Diversity is Key

by Edel O'Shea 

We should never impose limits on creativity, provided its purpose is not intended to cause harm or provocation. More specifically we should not hesitate or ponder the source of the creativity regardless of which platform is used to generate it.

Why then is there hesitation regarding the author, poet, musician or actor among many other creators? Creativity, in all its forms, is intuitive, colourful and speaks to us all one way or another but in order to engage fully with its potential we must ensure diversity among its creators.

In the UK, for example, a study by the University of Warwick reported that participation and audience members in the creative industries were predominantly from white middle-class well educated backgrounds. This stark reality points to a major deficit of diverse talent in the arts leading to hollows in our potential creative breeding ground.  

Meanwhile in Ireland we’ve made some efforts to nurture the creative seed multi-culturally, however the Art’s Council of Ireland issued a report suggesting restrictions that hinder culturally diverse artistic expression. Some board restrictions cited include; lack of funding to support a diverse arts sector on a local and national level, the absence of minority participation to sit on the Art’s Council and represent those communities and the short term relationship minority ethnic communities have with arts organisations meaning there is no long term permanent partnership between organisation and community to ensure higher participation and engagement.

Across the pond in Hollywood USA we see a similar trend of poor representation of our culturally diverse media society as what’s portrayed on TV and film and the actors chosen to play certain roles does not mirror the current vibrant ethnographic living in its own back yard. It is also suggested that current successful American TV shows, such as The Walking Dead, display diversity simply because it’s currently trendy to do so, leading to a significantly commercially viable source for Hollywood’s producers. This purely commercial angle displays a profit before artistic benefit approach, which can only widen the gap between diversity and dominant mainstream commerciality.

Expression is paramount for the exchange of new knowledge and ideas but what’s missing is the enveloped concept that, trendy or not, ethnicity or gender should ideally be invisible, to both participant and creator, if we are to mesh just expression and the explorations of creativity evenly across all lands.

In Africa, for example, its emerging writers are continuously written and spoken about by media and critics as if they are only viewed as a representation for their continent, solely as a citizen, rather than individuals of vital expression were borders don’t exist. This makes me wonder how we’ve missed the point of artistic creation, meaning there is no point as such, just a need for a simplistic outlet for all to participate, observe and create to increase our cultural awareness, process new concepts and thus continue to evolve. It’s important to acknowledge the distinction between the trendy buzz talk on new African writing and what exactly it is; simply that, new writing like any other and it deserves the right to be read and critiqued impartially without constant mention of where the author resides.     

If cultural diversity is misrepresented or unaligned in reality then it becomes observable that upon creating a piece of TV, film, theatre or prose that the very creativity used to reflect our world is then corrupted by the inequality and racism that defines us in everyday terms. 

Not only is the poverty gap widening but similarly it appears the abundance of our creative capital is unfairly distributed with poor opportunity to engage and create relating to both gender and race. 

If we are to reject or question the existence and practice of interculturalism within the creative arts we are implying a notion that serves only to restrict our world’s collective concepts and beliefs and deny us the fruitfulness of vast and varied creative collaboration that we all thrive on.

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1 Neelands, J., Belfoire, E., Firth, C., Hart, N., Perrin, L., Brock, S., Holdaway, D., Woddis, J. & Knell, J. (2015). Enriching Britain: culture, creativity and growth. Retrieved from    

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/research/warwickcommission/futureculture/finalreport/enriching_britain_-_culture_creativity_and_growth.pdf

 

2 Jewesbury, D., Singh, J. & Tuck, S. (2009). Cultural diversity and the arts research project: towards the development of an arts council policy and action plan. Retrieved from http://www.artscouncil.ie/uploadedFiles/Main_Site/Content/Artforms_and_Practices/Arts_Participation_pages/CULTURAL_DIVERSITY_AND_THE_ARTS_RESEARCH_REPORT.pdf

3 Julious, B. (2015, March 25). Hollywood ‘race casting’: what the industry is getting  wrong about diversity. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrong

4 Julious, B. (2015, March 25). Hollywood ‘race casting’: what the industry is getting  wrong about diversity. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrong

5 Selasi, T. Taiye Selasi: stop pigeonholing African writers. The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/04/taiye-selasi-stop-pigeonholing-african-writers

6 Oxfam (2015). Richest 1% will own more than all the rest by 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2015-01-19/richest-1-will-own-more-all-rest-2016

The Unkindness of Strangers

At a time of such a tragedy as the one in Berkeley balcony collapse, it was truly heart-warming to see how the country pulled together and stood united with the victim’s families and friends.  We also did ourselves proud recently when we votes ‘Yes’ on the Marriage Equality Referendum and show cased ourselves as a kind and empathic nation that stands with people who are sometimes faced with adversity.  This is how I had always viewed the Irish people, until I read the article in The Independent about how Joanne O’ Riordan was treated on a recent train journey from Tralee to Dublin. 

