Words used to insult – whether racist, classist or sexist – can change meaning over time, morphing from hateful to silly and vice versa
Racist language evolves like every other kind. Modern racists have the added pressure of being forced to use code words, to avoid being obvious and unpopular, and so their language is perhaps mutating at an accelerated pace. You’ll notice this if you watch the chilling video The Guardian just put up of an undercover journey into some meetings of the English Defence League (EDL), an anti-Muslim hate group. They use the word “paki” a lot, but it seems to mean any Muslim, not just Pakistani. Similarly “Asian” seems to mean, to them, Muslim, and is similarly considered an insult.
Another thing you’ll notice is a new use of the verb “sort,” as in, “we’ll get them sorted.” This has been a common idiom in Britain for many years, and its meaning is flexible but generally friendly: “Sorted?” means “Did you get what you needed?” or simply “Are you okay?” It obviously derives from “sorted out.” But it also has an association with drugs: If you’re on your way to a dance club, and you say you’re sorted, it means you have connected with a dealer and you are in possession of some pills or herbs. “Did he sort you?” is the British equivalent of the American expression “Did he hook you up?” By extension, “I’m sorted” has come to mean I’m high on drugs, particularly ecstasy. And, by general extension for all of that, sorted can be used to mean generally good or cool or sexy, as in, “That bird’s sorted, she is.”
But when the skinheads of the EDL promise to “sort” the inhabitants of a council estate in Bradford, they do not intend anything so pleasurable. They are talking about giving out beatings. The Guardian video includes a recording of hysterical telephone threats made against an anti-racist activist that promise, “You come to Birmingham, mate, you are going to get sorted.”
It seems strange at first that the verb has gone through such a 180-degree rotation in meaning, from helping to assaulting, but it can be explained by the fact that the thugs think that they are, by administering violence, setting things right – sorting – in some way.
There’s a bright side, an optimist might say, to changes in distasteful language: Sometimes it shifts the other way, from hateful to silly. As the neutral word Asian has come to take on, in fascist parlance, a negative connotation, so inversely do some hateful racist terms become diluted.
The most recent example of this came from last year’s best actress, YouTube one-hit wonder Clare Werbeloff, also known as Clare the King’s Cross Bogan. In case you missed this troubling piece of improvisation on Australian TV news (and subsequently all over the Web), this 19-year-old model/actress was interviewed by a TV crew moments after a shooting in the red-light district of Sydney. She claimed to have seen it all happen, and famously described the altercation as being between “a fat wog and a skinny wog.” She then went on to imitate the accents of the quarrelers as she recounted their exchange: “Oi bru, you slept with my cousin, eh? And the other one goes, ‘No man I didn’t for shit eh?’ The other one goes, ‘I will call on my fully sick boys!’ And then they pulled out a gun, and just went chk-chk, boom!”
She became famous largely because her story was entirely made up, and because her impersonations were so colourful, but also because her use of a notorious racist term shocked the rest of the world. Australian commentators had to explain – and argue and argue about – what she meant by “wog.” It turns out that in Australia the word doesn’t mean dark-skinned person, but a person of Eastern or Southern European descent – it means Romanians, Balkans, Turks, Greeks and Middle-Easterners. And it is commonly used there, even in TV comedy, and even by self-parodying European immigrants themselves (google Australian videos with the word in it and you’ll see what I mean). Werbeloff herself insisted there was nothing racist about it.
That doesn’t make the word any less offensive here, of course, or even in Australia, where many people were still disgusted by it, but the general public seemed to shruggingly accept that, offensive as it may be, it’s less offensive when used toward white people, and at any rate it has entered everyday vocabulary and probably cannot be eliminated at this point.
Paradoxically, Werbeloff’s most furious detractors made a point of calling her a bogan – Australian slang for brash working-class person, similar to the British chav. This is a classist term, which is undoubtedly hurtful too. And, predictably, anonymous YouTube scribes triumphantly point out that her name is Jewish, too, proving that the miasma of racist name-calling is a deep, dark, confusing and inescapable one, a sort of shifting fog that we all hope to avoid falling into.
