Racism doesn’t belong in the 21st Century

The slave trade was abolished in 1807. Viv Anderson became the first black footballer to play for England in 1978. In this Olympic year, our three big gold medals hopes – Mo Farah, Philips Idowu and Jessica Ennis – are all from ethnic minorities. These are just three, among a whole host of others, reasons why it staggers, and saddens, me that the question of race still pops up in the media on a regular basis.

Leaving sporting examples for a moment – Luis Suarez and John Terry, you can have a breather – recently there has been a flux of media reports that has racism under the microscope. The Stephen Lawrence verdict, and Diane Abbott’s Twitter gaffe has given us more unwanted reasons to have to address the issue of race.

It’s fair to say that these two first and foremost should not be categorised together – but it is a sign and a shame that they are, just because they mention race. One is about a murder of an innocent and promising man, which exposed police failings and institutionalised racism in the force. The other is an out-of-context 140 character statement from an MP to one of her followers. They are hardly in the same basket.

The real shame is that we still have to talk about it. Do I think this country is racist? Absolutely not. Do I think there are morons who judge people purely on the colour of their skin? Certainly.

To analyse the Lawrence verdict is far too complex in terms of how race was involved, but it is definitely worth remembering that this happened in 1993 – and the problem with racism has moved on a great deal. It would be appalling if it hadn’t in 20 years, so it is good to see that progress has been made in this country.

“The whites have become black” was the statement from one-time decent presenter David Starkey in the aftermath of the riots last summer. I’ve seen this compared to what Diane Abbott put on her Twitter this week. How these two are in any way similar I have no idea, but there’s clear distinctions. For those unfamiliar with it, Diane Abbott MP tweeted “White people love playing divide & rule”. I highly recommend before you have an opinion on the issue, read the full conversation. It has clearly been taken out of context, and in context it is obvious that Abbott was not addressing white people in general, but those who address black communities as an entire group, with no individuals.

Not only is it a severe reminder that MPs need to be aware of firstly the twitter character limit, but careful of how they use language. The difference between Abbott and Starkey is that the latter used being black as a derogatory term, and implies that it was only ethnic minorities responsible for the rioting last summer.

It angers me, upsets me, makes me despair that there are those who still judge on the colour of the skin. I found a sickening Facebook page run by the EDL about Stephen Lawrence. The nasty head of racism still rears its head, but as a country we are better than that.

If those that want to be racist still harbour 19th century attitudes, fine. But you should have to live a 19th century lifestyle. Women, you can’t have a job, or the vote, and a sub-standard education. Men, most of you can’t vote, 80% of you will be working class, and if you have TB you’ll be buried alive.

Your choice.

Andrew Butler at Platform

Thanks to Zaahid for the heads-up

MP Diane Abbott 'sorry' over Twitter race comments

Abbot's tweet as it appears on Twitter

Shadow Health Minister Diane Abbott has apologised for any offence caused by comments she made on Twitter, after claims they were racist.

She said she had not meant to generalise when she wrote: ''White people love playing 'divide & rule'".

It was a response to criticism of media use of "black community leaders" after the Stephen Lawrence murder trial. Labour's Chuka Umunna said party leader Ed Miliband had told Ms Abbott her remarks were "unacceptable".

In a statement, Ms Abbott said: "I apologise for any offence caused. I understand people have interpreted my comments as making generalisations about white people. I do not believe in doing that."

'Out of context'

Ms Abbott, the first black woman to be elected as an MP, had earlier tweeted that her remark had been "taken out of context".

Shadow Business Secretary Mr Umunna told the BBC: "Ed Miliband has spoken to her this morning and made it very clear in no uncertain terms that the contents of the tweet were unacceptable. If Diane believed the words as they were expressed and she had not apologised then Ed Miliband would obviously have taken the requisite action. For us as politicians, Twitter is a very useful tool to communicate with people, but it has its perils."

The original remark from Ms Abbott was a reaction to a conversation on Twitter about media coverage in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence murder trial. It was a response to journalist Bim Adewunmi, who complained about the use of the terms "the black community" and "black community leaders" in the media.

Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Ms Abbott, who stood for Labour leader in the 2010 contest, remarked: "White people love playing 'divide & rule'. We should not play their game" followed by "#tacticasoldascolonialism" - a way Twitter users flag up keywords and topics.