Joanne O’ Riordan was born with the condition Tetra-Amelia syndrome and has been a voice for people with disabilities for the past couple of years.  She challenged Taoiseach Enda Kenny about cuts to allowances for disabled people, addressed the United Nations and discussed technology advances with Apple.  She has been named Cork Person of the Month and Young Person of the Year at the People of the Year Awards.

What happened on her train journey conveyed that, unfortunately, there are some individuals in this great country of ours who are not as understanding and kind as I had previously thought.   Joanne and her brother received abuse on the train after asking fellow passengers to move their bags out of the space which is designated for wheelchair users.  According to Joanne’s brother, no one on the train stood up for Joanne or moved bags out of the way and he expressed his utter dismay at the situation in the article.  He spoke about how it had an emotionally traumatising effect on both him and his sister for the duration of the journey.

This kind of discrimination and disregard for wheelchair-user travel facilities was appalling and completely left my reeling after reading what the two siblings had to endure that day.  For a country who are becoming renowned world-wide as a tight-knit,  accepting community of people,  it certainly seems we have a long way to go until we can fully live up to this title.

Lets Talk About White Privilege

In this blog post, I’m going to talk about the often misunderstood issue of white privilege. Before I do so, I want to briefly mention a few things about racism which many of you will already be aware of. 

It is important to understand that notions of race and racial difference are constructions first and foremost, based on human invention as opposed to any biological or scientific fact.  Instead, racial differences have been constructed socially and discursively in an attempt to serve the political interests of a particular section of society.  In After Empire (2004) Paul Gilroy asserts that ‘“race” refers primarily to an impersonal, discursive arrangement, the brutal result of the raciological ordering of the world, not its cause’.  Racism then is the ideology that sustains discrimination on the grounds of perceived racial differences, claiming that these constructions are true.  Some of you might question my inclusion of these facts, for it seems as though I am merely stating the obvious.  However, the fact remains that countless numbers of well-meaning individuals are unaware that race is a historical construct and not a biological fact, and so I feel it is something worth mentioning.  

There are numerous obvious manifestations of racism with which we are all familiar including hate crimes, racial slurs and the most insidious – systemic racism.  Yet, there is another more subtle manifestation of racism that continues to sustain the continuation of the racial status quo.  It is called ‘white privilege’ and is representative of the societal privileges benefiting white people in Western countries.  Such privileges are not usually experienced by non-white people under the very same social, political, and economic circumstances.  In a collection of essays entitled Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil (1920) Sociologist and Civil rights activist, W.E.B. Du Bois critiqued white supremacy as a system of exploitation, oppression and violence.  In his essay, he asserts that white people are associated with the creation of a global racial hierarchy, creating horrendous conditions that must be endured by black people.  Almost a century later, the Western society critiqued by Du Bois remains a hierarchical one.

It is important to mention that white privilege is not necessarily something that people consciously create or do in their day to day lives.  The thing about white privilege is that people remain oblivious to the wealth of unearned assets and perks that are so freely available to them, and which can be drawn on daily without a second thought.  While white privilege does not imply guilt for injustices you have not created, nor choose to benefit from, the fact remains that if you have white skin, you benefit.  Peggy McIntosh’s famous essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” contains a list of the daily effects of white privilege experienced by her.  Included among this list are some of the following:

‘When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my colour made it what it is.’

‘I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.’

‘If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.’

‘I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.’

‘I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.’

‘I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.’

If you are a white person living in the Western hemisphere, as you scroll through the list, you will undoubtedly find yourself adding to it as you discover the numerous unearned perks/advantages you did not realise you experience daily.  This proved to be true in my case, at least.