The Globe and Mail
Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up
Showing posts with label Paki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paki. Show all posts
June 04, 2010
April 17, 2010
Fascists in profile: Karen Otty
As we approach the council and parliamentary elections on 6th May, a fair few up-and-coming fascists will receive exposure by standing in elections. Who are they and what, if anything, distinguishes them from the far-right’s old guard? Liverpool Antifascists takes a look. First up is Anfield candidate Karen Otty.Full name: Karen Gillian Otty
DOB: 12th January 1974
Role: Secretary, Merseyside BNP
Standing: Anfield, prospective city councillor
Karen Otty [pictured, left, outside her delightful Anfield des res, with Jamie Luby and Peter Tierney] has been described by Merseyside BNP organiser Peter Squire, on the laughably illiterate Merseyside BNP blog, as a “female activist warrior Queen.” As far as we can tell, this is the “feminine” equivalent of the self-aggrandising title of “super activist” given to Peter Tierney and Tony Ward, essentially for seeking out confrontation and trying to intimidate the public.
However, on her Facebook profile, she describes herself thus;
'I have read an extensive amount of imaginative literature (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror) and I have also been avid fan of many Sci-fi programs. I found that such material stimulated my mind and allowed for new and creative ways of thinking. However, more recently I have developed a great appriciation for my own British History and am reading extensivly in this area. I completed my undergrad degree at Liverpool Hope in 1999 (Theology and Religious Studies 2:1). I also took courses in psycology and sociology. I then took up a place at Lancaster University to follow a Masters in Religious Studies. At Lancaster I was involved in extra-curricula Politics and Religion group. This presented an opportunity for staff and students to discuss related material of interest. I also participated in a post-graduate seminar group. This was designed as an informal arena for students to practise writing and presenting a lecture and chair the post-lecture discussion. I graduated from Lancaster in 2000 with a view to proceed to PhD. However after 3 years of trying for funding this did not happen! I decided to teach instead and in 2004 left Edge Hill with a PGCE in RE and Citizenship. Of course this never worked out either and I spent 2 miserable years on supply. I now have a ‘proper’ job that I could have got 10 years ago with 5 GCSE’s.'Riveting stuff.With the BNP being her sole social outlet for the past 18 months, Otty has risen through the ranks quickly. As well as attending events such as the BNP’s Red, White & Blue scumfest, she has written articles for the BNP’s Identity magazine, and her day-to-day work for the party involves admin, paperwork, and sending out letters to members.But, it seems, the life of an activist warrior Queen and dedicated party apparatchik is not all paper-packing and envelope-licking.Here she is in London, during the recent public announcement of their membership rules changes;
Merseyside BNP at party election headquarters, London, 13/2/10.Left to right: Karen Otty, Gary Lucas, Peter Squire, London Assembly
Member Richard Barnbrook, Terence Oakes, two unknowns, Andy Leary
Left to right: Veronika Martel (face half-cut off picture),Hazel Hesketh, unknown, Karen Otty, two unknowns, Peter Stafford Snr
The BNP’s stance on the EDL is extremely clear. According to Nick Griffin, “the English Defence League is a dangerous and obvious “honey trap” fake organisation and is completely proscribed for any members of the British National Party.” But it is well known that this “proscription” isn’t enforced to any noteworthy degree and their marches remain well attended by members of the BNP and other assorted fascists.Obviously, we cannot take this as concrete proof that Otty is in the EDL. Attending a demonstration they have held does not prove that she holds any kind of membership. It does prove that she is refusing to follow the proscription order and keep her distance from them.
The likelihood is that the combination of visceral racism and the desire for confrontation is to much for a half-hearted ban of one fascist organisation is not going to stop those from another fascist organisation coming along for kicks. For example here is what BNP member, and friend of Otty, Jamie Luby posted on his brother Eddie’s Facebook wall on the day of the EDL demo in Bolton;
Even if it turns out that Otty is not a member of the EDL, this is neither here nor there. What we do know is that she has attended at least one of their demonstrations and that she (not to mention our old friend, “super activist” Peter Tierney) maintain a close comradeship with Jamie Luby, who has openly professed his willingness to fight with “Pakis”.