She added: "Ethnic communities that show more public solidarity & unity than black people do much better."

The comments sparked much criticism from other Twitter users and she updated her page later to say: "Tweet taken out of context. Refers to nature of 19th Century European colonialism. Bit much to get into 140 characters." The original remark was later removed.

In a statement, the Labour Party said: "We disagree with Diane's tweet. It is wrong to make sweeping generalisations about any race, creed, or culture. The Labour Party has always campaigned against such behaviour - and so has Diane Abbott."

'Great history'

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Ms Abbott's comments on twitter were a "stupid and crass generalisation" and that she should apologise and explain her remarks.

Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is racism. If this was a white member of Parliament saying that all black people want to do bad things to us he would have resigned within the hour or be sacked. For a shadow minister to hold these sort of views is intolerable, it is wrong, she needs to go."

Another Conservative MP, Rehman Chishti, told BBC Radio 4's World at One the comments were "completely unacceptable" and amounted to "a racist comment".

"If there was a strong leader in the Labour Party he would have taken further action against that."

However another Conservative MP, Robert Halfon wrote on Twitter: "The Right should know better than to get all PC re @HackneyAbbott - disagree strongly, but let voters decide. Freedom of speech & all that."

But she was supported by the senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who told the BBC she was doing an "excellent job" as shadow public health minister and had a "great history of supporting the anti-racism struggle".

"She's done the right thing in withdrawing her statement and apologising for the offence that's been caused."

BBC

Thanks to Zaahid for the heads-up

The EDL on the Stephen Lawrence trial

Click on images for full-size

Here's a screenshot taken during the trial. And these EDL morons supposedly represent the English?

Cheers to Everything EDL for the screenshot and Tweeta for the heads-up

Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris guilty

Two men have been convicted of the racist murder of black London teenager Stephen Lawrence 18 years after the attack.

Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence.

Scientists found a tiny blood stain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence.

As he was led away, he told the jury they had condemned an "innocent man". Sentencing will be on Wednesday.

Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville, wept in court as the jury found both men guilty. Duwayne Brooks, Stephen's best friend who had been with him on the night of the murder, tweeted: "Some justice at last".

Gary Dobson's mother, who told the trial her son was at home during the attack, wept in the public gallery of Court 16.

The original failed investigation led to the Metropolitan Police being branded as institutionally racist.

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south London, in April 1993. Police identified five men who were later named in a damning public inquiry as the "prime suspects".

By that time there had already been a catalogue of police errors and two failed prosecutions, one brought by Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence.

But in a four-year-long cold case review, a fresh team of forensic scientists uncovered microscopic evidence linking the men to the murder - evidence that the police had held all along.

The material - blood stains, clothing fibres and a single hair belonging to the teenager - were recovered from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993.

Scientists recovered the material using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.


Stephen Lawrence was attacked by a group of white youths in south-east London
Dobson, 36, and Norris, 35, denied the murder. They said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence down the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.

Gary Dobson was jailed in 2010 for drugs trafficking. He is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Panorama, Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence said: "I don't forgive the boys who killed Stephen. They don't think they have done anything wrong.

"They took away Stephen's life and there is nothing in their behaviour or anything to show they they regret what their actions have done and the pain it has caused us as a family."

Acting Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who ordered the 2006 cold case review that led to the convictions, said the case had been extremely important for the Lawrence family, the Metropolitan Police and society at large.

She said: "It's a matter of huge regret to the Met that it has taken 18 years to get to this point.

"It has been a unique case in policing. Firstly the horrible, horrible nature of the attack on the night. The time in which it has taken to bring anybody to justice and the tireless campaigning of the Lawrences.

"There is no comparable case. All homicide cases are terrible, but for us it is a very important case. Most importantly we wanted to be able to bring people to justice for the killing and try to give Doreen and Neville Lawrence and their family some sense of justice."

BBC News

Deaths in police custody cut deep in the psyche of black Britons

An improvement on feeble IPCC responses to police abuse might help avoid the kind of anger shown in the summer's riots

'What we have seen in the IPCC investigation of Mark Duggan’s shooting is an
enfeebled organisation with weak ineffective leadership.' Photograph: Rex Features

For many in the black community, justice in Britain is colour coded. The inadequacy of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to deaths in custody illustrates this stone cold reality.

