Posted: February 29th 2012
It’s not just the game of football that’s under attack. If we go down the route proposed by advocates of the new ‘official’ anti-racism it’ll be an own goal of spectacular proportions.
It was only just over 4 minutes long but a recent interview with John Barnes on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme (13/02/12) offered a useful insight into the thinking that underpins alot of modern-day anti-racism. The typical ‘zero tolerance’ stance usually demanded by official anti-racism is, by its very nature, a stance that eschews too much thinking. It revels in its hard-line, instantaneous verdict on the racism presumed to be permanently in our midst. Every trace or hint of racism picked up by its keen antennae becomes more proof of the evil hiding away in the nooks and crannies of everyday life. But John Barnes is inclined to think a little deeper.
Posted: December 22nd 2011
“Absolutely no one believes that racism is a more common scourge in English football today than it was a generation ago”, says today's Guardian editorial 'Racism in football: keep on kicking it out'.
True.
“That’s not to say that racism has been eliminated from English football”.
Also true – and thank goodness this editorial remembered to add that point because the failure to be absolutely clear was the undoing of the hapless (and less than fluent in English) Sepp Blatter. But luckily the Guardian was able to then describe Blatters gaff as “disgraceful ignorance and insouciance”.
Because you’ve got to be careful if you’re going to keep on the right side of Zero Tolerance.