Clearly, she is not of the new school of BNP activists, who would at least make pretensions to dissasociate themselves from such people. More than that, she remains a committed activist for the BNP, whose racist and anti-working class credentials are well established.She wants your vote on 6th May, claiming to stand up for the local people of Anfield. It is worth remembering not only that she is a member of the party which stands opposed to organised labour and the idea of workers standing up for their rights, but she is the friend and colleague of seasoned fascists who are only too happy to use violence and intimidation against antifascists and trade unionists.
There are many ways to respond to the elections on May 6th. You may want to vote for a workers’ alternative, such as the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, for the Greens as an antidote to the pro-business politics of the big three, or you may view voting as an unneccesary distraction from organising within our own communities.
Whatever the case, that is up to you and Liverpool Antifascists will not patronise you by telling you what to do with your vote.What we will say is that Karen Otty and her fellow fascist goons do not deserve it.
A vote for the BNP is not a protest vote – it is a vote for FASCISM.
Liverpool Antifascists
March 16, 2007
Family of seven still search for peace after five years of race hate
Eight-year-old Khalid Mohamed was helping his parents move into their new home when some older boys on bikes started chasing his family and shouting racist abuse.
As the bewildered Somali family tried to settle into their new house in north London, adult neighbours joined in the heckling. "Fuck off Pakis. We don't want you here," they yelled. "We will burn the house down."
Since that day five years ago, the Mohamed family - who fled war-torn Mogadishu before Khalid was born - has barely gone 48 hours without enduring abuse. Stones are thrown at their house at night; lit cigarettes pushed through their letterbox. Khalid's father, Abdalla, 46, has been grabbed around the throat in front of his severely disabled daughter and terrified wife. His car has been vandalised on three occasions. His wife, Asha, is called a "baldy Paki" because she wears a scarf.
Two men were arrested on separate occasions, one of whom was found to be carrying a knife. Both were released without charge and continue to live close by.
The family lives trapped inside, fearfully awaiting the next attack and convinced that one day their tormentors will fulfil their promise to torch their home. The five children, the youngest of whom is seven, cannot even play in the garden.
As his parents can speak little English Khalid, now 13, has grown used to being called out of class at school so that he can telephone the police to report the latest attack. "We are petrified. We don't sleep at night because we are scared something is going to happen. It happens on a daily basis and all night. My mum cries every day. She believes them when they say they are going to burn down the house. They look like they could do it," he explained.
Today, the sombre-faced youngster will speak at a conference to highlight an alarming rise in hate crimes across Europe and the launch of Coalition Europe, a new human rights network. Alongside an impressive array of leading politicians and campaigners from 13 different nations gathered at the House of Commons, the nervous, slightly built boy will talk of the terror and abuse his family has endured.
In Britain, 48,000 racist incidents are reported to the police each year - almost 14,000 in the London area alone - and the figures are rising steadily. The rest of Europe has seen an even more dramatic rise, even though they do not record cases as stringently as Britain has since the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Suresh Grover, of The Monitoring Group, which supports victims of racism, said: "These violent acts range from desecrations, damage to property and physical assaults and murder. The racist killing of Dr Nithesh Kumar in St Petersburg last September was a shocking reminder of the growth of racial violence aimed at any 'dark skinned' individuals living in Russia. The country has recorded 84 racist murders in the past four years, 54 in 2006 alone, with a 17 per cent rise in racist incidents to 537."
Similarly, the growth in hate crimes has been a major problem in Germany since unification in 1990. It is estimated that over 100 people have been killed by neo-Nazi groups since then. Last year the German government recorded 958 hate crimes, a 10 per cent rise. But campaigners believe that - as these countries do not have the same comprehensive recording procedure as Britain - most attacks go unreported.
Donatella Linguiti, the Italian undersecretary of state for equal rights, will join the prominent human rights lawyers Peter Herbert and Imran Khan and other figures from across Europe to call for a more stringent examination of the problem so that far more can be done to tackle it.
Mr Grover said: "Over the last few years the police have recorded an average of just over 45,000 racially motivated attacks annually, now up to 48,000. Community groups across Britain have witnessed an alarming growth of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism since 11 September. This unique pan-European initiative will demand action from all European governments and that they bury their inertia on this issue."