Mark Duggan, David Emmanuel (aka Smiley Culture), Kingsley Burrell, Demetre Fraser and Jacob Michael, and the surreal and horrific desecration suffered by the Christopher Adler family, have left many of us reeling in shock and anger.

What we have seen in the IPCC investigation of Duggan's shooting is an enfeebled organisation with weak ineffective leadership. The overwhelming perception within black communities is that the current system of IPCC investigation and coroner inquests is so stacked against us that in effect, it protects the guilty and denies justice to the victims.

Within government, the London mayor's office and the senior ranks of the police, there is little appreciation of the depths of anger these tragic cases generate in our communities. That's because tackling racism and institutional racism are no longer considered policy priorities. The results are that the invaluable lessons learned from the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence have now been discarded as "political correctness gone mad". That fundamental mistake has cost the country dear and I fear will do so again in the future.

What's not understood is that a black death in police custody exposes the perennial faultline in relations between the police and black communities. Duggan was the fourth black man to die in suspicious circumstances this year. Since then more have died. Had political sensitivity and genuine anger relating to these tragic events been better understood then maybe the riots that took place this summer could have been avoided.

Death in custody remains the one issue that can transform police and community relations in an instant, tapping deeply into the psyche of black Britons. Historically the tragic story of black men and women being detained then beaten, abused, treated like animals and dying in mysterious circumstances is an all-too-familiar experience.

It is ingrained in our collective memories. From Jim Crow and lynching in America's old deep south, the brutality of the South African apartheid regime, or the beating of Rodney King – or, in the UK, the cases of Colin Roach, Clinton McCurbin, Cynthia Jarrett and Cherry Groce. Brutaliity backed up by institutionally racist organs of state that conspire to deny black people their right to justice.

Very few police officers have ever been charged, and not a single one convicted of manslaughter or murder. What we experience are the impenetrable barriers of ancient laws, lengthy and complex procedures and enormous costs that make justice an unobtainable dream.

There are some ways to try to end this cycle. One is a full and independent public judicial inquiry into deaths in police custody and the inquest process. This could help draw a line under the past 50 years that have seen family after family broken in their desperate search for the truth.

If the government refuses, then alternatively, given the significance of London, the mayor, Boris Johnson, could announce his own independent judicial inquiry. This will bring the cleansing properties of transparency to an issue mired in controversy and acrimony. For this government, moral argument about access to justice many not be enough. However there is a strong economic argument. The cost of an inquiry is cheaper than the cost of a riot.

We also need urgent parliamentary and legislative reform of the now discredited IPCC. If confidence is to be restored then the IPCC will need more powers, authority and truly independent investigators forensically searching for the truth.

In my view, though, none of this is likely to happen soon, and it is therefore inevitable that we will see more suspicious deaths followed by enfeebled IPCC investigations.

If I am right then we have not seen the last riotous disturbance; for where there is no justice, there can be no peace.

Comment is free

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Stephen Lawrence memorial vandalised for fourth time

Stephen Lawrence's memorial plaque on the spot where he was
killed in Eltham, south London, in 1993. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian

Police release CCTV footage of vandal breaking glass over plaque honouring murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence

A plaque honouring the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has been targeted by vandals for a fourth time, police said. A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that officers were alerted shortly after 8am by members of the public. No arrests have been made.

In previous years vandals have chipped the memorial and poured paint and flammable liquids on the pavement tribute at the spot where the black 18-year-old was killed in Eltham, south London in April 1993. At the time of his death Stephen was studying English, design and technology, craft and physics and was hoping to become an architect.

There was no immediate reaction to the vandalism from either of Stephen's parents, who were at the Old Bailey last week for the pre-trial hearing of two men accused of his murder.

Later, police confirmed that the vandal was caught on CCTV smashing a bottle over the memorial plaque while walking alongside a woman with a pushchair. Police released the footage in an effort to trace the man and woman. Images released by Scotland Yard showed a man in white shorts, white trainers and a blue sleeveless shirt accompanied by a blonde woman pushing a stroller with a child in it.

Detective Sergeant James Bray said: "Anyone with information concerning the incident or who recognises this man and woman are asked to come forward and assist us with their inquiries."

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, deny murdering Stephen in a racist attack in April 1993. Dobson and Norris, both from south London, go on trial on 14 November. Witnesses are asked to call Plumstead CID on 020 8284 9554 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Six years after Stephen Lawrence's murder, an inquiry headed by Sir William Macpherson examined the original police investigation and concluded that the force was "institutionally racist". The Macpherson report has been called "one of the most important moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain".