It is very easy to see clear incidences of systemic racism and white privilege in countries like South Africa or America, for instance.  One need only think about Michael Brown of Ferguson, John Crawford and Tamir Rice of Ohio, Eric Garner of New York, and most recently Freddie Gray of Baltimore, all of whom were killed by members of the police force.  Their deaths have put a global spotlight on the racial disparities inherent in America’s criminal justice system.  Is it so easy to spot white privilege closer to home though?  I recently had a discussion with a friend who insisted that white privilege is not an issue in Ireland.  It surprised me and reinforced my belief that our lack of awareness regarding privilege is something that needs to be challenged head-on.  It also led me to think about the difficulties inherent in addressing such a subtle yet ingrained form of racism.  In order to address this kind of privilege, we must first acknowledge its existence.  In her essay, McIntosh states that ‘as a white person, [she] realised [she] had been taught about racism as something that put others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which put [her] at an advantage.’  If we are to create space for the open and frank discussion of white privilege, we need to do so through education and awareness.  With that, comes accountability.

 

Additional Note:

While writing this blog post, I came across a fascinating project being carried out by researchers at Harvard.  It is called Project Implicit and assesses thoughts and feelings that occur outside of conscious awareness or control based on a series of tests.  For anyone interested in taking part, follow the link: [https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html]

 

Ruth Daly

 

References

DuBois, W.E.B. Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil (Dover Publications, 1999)

Gilroy, Paul. After Empire: Melancholia or Convivial Culture? (Routledge, 2004)

McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (1988) [http://amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html]

State Obligations in Dealing With Race Discrimination

by Lorraine Lally

The cases of the European Court of Human Rights have illustrated a willingness to articulate Article 8 in the language of the social model of recognition of nationality and ethnicity. The Roma cases are an excellent example of the treatments of migrants which concerned early cases brought against the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. The groups involved suffered horrific marginalisation and social exclusion. In the case of Buckley -v- UK in 1996 there was reference made to the nature of the discrimination which consisted of layers of restrictions which had a cumulative effect of discrimination.  The addition of the case of Chapman v UK (2001) The vulnerable position of gypsies as a minority means that some special consideration should be given to their needs and their different lifestyle both in the relevant regulatory planning framework and in arriving at the decisions in particular cases   To this extent there is thus a positive obligation imposed on the Contracting States by virtue of Article 8 to facilitate the gypsy way of life.

The Dissenting opinion Judge Bonello. I consider it particularly disturbing that the Court, in over fifty years of pertinacious judicial scrutiny, has not, to date, found one single instance of violation of the right to life (Article 2) or the right not to be subjected to torture or other degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment (Article 3) induced by the race, colour or place of origin of the victim. 

Anguelova v. Bulgaria (2002)- Leafing through the annals of the Court, an uninformed observer would be justified to conclude that, for over fifty years democratic Europe has been exempted from any suspicion of racism, intolerance or xenophobia. The Europe projected by the Court's case-law is that of an exemplary haven of ethnic fraternity, in which peoples of the most diverse origin coalesce without distress, prejudice or recrimination. The present case energises that delusion

 

In  DH v Czech (2007) the Grand Chamber (13:4)  held that there was a violation of articles of the Convention.

The relevant legislation as applied in practice … had a disproportionately prejudicial effect on the Roma community. The Court is not satisfied that the difference in treatment between Roma children and non-Roma children was objectively and reasonably justified [or] … that there existed a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the means used and the aim pursued.

Therefore there is a requirement based on the vulnerability and social isolation of Migrant on the State to enact legislation to protect against discrimination against Migrants living in the State where there status is that they are illegal residents seeking the protection of the Courts.

In the case of Timishev v Russia (2005) it can be distilled that there is a duty to combat racism: to reinforce ‘democracy’s vision of a society in which diversity is not perceived as a threat but as a source of enrichment’. The same case provided that there was a duty to combat racism: to reinforce ‘democracy’s vision of a society in which diversity is not perceived as a threat but as a source of enrichment.

Šečić v Croatia (2007) it was established that there was a duty to investigate racial motivated violence, Positive duty to investigate allegations of degrading treatment, Positive duty to investigate allegations of severe discrimination; Duty to protect vulnerable groups and to prioritise investigations involving violence against such; Duty to enable different lifestyles in the relevant regulatory frameworks and in arriving at the decisions in particular cases. The case law clear shows that there is a Recognition of indirect discrimination and the Recognition of need to reverse onus of proof and to accept statistical evidence. There is also a view that the case law establishing a duty to remove barriers from individuals, families and groups living within the State.