For Khalid and his family, the drive to combat racist abuse is painfully close to home. The attacks have become so frequent that Mr Mohamed has set up CCTV on his house to try to gather evidence as the police have repeatedly refused to prosecute. He has multiple locks and an alarm. His children all carry mobile telephones in case of attack.
At night he watches and waits for the groups of men who stand outside his house hurling rocks and abuse, terrifying his youngest children in particular.
"Even though my dad stays awake all night, there are five locks on the door. He just sits there waiting for something to happen," explained Khalid. The family of seven has begged the housing association to move them, but to no avail.
"We are seriously scared. We are always telling the police this is really serious but they don't treat it as serious. They treat it as if we are lying," said Khalid, who wants to be a mechanical engineer, but says he now has problems concentrating on school work and maintaining good grades.
"Since all this started, I don't get as much chance to learn. We are all so scared. We just want to move away. Dad pleaded with the housing association. He said we would all live in a one-bedroom flat but they said that would be illegal," he said.
Last night, London and Quadrant Housing Association said: "We confirm that Mr Mohamed has made a number of allegations of racial harassment against residents. We have investigated all these but neither we nor the police have been able to obtain sufficient evidence to support the allegations at present."
Independent
As the bewildered Somali family tried to settle into their new house in north London, adult neighbours joined in the heckling. "Fuck off Pakis. We don't want you here," they yelled. "We will burn the house down."
Since that day five years ago, the Mohamed family - who fled war-torn Mogadishu before Khalid was born - has barely gone 48 hours without enduring abuse. Stones are thrown at their house at night; lit cigarettes pushed through their letterbox. Khalid's father, Abdalla, 46, has been grabbed around the throat in front of his severely disabled daughter and terrified wife. His car has been vandalised on three occasions. His wife, Asha, is called a "baldy Paki" because she wears a scarf.
Two men were arrested on separate occasions, one of whom was found to be carrying a knife. Both were released without charge and continue to live close by.
The family lives trapped inside, fearfully awaiting the next attack and convinced that one day their tormentors will fulfil their promise to torch their home. The five children, the youngest of whom is seven, cannot even play in the garden.
As his parents can speak little English Khalid, now 13, has grown used to being called out of class at school so that he can telephone the police to report the latest attack. "We are petrified. We don't sleep at night because we are scared something is going to happen. It happens on a daily basis and all night. My mum cries every day. She believes them when they say they are going to burn down the house. They look like they could do it," he explained.
Today, the sombre-faced youngster will speak at a conference to highlight an alarming rise in hate crimes across Europe and the launch of Coalition Europe, a new human rights network. Alongside an impressive array of leading politicians and campaigners from 13 different nations gathered at the House of Commons, the nervous, slightly built boy will talk of the terror and abuse his family has endured.
In Britain, 48,000 racist incidents are reported to the police each year - almost 14,000 in the London area alone - and the figures are rising steadily. The rest of Europe has seen an even more dramatic rise, even though they do not record cases as stringently as Britain has since the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
Suresh Grover, of The Monitoring Group, which supports victims of racism, said: "These violent acts range from desecrations, damage to property and physical assaults and murder. The racist killing of Dr Nithesh Kumar in St Petersburg last September was a shocking reminder of the growth of racial violence aimed at any 'dark skinned' individuals living in Russia. The country has recorded 84 racist murders in the past four years, 54 in 2006 alone, with a 17 per cent rise in racist incidents to 537."
Similarly, the growth in hate crimes has been a major problem in Germany since unification in 1990. It is estimated that over 100 people have been killed by neo-Nazi groups since then. Last year the German government recorded 958 hate crimes, a 10 per cent rise. But campaigners believe that - as these countries do not have the same comprehensive recording procedure as Britain - most attacks go unreported.
Donatella Linguiti, the Italian undersecretary of state for equal rights, will join the prominent human rights lawyers Peter Herbert and Imran Khan and other figures from across Europe to call for a more stringent examination of the problem so that far more can be done to tackle it.
Mr Grover said: "Over the last few years the police have recorded an average of just over 45,000 racially motivated attacks annually, now up to 48,000. Community groups across Britain have witnessed an alarming growth of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism since 11 September. This unique pan-European initiative will demand action from all European governments and that they bury their inertia on this issue."