Guardian

Was Kelis right about British racism?

Things are not "disgusting" in Britain, as the American singer Kelis
pronounced this week, but we do seem to be moving towards a new normal

Racism in Britain is not 'disgusting' as the singer Kelis proclaimed this week, but for the first time in a decade it is on the rise

Let's start with the good stuff. Britain is one of the most liberal, most tolerant countries in the world. Given the challenges it faces from diverse, ever-changing communities in the major conurbations, it manages its affairs with a remarkable degree of harmony. We live, indigenous and non-indigenous, in relative proximity. Generally speaking, we don't much like extremism or extremists. For less good examples, look to bits of Europe that don't cope so well: look at France, look at Germany; look at Italy. No, don't look at Italy – well, not directly. The soul can only take so much horror.

But for all that, something is happening, and it isn't good. We're drifting back. Hard to gauge these things exactly, but look at the web postings, listen to the radio phone-ins, read the newspapers, cup an ear outside a playground. Talk to young black men or Muslims about their recent experiences with the police; go to Dale Farm and talk to the Travellers facing eviction; witness how sexual attention towards women frequently escalates into aggression and obscenities when young men are rebuffed.

Things are not "disgusting", as the American singer Kelis pronounced this week, but we do seem to be moving towards a new normal. Britain feels that bit harsher, a little bit meaner, less considerate; indeed, the opposite of everything the prime minister promises in his "big society". The inevitable consequence, you say, of a society facing unemployment, contraction, scarcity and recession. Perhaps. But I don't think we are here by accident. This is a course that was set.

A remarkable thing happened in 1999 in the aftermath of the death of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Pretty much against the advice of Tony Blair, Jack Straw set up the Macpherson inquiry. It was a judicial investigation that prodded and probed the workings of the Metropolitan police; but more importantly it also had a hard look at our institutions.

As it pulled away at the many layers, we saw we had become accustomed to levels of discriminatory behaviour that did us no credit. The police, as always, took the first hit, but their failings were merely the failings of our society in microcosm: the racism, the sexism; the distaste for, and often hostility to, difference; the arrogance that characterised encounters between those in the majority endowed with authority, and those of a different race and gender and social background who had none.

Macpherson made us look again at it all. And we were the better for it. But we didn't all feel better. Sections of the police hated Macpherson because they lost the ability to offend who they pleased, to stop who they wanted, and had to talk to the minorities they felt they should have been policing. By the time the ripples spread to the NHS, the civil service and private firms terrified of being exposed for being out of step in terms of equalities, Macpherson gained more enemies. Those who have power don't surrender it easily.

The "ludicrous Macpherson report of 1999", wrote Peter Hitchens in one of his many assaults. A "sub-marxist analysis of the institutions of contemporary Britain", railed the Express's Leo McKinstry. It's all a "McCarthyite witch hunt spawned by Stephen's death", said the Mail's Richard Littlejohn. Yes, it spawned "a kind of McCarthyism," added his colleague Melanie Phillips. We're too politically correct, says the much-quoted Campaign Against Political Correctness. We're wasting money, says the TaxPayers' Alliance. They articulate the backlash.

Over time, the kickback has worked. When it emerges that once again some school pupils, no doubt echoing their parents, throw words such as Jew and gay and Paki and Chink around like so much plasticine, the reaction from the Mail and the Express is to criticise the teachers who make a note of it. When the Dale Farm Travellers say they are being unfairly treated and refuse to move, the Sun suggests the council should "let the locals loose on the site". When community advisers exercise their policing function in Tottenham, as envisaged by Macpherson, and warn tensions are high after the shooting of Mark Duggan, those warnings go unheeded, for once again they are no longer seen as people worth listening to. Next stop, riot shields.

There is no longer political pressure for equality or even civility. This week, the home secretary, Theresa May, who has been ripping up equality regulations as fast as she can find them, trumpeted her decision to walk away from plans to help women rise in industry.

There was a healthier mindset for a decade after Macpherson, but there was never buy-in from the establishment – the politicians, the mandarins and the media moguls – and so those changes were never woven into the fabric. The right huffed and puffed and lobbied about political correctness gone mad. And they got what they wanted. This is the post-Macpherson world they wanted, and it's meaner and harsher and less equitable and more divisive. This is a creature of their design; they may as well celebrate it. And if just occasionally they have to suffer its ill-effects, they really shouldn't complain.

