on an individual case such as that of Mackay, is the mindset of entire populations, the existing and veiled or open hatred by many for a few, simply because they are different.
Of course it is a sad reflection of the 21st century that racism is alive and well: Ferguson and other cases of arbitrary murders committed by “law” enforcement, militarised to their teeth, speak a clear language.
But it is a reality that many don’t want to see, nor do they care about.
Racism goes perfectly in tandem with Nazi-ism, and for many more reasons than one: at times of economic and social upheaval, a seriously misguided few take the opportunity to identify the culprits that appear to “fit the bill” – the causes of the national discomfort. They are usually a minority, they tend to look different than the mainstream and they cannot defend themselves – or only with limited means. It is they, goes the argument, who must be at fault. They are the cause of everything that is wrong with society.
What the Nazis did 80 years ago throughout Middle Europe (and of course fascist Italy and Spain), was the exact same perversion of humanity that modern-day racists engage in today: they denigrate those who are and look different, particularly if those minorities “have the nerve” to excel and thus demonstrate their superiority, either intellectually or by performance (say, on the field of play).
What is of concern, or should be, is the fact that there is a fundamentally racist streak buried deep in the subconscious of not only these revoltingly primitive members of society but – WORSE – among the ranks of those who enjoyed a level of education that should have allowed them to understand the ‘historic guilt’ which generations of colonial masters and imperial(ist) lowlife are responsible for.
It appears that far too many are still daydreaming about the “good old days” when forced labour was the norm (read slavery) and enormous wealth for a few was generated by thousands who had no rights, no life and no future.
Although those “good old days” are long gone – in theory – there seems to be an innate “acceptance” by English society, quite generally, to debase, to ridicule and to defame those whose ancestors used to be their slaves and whose fathers were giving their lives for Britannia in the World Wars. Only to be re-imported to Britain in the late fifties – and treated like third class citizens ever since.
What I am saying is that racism has nothing to do with football. Admittedly, there is lots of racism in the game (why, for example, isn’t there a single black manager in the top tier of English football?). But football is representative of society as a whole. It does not inhabit its own universe, nor is it functioning as a parallel society. It reflects, quite broadly, what many think, a lesser number openly express and a huge number of sick individuals tolerate.
As long as society – and obviously not only English society but the USA, Spain, Central Europe, Italy – you name it – remains permissive and as long as filthy epitaphs are accepted as “banter”, football will always reflect what the vast majority think, possibly even wish for.
In England in the early 2000s, the word ‘chav’ became popular. It is meant to qualify a segment of English society that is seriously underprivileged, rejoices in the most primitive reality shows, watches TV 12 hours a day and drinks inordinate amounts of bitter beers that the Continentals find atrocious. ‘Chav’, in a society like England, which desperately clings on to a class system that many non-Anglo-Saxons find weird, appears to qualify people of lesser intellect, no social standing and little if any income. The popular (convenient?) feeling was that it is the ‘chavs’ who “are the problem” and who conduct themselves as the very racists that seem to pop up at football clubs anywhere.
But those ‘chavs; are not alone. The “upper classes” are much worse because of their arrogance and ignorance which appears to be the determining factor of a misguided society that decries racism but – behind closed doors – practices it as if it was 1733 or 1935, for that matter.
The point is this: as long as society – any society, not just English – accepts the covert nastiness in the minds of its citizens by failing to educate its children about the atrocities of its colonial past, and as long as it is quite OK for “educated” men and women to laugh about racial slurs over a glass of red wine without being called to order, nothing will change.
Football is but one window where the deep-rooted smut of a hypocritical society is displayed. The elegant bars and restaurants are worse because what happens there, hardly ever reaches the front-page or the TV news.
Window-dressing is what is practiced today. At best. What is needed is to tear down the rotten building and let in some fresh air through open windows, no matter how cold the breeze may be.
Contact the editor if you have a comment on this column. It is time for ‘bigger’ thinking.