For Khalid and his family, the drive to combat racist abuse is painfully close to home. The attacks have become so frequent that Mr Mohamed has set up CCTV on his house to try to gather evidence as the police have repeatedly refused to prosecute. He has multiple locks and an alarm. His children all carry mobile telephones in case of attack.
At night he watches and waits for the groups of men who stand outside his house hurling rocks and abuse, terrifying his youngest children in particular.
"Even though my dad stays awake all night, there are five locks on the door. He just sits there waiting for something to happen," explained Khalid. The family of seven has begged the housing association to move them, but to no avail.
"We are seriously scared. We are always telling the police this is really serious but they don't treat it as serious. They treat it as if we are lying," said Khalid, who wants to be a mechanical engineer, but says he now has problems concentrating on school work and maintaining good grades.
"Since all this started, I don't get as much chance to learn. We are all so scared. We just want to move away. Dad pleaded with the housing association. He said we would all live in a one-bedroom flat but they said that would be illegal," he said.
Last night, London and Quadrant Housing Association said: "We confirm that Mr Mohamed has made a number of allegations of racial harassment against residents. We have investigated all these but neither we nor the police have been able to obtain sufficient evidence to support the allegations at present."
Independent
Labels:
Coalition Europe,
Commons,
Germany,
Islamophobia,
Mogadishu,
neo-Nazi,
Paki,
racism,
racist,
Russia
March 11, 2007
Model's 'monkey' jibe fuels race row
Miss Scotland becomes the latest celebrity forced to apologise after an offensive on-air comment about a black singer
The reigning Miss Scotland was embroiled yesterday in the latest racism row to be played out in the media after she called the black singer and actress Samantha Mumba 'a monkey' on a live radio programme. Nicola McLean, 22, later insisted she was 'not racist' and apologised for her remarks. She joins a string of politicians and celebrities who have had to apologise recently for inappropriate language on race.
At the end of a week when Patrick Mercer, the Conservative's homeland security spokesman, was sacked following a furore prompted by his remarks about 'idle and useless' ethnic minority soldiers, McLean's outburst has fuelled the debate around race and language. The beauty queen made the remarks live on Radio Clyde in Glasgow during a conversation about possible new judges for the X Factor talent show on TV. After Mumba, an Irish actress, singer and model, was described as 'attractive' by one of Radio Clyde's presenters, McLean said she thought she 'looked like a monkey'.
Yesterday, McLean admitted the remark was foolish but maintained she is not a racist. 'I am new to this job and have learnt that sometimes flippant remarks can be perceived in a negative manner. There was no malice or premeditated thought here, just a simple mistake and for that I am truly sorry.'
The Observer can also reveal that the Commission for Racial Equality has demanded fans of Tottenham Hotspur stop calling themselves 'Yiddos' or the 'Yid Army' - a reference to the club's strong Jewish links. The CRE says such behaviour could fuel anti-semitism. 'It is clear that in this day and age racist attitudes and comments are not acceptable,' said a spokeswoman. 'It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure regressive comments such as these do not undermine the achievements that have been made in race equality.'
The commission's intervention has given renewed impetus to an issue that has bitterly divided opinion among the club's supporters, Jewish groups and campaigners against racism in football. It comes as the police investigate video footage showing some West Ham fans chanting, 'I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew' during their 4-3 defeat by Spurs last Sunday.
Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out campaign against racism in football, said: 'We have had complaints from fans that the chant is used regularly at White Hart Lane. One guy was in his seventies, had fought in the war and was Jewish, and he was deeply offended. A young fan went to Spurs with his dad and sang it but then used the word "Yid" inappropriately in the school playground.'
Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'The term "Yiddo" has always been regarded as abusive. It comes from the Russian "zhid" and means Jew. It is highly offensive and always has been.'
Race awareness campaigners say there is no excuse for those in the public spotlight failing to appreciate how their words will have political repercussions. 'The first time I was called a Paki I didn't even know what it meant,' said Denis Fernando, of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). 'It was only when I understood the hatred behind the word and was able to put it into context I realised it was hurtful. People have got to understand the social structure behind words.'