Hugh Muir at Comment is free

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Refuting the twisted racist hate of BNP member Vivienne Parker

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Hexapla. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

Vile BNP member Vivienne Parker has unsupervised access to psychologically vulnerable and physically disabled persons. With her internet race hate postings against Blacks, Ghurkas, Asians and Muslims exposed, there is the real prospect that disabled non-White persons may be at risk of abuse at the hands of Vivienne Parker.

Vivienne Parker’s racial abuse of Blacks as “evil savages” full of “wickedness”

My interest in BNP member Vivienne Parker was originally elicited by her following internet posting in which she racially abuses Blacks in the most repugnant and vitriolic of terms:

“God created negroes black as a warning. They are mostly evil savages and cannot be trusted. everywhere they go they create mayhem,evil and ghettoes. All of Africa stinks,esp.sub-saharan African which oozes with wickedness and evil behaviour. Taking blacks into civilized countries is a big mistake and the price will be paid in perpetuity as blacks scrounge off welfare and predate decent white people.”

Vivienne Parker’s attack on British Ghurkha soldiers

Alas, for purveyors of civility this is not an isolated, random outburst by Downham Market-resident Vivienne Parker. Not content with drubbing Black people with her caustic BNP tongue, Vivienne Parker attacks Ghurkha soldiers, who have so bravely served our country, in her following posting on The Times website:

“I do not agree with allowing Gurkhas to settle in the UK. They get a contract of service so why should we then be saddled with them and their grannies. Another huge financial drop on the UK taxpayer. If this becomes the normal I think its time to end Gurkha recruitment to the British army for good. Viv Parker, Norfolk, UK”

Given that only a few hundred Gurkhas will eventually settle in the UK and given that they defended our country, why is Vivienne Parker getting bent out of shape by the prospect of a small number of Gurkha soldiers taking up British citizenship? Because the Gurkhas are non-White, naturally Vivienne Parker and the BNP hate them for this random accident of birth.

Vivienne Parker’s racial abuse of Asians and Muslims as “evil” and “parasites”

In numerous postings on the BNP website and elsewhere, Vivienne Parker goes on to racially abuses Asians, Pakistanis and Muslims as “parasites” and “evil”. These are quite sweeping and profoundly racist statements. Alarmingly, Vivienne Parker (who partly resides in Spain) has unsupervised access to physically disabled persons and pensioners. In light of Vivienne Parker’s racist views we wonder how such a person is permitted unfettered access to such vulnerable groups.

Refuting the racist lies of Vivienne Parker’s BNP postings

Like all good fascists and racists, Vivienne Parker has a severe aversion to empirical facts and an inherent, indisputable inclination towards lies, hyperbole and hysteria (a BNP specialism). In this section, we dissect and refute Vivienne Parker’s racist claims against Asians, Pakistanis and Muslims made on the BNP website in her two following postings:

“As long as we ‘reward’ these people for breeding they will continue to come and breed. Family allowances and child allowances were designed for the nuclear family of 1-3 children. Its quite normal for Asians to have 7-14 children and with Islamics having more than one wife the whole process is a real moneyspinner for them. We need to pay for the first 3 children only. That would help solve the breeding problem of these parasites”.

Source: http://www.bnp.org.uk/2007/12/1-in-3-babies-born-last-year-in-britain-were-to-non-native-british-mothers-claim-2/

“The average Pakistani family have 7 kids and this is in the UK. How much is that in child support?”

Source: http://www.bnp.org.uk/2007/12/mohammed-to-beat-jack-as-top-uk-boys-name/

Viv Parker Racist Claim No. 1: “Its quite normal for Asians to have 7-14 children”

This is a lie by Vivienne Parker. According to the government’s UK Statistics Authority no Asian group in the UK has 7-14 children per couple as Vivienne Parker fantastically claims! Unlike Vivienne Parker, the UK Statistics Authority breakdown the category ‘Asian’ and accordingly provide empirically-grounded figures for each of the main three Asian sub-categories as follows:

Indian women (comprised of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians): average 2.4 children

Pakistani women: average 3.4 children

Bangladeshi women: average 3.6 children

source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=961

So, it is clear that ‘Asians’ don’t have 7-14 children as Vivienne Parker’s made-up racist claims on the BNP website state. Vivienne Parker Lie No.1 refuted.