In conclusion the European Court of Human Rights case law has been very poor on the issue of race discrimination. Some of the reasons put forward are that it is largely indirect in nature and difficult to prove before a Court. There is an issue with Article 14 which is not a standalone article to prevent discrimination it is a parasitic Article so only argued with other articles in the Convention.

The other issue is what is defined by lawyers as the Strasbourg burden of proof which can be very difficult to reach at times.  There is a wonderful link discussing the cases that have been brought and the issues.

The European Roma Rights Centre has been spearheading and supporting litigation on the issues.

http://www.errc.org/article/european-court-rejects-uk-gypsy-applicants/692

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1. Shtukaturov v. Russia (2008)
2. Chapman v UK 2001

I'm Not Racist But....

By Ruth Daly

In this, the first of my monthly blog posts for ROI Against Racism, I want to discuss the language of everyday racism in Ireland and beyond.  It is easy to recognise and call people out on overt racist behaviour – we see videos popping up on social media every day capturing racist attacks on public transport.  Just last week in Ireland, a 19 year old was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a vicious racist assault on two teenage cousins.  The assault, which took place in 2013, has left one of the young victims blind in one eye, and both young men have talked about the devastating emotional consequences of the violent racist attack they were subjected to.  While people are quick to condemn such overt racist assaults, many choose to overlook the more subtle, everyday forms of racism that are often presented in the guise of a joke or stereotype of some description. 

It is imperative that we recognise that language is not simply a means of communication. Rather, it is fundamental to everything we do, essentially housing the value through which we live our lives, a theory proffered by many critics.  It’s particularly worrying that a most insidious form of racist behaviour has become so commonplace and normalised in our society that prejudiced views and opinions are given the space to become validated. 

On a number of separate occasions, I have found myself in the company of people who have prefaced a statement with the words: ‘I’m not racist, but…’ what Sociologist Bonilla-Silva calls a ‘discursive buffer.’  He writes that this use of language became ‘standard fare of post-Civil Rights racial discourse.’  While the person uttering this disclaimer might think themselves unprejudiced, this all-too-common use of language is hugely problematic.  For one thing, these words carry with them inherently racist connotations.  In my experience at least, the subsequent remark is usually an explicitly racist or derogatory one.  Ultimately, in using this ‘discursive buffer’ a person is both acknowledging that they are going to say something racist while simultaneously absolving oneself of all responsibility in perpetuating prejudiced rhetoric. 

The idea that one can remove any sense of accountability for one’s use of racist language with a trite disclaimer is wholly unacceptable.  It illustrates the immense power of language as it points to the issue of a deeply embedded racist discourse which is often accompanied by a tone of cultural superiority. This of course leads us to another, huge, manifestation of racism, white privilege (which I will discuss in a later blog) which proves rather difficult as a point of discussion with someone who vehemently denies they harbour racist views or behaviours.  Lest we forget, as long as someone proclaims that they are not racist first, they can then make all manner of racist remarks.  So what can be done?  If we refuse to challenge the insidious, surreptitious everyday racism that has comfortably settled itself into our everyday lives, are we complicit in acts of racism? I would answer that with a resounding Yes! As Desmond Tutu puts it, ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.’  We know that racism is by no means an inherent thing, but rather, it is a learned behaviour.  In educating ourselves about the deep-seated nature of racial discourse, and our complicity in that discourse if we choose to remain silent in the face of racism and prejudice, we can continue to work towards an inclusive Ireland…

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1. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists (Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2009), p. 57.
2. Ibid.

I Love Tea But Not In That Mug: Controls on Immigration on the Table

by Lorraine Lally

As a tea lover the misuse and abuse of a mug which is a common household item to send a message was upsetting because these items will survive even if the Party does not get elected. This mug was not Ukip either which another worrying point is.

 

To quote Diane Abbott a member of the Labour Party “This shameful mug is an embarrassment. But real problem is that immigration controls are one of our 5 pledges at all”.   I was severely distressed and sickened almost to the point of not wanting a cuppa tea at the United Kingdom Labour Party selling red mugs with a pledge.  They are being purchased for 4 pounds, can you imagine buying a mug stating “controls on immigration” there were no mugs stating “Increase Disability Supports” or “Promote Child Welfare” or “Report Domestic Violence”. The United Kingdom is our closest neighbour and the discourse that is present there is equally present in other EU States such as Spain.  Barcelona has a serious issue with illegal immigrants like most European Countries.  And on a recent trip it was clear the ghettoization that had occurred in the City. I hate seeming the use of high rise buildings with large amounts of impoverished migrants who are all surviving in unacceptable conditions often in accommodation that is not appropriate.