Nevertheless, Britain appears to be much less concerned than New York over the relationship between language and race, according to race awareness campaigners. Last year, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles had an on-air spat with actress Halle Berry after he adopted a faux black American rapper's accent. 'Are we having a racist moment here?' asked Berry, a suggestion furiously denied by the breakfast presenter.
DC Thomson, publisher of the Dandy, provoked outrage shortly before Christmas when it reissued a 1939 anniversary edition of the comic in which a character - Smarty Grandpa - used the word 'nigger' repeatedly. And the image of reality TV star Jade Goody was severely damaged after what many viewers believed was her racist bullying of a fellow Big Brother housemate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. Yesterday it emerged police have dropped their investigation into the affair. Goody was forced to apologise to Shetty following her remarks. 'I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had,' she said.
More recently, the media have been criticised by some for repeated references to Lord Levy's Jewish background, leading to claims that certain stories about Tony Blair's Middle East envoy and chief fundraiser contain 'a whiff of anti-semitism'.
Race equality campaigners are now starting to express alarm over the number of politicians and celebrities who provoke fury over their allegedly racist comments but issue what are perceived to be only half-hearted retractions in which they deny their racist undertones. 'The relationship between language and race is extremely important,' said Milena Buyum, coordinator for the NAAR. 'In a court of law proving someone used the word "nigger" before an attack can be used to show it was a racist attack, which can add an extra two years on the sentence.'
Such an example is an overt link between race and language, but Buyum is concerned at the increasing preponderance of more subtle behaviour surfacing in popular culture, such as Jade Goody ridiculing Shilpa Shetty over her accent and her food while in the Big Brother house.
This argument, however, is met with a sharp retort from some cultural commentators who complain the Big Brother row was another example of 'political correctness gone mad'. Last week a head teacher accused police of overreacting when eight boys were arrested for chanting, 'Yid army' during a leaving ceremony at Chauncy School, Ware, Hertfordshire. Likewise, Mercer's comments last week drew support from many quarters, not least a number of black soldiers who served under him.
A growing backlash against multiculturalism has made tackling racism increasingly difficult, according to experts. They warn complaints from both liberal and right-wing commentators that multiculturalism hasn't worked and that ethnic communities are failing to integrate is perpetuating the fear of 'otherness'.
Additional reporting by Denis Campbell and Lorna Martin
They said what?
'She should fuck off home'
Former Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd talks about Bollywood movie star Shilpa Shetty live on Celebrity Big Brother.
'Shilpa Poppadom'
Jade Goody's name for Shetty.
'A fucking lazy nigger'
Ron Atkinson talking about Marcel Desailly, Chelsea's black defender, believing his TV microphone was off.
[I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers] 'who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for misdemeanours'
Former Conservative spokesman for homeland security Patrick Mercer.
'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy'
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles interviews Halle Berry.
'Suicide bombers and limb amputators'
TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk's description of Arabs in a newspaper article.
Observer
The reigning Miss Scotland was embroiled yesterday in the latest racism row to be played out in the media after she called the black singer and actress Samantha Mumba 'a monkey' on a live radio programme. Nicola McLean, 22, later insisted she was 'not racist' and apologised for her remarks. She joins a string of politicians and celebrities who have had to apologise recently for inappropriate language on race.
At the end of a week when Patrick Mercer, the Conservative's homeland security spokesman, was sacked following a furore prompted by his remarks about 'idle and useless' ethnic minority soldiers, McLean's outburst has fuelled the debate around race and language. The beauty queen made the remarks live on Radio Clyde in Glasgow during a conversation about possible new judges for the X Factor talent show on TV. After Mumba, an Irish actress, singer and model, was described as 'attractive' by one of Radio Clyde's presenters, McLean said she thought she 'looked like a monkey'.
Yesterday, McLean admitted the remark was foolish but maintained she is not a racist. 'I am new to this job and have learnt that sometimes flippant remarks can be perceived in a negative manner. There was no malice or premeditated thought here, just a simple mistake and for that I am truly sorry.'