Vivienne Parker Racist Claim No. 2: “The average Pakistani family have 7 kids”

Another classic Vivienne Parker lie. As we have seen from the above UK Statistics Authority figures, a Pakistani woman in the UK has on average 3.4 children, not seven children. Vivienne Parker Lie No.2 refuted.

Vivienne Parker Racist Claim No. 3: “with Islamics having more than one wife”

The number of British Muslims in polygamous marriages does not even reach one-tenth of one percent of all Muslims in the UK! Pejoratively referring to Muslims as ‘Islamics’, Vivienne Parker again does not provide any evidence for her unfounded lies. In fact, based on Department for Work and Pensions figures for the number of polygamous marriages in the UK (not all them Muslim), only 0.06% of Muslims are estimated to be in polygamous relationships! The actual figure could be even lower. Vivienne Parker Lie No.3 refuted.

Vivienne Parker Racist Claim No. 4: “How much is that in child support”

Vivienne Parker doesn’t know what ‘child support’ is! No one in the UK can claim child support from the government! Child support is a private arrangement between two private citizens using their own private funds! Child support payments arise when a child’s parents separate, live apart and the child lives with one of their parents. One parent pays money to the other parent with whom the child lives. Once again Vivienne Parker exposes her own ignorance (coupled with a great deal of arrogance to make any of her claims in the first place). Vivienne Parker is trying to imply, based on her lie that the average British Pakistani family has seven children (refuted above), that Pakistanis are a drain on public resources by claiming ‘child support’ for their mythically large families. Vivienne Parker Lie No.4 refuted.

Viv Parker Racist Claim No. 5: “As long as we ‘reward’ these people for breeding they will continue to come and breed. Family allowances and child allowances”

Again, Vivienne Parker is trying to assert that Asians and Muslims are sponging off the welfare state by claiming family allowances and child allowances. This is another Vivienne Parker lie. Research by the famous and respected Fawcett Society reveals that 30% of people from ethnic minorities eligible for benefits do not receive them; that Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are more likely to be ineligible for child benefits and child tax credits; and, that black women have the least access to free childcare. Vivienne Parker Lie No.5 refuted.

Mad dogs and BNP members: Vivienne ‘The Patriot’ Parker tells us that Spain is better than Britain!

It is clear that Vivienne Parker has spent too much time in the hot Spanish sun. The distinct image of ‘Mad dogs and BNP members’ irreverently comes to mind. In addition to her online rants, perhaps Vivienne Parker should stop writing letters to her local newspaper to tell us how much better Spain is then Britain and how unbelievably cheap property in Spain. One would hazard a guess that the Spanish don’t exactly go out of their way to invite BNP parochialites such as Vivienne Parker to their Moorish-tinged Iberian shores. Further, if Vivienne Parker doesn’t like immigrants in Britain, then she’s definitely not going to the fact that immigrants make up a greater proportion of the Spanish population than here in the UK.

Can Vivienne Parker self-hypnotise herself out of her own BNP stupidity?

Vivienne Parker claims to be a ‘transpersonal hypnotherapist’ providing past-life regression services to those persons she describes as having “deep rooted problems and issues”. This raises the serious prospect that she has access to vulnerable persons who could be exploited by Vivienne Parker’s racist agenda. Interestingly, Vivienne Parker describes past-life regression as a therapeutic tool that “is very effective for all sorts of phobias and behaviour fixations”. We suggest that Vivienne Parker appropriate her self-accredited therapeutic skills and self-hypnotise herself out of her own self-induced phobias and behaviour fixations – her overwhelming and neurotic racist obsession with non-Whites. Vivienne Parker may also find the following organisation for hypnotherapists particularly useful: the London-based Prevention of Professional Abuse Network. It is referred to in a hypnotherapist article, Professional Abuse. The article lists six areas where therapists can abuse clients in violation of their professional ethics. One of those areas is racism. The article explains that:

“Racial abuse can be both direct and indirect, and can also be surprisingly discrete. A number of years ago a relationship between a supervisor and the therapist under supervision deteriorated when the supervisor learned that their supervisee was involved in a long term and stable inter-racial relationship. Nothing was ever said but a lot was communicated in other ways. Racism is not always a colour issue either – prejudices are frequently pervasive and often ill defined”.