 

When talking to a member of staff in the hotel about racism he stated that there was a symbol on the entry to some nightclubs as blacks/Arabs and other foreigners are not welcome. The person telling me this was of African descent with a Spanish mother.

 

I asked him if it bothered him and he reckoned that it was easier to keep the peace and stay away from where you are not wanted.  I mentioned segregation and he did not understand I stated to keep people separate like apartheid. He told me there were no apartheid just cultural and religious issues. He told me that Spain was struggling and that it would improve. What was going to improve?

 

As a tourist in Barcelona you are harassed on the beach by individuals trying to sell you drinks and sun glasses none of the individuals are natives to the country with broken English and equally broken Spanish. I wonder if they are trafficked. Are they struggling to pay off a debt? Are they sending the entire money home to their families? Are they depressed at the thought of their entrapment?  You could sense the desperation which was a little unnerving for someone looking to lie in the sun on the beach which is what I really wanted.

 

The situation is bad in Spain through the eyes of a tourist and on the last day we saw the individuals on the beach mainly African men fleeing toward us at the top of the pier there was an immigration control police car.  On returning to Ireland I read an article that made me smile when I saw that Spain will allow illegal immigrants access to public health care. 

 

In Ireland illegal immigrants can access public health care and are provided with medical cards based on need and income.  This situation will change and we need to be aware of all the changes within the EU to ensure that we protect the most vulnerable people who are trapped. They are often stuck in a foreign country what we need to realise is that country maybe our country.

 

I once met a woman who was over 8 months pregnant and had not seen a single doctor out of fear. I reassured her that she could give birth in Ireland and that the staff would take good care of her. I was lucky to know a midwife who reassured her over the phone that her welfare and that of the baby were the only concern of the hospital. She asked my friend to confirm they would not take the baby from her as she sat before me wearing slippers her feet were so swollen. She told me that she had been preparing to give birth at home. I told her about Noel Browne and the Mother and Child Scheme and explained that we have a proud history of providing good care to pregnant women .We need to make sure that we make good policy decisions and that our changes going forward in relation to health look at international best practice and not the budget costs involved.

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 Spain to Allow illegal Immigrants access to free public healthcare http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11509227/Spain-to-allow-illegal-immigrants-to-access-free-public-healthcare.html

Racism; How We View Each Other

by Nyasha Mhandu

Race for not simply the colour of a person’s skin, it is all things cultural combined that make someone who they are. Where are you from? Where were you born? Where do you live? Innocent questions that I will live with for the rest of my life, when I am in Ireland I am not fully Irish but when I am in Zimbabwe I am not fully Zimbabwean so how do I identify myself? The development of technology has had an increasing effect on migration all over the world and the lines are blurring between who is of this and that race. Ireland as a small society has only began to experience multiculturalism in the last 25 years especially in Dublin although there is still major racial issues evident. The new generation of Irish is not the stereotypical red haired freckled Niamh and Eoin, I know Liam and Nathan born to fully Zimbabwean parents who may never get the chance to see Zimbabwe now that most of their relatives are spread around the world so where are they really from? Being racist or not racist does does not directly imply the dislike of another person because of their race but in our everyday manner and respect for other people. Words such as ‘chink’ ‘paki’ and foreigner itself are wrongly embedded into Irish colloquialism and the negative association with them mirrors an unwelcoming society. Although many of us don’t admit it there is an element of racism in all of us in that when we see someone who is of  a certain who sounds or dresses a certain we confine them to a box of stereotypical mannerisms.

‘Do they walk their dogs?’ ‘Do they have blonde hair’ I distinctly remember asking my dad on the phone before I moved to Ireland, this was my perception of varungu the Zimbabwean term for white people. To 12 year old me if you weren’t black you were white and I was going to live in a country with white people racial diversity was not a notion I had thought of before. I had mostly seen white people on the television prior to the big move and as I look at my attitude back then there I had been raised with an embedded superiority of white skin over black skin. This racial superiority is not something only common in Zimbabwe as I noticed it during the time I spent in Thailand. When the volunteers introduced themselves we all had to share where we are from and I would introduce myself as being from Ireland and so would another pale red head girl I had worked with and there would be a common muddled look on the children’s faces. As I worked mostly with children I noticed a lot of them instantly attracted to spending more time with my white colleagues where as it took them some time to relate to me. However as time developed one of the children got comfortable enough to really get to know the difference she touched my hair skin eyelashes and compared them to hers and I felt satisfied we all equal we really were.