The Observer can also reveal that the Commission for Racial Equality has demanded fans of Tottenham Hotspur stop calling themselves 'Yiddos' or the 'Yid Army' - a reference to the club's strong Jewish links. The CRE says such behaviour could fuel anti-semitism. 'It is clear that in this day and age racist attitudes and comments are not acceptable,' said a spokeswoman. 'It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure regressive comments such as these do not undermine the achievements that have been made in race equality.'
The commission's intervention has given renewed impetus to an issue that has bitterly divided opinion among the club's supporters, Jewish groups and campaigners against racism in football. It comes as the police investigate video footage showing some West Ham fans chanting, 'I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew' during their 4-3 defeat by Spurs last Sunday.
Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out campaign against racism in football, said: 'We have had complaints from fans that the chant is used regularly at White Hart Lane. One guy was in his seventies, had fought in the war and was Jewish, and he was deeply offended. A young fan went to Spurs with his dad and sang it but then used the word "Yid" inappropriately in the school playground.'
Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'The term "Yiddo" has always been regarded as abusive. It comes from the Russian "zhid" and means Jew. It is highly offensive and always has been.'
Race awareness campaigners say there is no excuse for those in the public spotlight failing to appreciate how their words will have political repercussions. 'The first time I was called a Paki I didn't even know what it meant,' said Denis Fernando, of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). 'It was only when I understood the hatred behind the word and was able to put it into context I realised it was hurtful. People have got to understand the social structure behind words.'
Nevertheless, Britain appears to be much less concerned than New York over the relationship between language and race, according to race awareness campaigners. Last year, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles had an on-air spat with actress Halle Berry after he adopted a faux black American rapper's accent. 'Are we having a racist moment here?' asked Berry, a suggestion furiously denied by the breakfast presenter.
DC Thomson, publisher of the Dandy, provoked outrage shortly before Christmas when it reissued a 1939 anniversary edition of the comic in which a character - Smarty Grandpa - used the word 'nigger' repeatedly. And the image of reality TV star Jade Goody was severely damaged after what many viewers believed was her racist bullying of a fellow Big Brother housemate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. Yesterday it emerged police have dropped their investigation into the affair. Goody was forced to apologise to Shetty following her remarks. 'I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had,' she said.
More recently, the media have been criticised by some for repeated references to Lord Levy's Jewish background, leading to claims that certain stories about Tony Blair's Middle East envoy and chief fundraiser contain 'a whiff of anti-semitism'.
Race equality campaigners are now starting to express alarm over the number of politicians and celebrities who provoke fury over their allegedly racist comments but issue what are perceived to be only half-hearted retractions in which they deny their racist undertones. 'The relationship between language and race is extremely important,' said Milena Buyum, coordinator for the NAAR. 'In a court of law proving someone used the word "nigger" before an attack can be used to show it was a racist attack, which can add an extra two years on the sentence.'
Such an example is an overt link between race and language, but Buyum is concerned at the increasing preponderance of more subtle behaviour surfacing in popular culture, such as Jade Goody ridiculing Shilpa Shetty over her accent and her food while in the Big Brother house.
This argument, however, is met with a sharp retort from some cultural commentators who complain the Big Brother row was another example of 'political correctness gone mad'. Last week a head teacher accused police of overreacting when eight boys were arrested for chanting, 'Yid army' during a leaving ceremony at Chauncy School, Ware, Hertfordshire. Likewise, Mercer's comments last week drew support from many quarters, not least a number of black soldiers who served under him.
A growing backlash against multiculturalism has made tackling racism increasingly difficult, according to experts. They warn complaints from both liberal and right-wing commentators that multiculturalism hasn't worked and that ethnic communities are failing to integrate is perpetuating the fear of 'otherness'.
Additional reporting by Denis Campbell and Lorna Martin
They said what?
'She should fuck off home'
Former Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd talks about Bollywood movie star Shilpa Shetty live on Celebrity Big Brother.
'Shilpa Poppadom'
Jade Goody's name for Shetty.
'A fucking lazy nigger'
Ron Atkinson talking about Marcel Desailly, Chelsea's black defender, believing his TV microphone was off.
[I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers] 'who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for misdemeanours'
Former Conservative spokesman for homeland security Patrick Mercer.
'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy'
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles interviews Halle Berry.
'Suicide bombers and limb amputators'
TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk's description of Arabs in a newspaper article.
Observer
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