The hypnotherapist community, via best practice, is trying to rid itself of, amongst other things, racist practitioners. Yet, Vivienne Parker is intent, it seems, through the practice of her racist beliefs, on impeding such efforts.

What further concerns us is that Vivienne Parker is the organiser for the Downham Happy Circle Disabled Club for physically disabled persons (most of the members are pensioners). Now, what if some of those disabled persons are Black, Asian or Muslim? Given her rabid hatred for non-Whites, can Vivienne Parker, we ask, be trusted in such a position of responsibility? No BNP member can, especially Vivienne Parker. Not only does she gratuitously defend the racist killers of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence in a twisted posting on the Daily Mail website but she comes to close to admitting to a desire for physical violence against Muslim women in her following internet posting:

“Whenever I see a [Muslim] woman in the UK wearing either the niquab or burka I have an overwhelming desire to ...”

Why don’t you finish that thought Vivienne Parker?

¡No Pasarán!

Bexley day of action

Welling Station, Station Approach, Welling, Kent DA16 3AU

Saturday, 17 January 2009: 10.00am

The BNP is fiercely contesting a council by-election in East Wickham, Bexley which will be held on Thursday 22 January. Indications are that it is going to be a very close contest and so it is vital that all anti-fascists from across London mobilise to prevent the BNP from making a breakthrough.

Welling has long been a stronghold for the far right. The BNP had its headquarters and a bookshop there until the mid-1990s. During the BNP's tenure, racial attacks increased fourfold and there were four racist murders in the neighbourhood, including that of Stephen Lawrence.

Nick Griffin and the BNP will also be out on Saturday so it is vital that we have enough people there and everyone arrives at 10am promptly.

There are trains to Welling out of Charing Cross at 17 and 47 minutes past each hour (the 9.17am arrives in Welling at 9.47am).

Please do your best to attend, let’s not allow the BNP to make a breakthrough in Bexley

Click here to view map of location

HOPE not hate

Racists vandalise Stephen Lawrence memorial centre

A £10m architectural centre built to honour the memory of Stephen Lawrence, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack 15 years ago, has been vandalised after only one week, Guardian.co.uk can reveal.

Eight windows each worth £15,000 and designed by the Turner prize-winning artist Chris Ofili on the front of the new building in Deptford, south-east London, were destroyed overnight. A Metropolitan police spokeswoman confirmed the attack was being treated as a racist incident.

"A number of windows had been broken and police were informed at 5.46am today. The hate crime unit at Lewisham CID are investigating the incident," she said.

No arrests have been made and inquiries are continuing.

Attackers appeared to have thrown bricks at the windows from behind a 2.5m high metal fence surrounding the complex.

"It is a very sad day for the trust and for Stephen's family," said Karin Woodley, chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. "Stephen's mother is very distressed by all of this."

She said it was the fourth time the centre had been attacked, but this was by far the worst. She added that the centre had 24-hour CCTV and on-site security, and that security measures would be reviewed.

"I think this is awful and just shows there are still people out there who have a problem with racism and with those who value diversity," said Imran Khan, a lawyer for Stephen's mother, Doreen Lawrence.

The three-storey building, designed by the award-winning architect David Adjaye, aims to offer thousands of young people from deprived backgrounds the chance to break into architecture, urban design and building. London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Sir Ian Blair, were at the opening of the centre last week, along with Lawrence. She said her son, who dreamed of being an architect from the age of seven, would have been "so excited" that the centre was built in his name.

Stephen was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993. Many of the suspects continue to live in the area.

The case was the subject of three separate investigations, an internal Scotland Yard review and a re-examination by Kent police, as well as the 1999 Macpherson inquiry, which found the Metropolitan police was beset by "institutional racism".

Last November, police confirmed they were investigating new forensic evidence in the case.

The Lawrence centre offers courses, training and mentoring in engineering, architecture and building facilities for people between 14 and 25. It is linked to several leading firms and universities. Woodley said last week the centre was a "laboratory for looking at new ways of working with young people to improve their attainment and skills".

"Stephen was tragically denied the chance to realise his dream of becoming an architect, but we hope to offer young people who are living in poverty the opportunity to realise their aspirations," she said.

In 1999 Stephen's memorial was defiled by paint. It was attacked again the following year, despite 24-hour camera surveillance.

Guardian