The widespread consensus that has been highly encouraged by the media is very much of a whitewashed society, in black communities there is a significant amount of effort put into having long straight hair or lack of appreciation for very dark skin. I myself have been subject to this as a young black woman I have seen myself making a lot of effort to fit in by getting a very long weave instead of braids just so I can have the same silky smooth hair as all my friends. The older I get the more aware of this I am and it is in my best interest to love myself as I am afro and all. Racial stereotypes about black people that have indirectly affected me include the stereotyping of black people loving chicken or being seen as loud. Growing up in a predominantly white society made it significantly more difficult for me to accept my awkward puberty phase, I grew hips and a bum a lot faster and bigger than the majority of my peers. The body shape I developed is the same as that of my mother and my aunty but I cannot say it is that of all black women. It is only since Hollywood has accepted the current trend of a big bum not being ridiculed and associated with being fat I see people commenting on my figure in a positive manner.

Prior to writing this blog I had not fallen victim to any comments I would have found deeply hurtful however on St Patrick’s Day this year a comment made by a homeless man on Henry Street really hit home for me. Walking out of work with my colleagues he struck up conversation about the violence and noise and immediately he turned to question me about ‘the likes of you’ and why we like fighting. Although the comments were not taken personally it is the fact that no matter how hard I strive to be a better version of myself to someone else my melanin levels will always be more important than my contribution to society that always play on the mind.

Racsim ; Learning from Living

by Hannah Church

When I first sat down to write this post, I struggled. I didn’t know what I could bring to the cultural diversity and the media discussion. I don’t know what wisdom I have to impart on the topic. All I can give is what I’ve learned from life and growing up in the world I have. I feel that the best education a person can get comes mainly from experience. If you have a bad experience in a restaurant you’re not likely to return or give it a good review. If you go to a film and absolutely love it you’ll rave about it to your friends and encourage them to see it as soon as you can. And what about people? If you have a negative encounter with a person, you react. Some fight back, some take note to avoid in the future and most recount their experience to friends. This can often affect the friends’ judgement regardless of whether or not they’ve had their own encounter. This could be a far too confusing and convoluted analogy of how I believe media representation of different cultures can work. I don’t agree that traditional media is the best place to learn of other cultures. It can narrow our minds. With the introduction of new media however, there has been a new sort of revolution in the way people of all different cultures are exemplified and represent themselves and show their lives and struggles. We can be exposed to so much more now than we ever had been before. Our minds can broaden and so can our attitudes.

            I’m a twenty year old college student with no real worries or stress other than what I’m going to do once I’ve graduated. I’ve had it relatively easy. I’ve lived a sheltered, happy life and I, unfortunately, have not had many life changing or mind blowing experiences of different cultures. Other than visiting a few European countries every now and then on a family holiday, I’ve never travelled anywhere than takes more than four or five hours on a plane to get to. So I can’t actually regale you with any stories of my travels and the cultural education I’ve gained from each trip. All I have to offer what awareness I’ve developed over time of different cultures and how they can be represented or misrepresented and the obstacles that are still hindering a culturally diverse and developed world.

Living in my sheltered existence meant that many of my cultural experiences, outside of what I’d encountered on a few family holidays, came from outside sources. Mainly the media. The media nowadays is a regular form of education. We get our news and current affairs, our Information on people, places and events, and it can help to expand our knowledge and broaden our minds. Traditional print media and television can help in our education of the world. However, it can also end up interfering in our view on certain cultures. I watched a lot of television as a child. I would watch shows and cartoons on Nickelodeon, I would rent every Disney movie I could and I would love every minute. This is where my cultural knowledge started. Or lack thereof. The most popular shows at the time, and probably most impactful, were the American shows. I would notice small messages here and there within the shows. For example, all Asians are smart or nerdy or high achieving and not very social. Or all African Americans are cool or trouble makers. I would later learn that this was stereotyping and how damaging it is. We were fed closed minded messages like this so often. It’s really troubling how much of this stereotypical content is in children’s television.   I’ve never had to really face racism in my life. My only experience was in second class in primary school, I wouldn’t share my crayons with a class mate so she called me a racist. I remember getting incredibly offended, even though I didn’t fully comprehend what she meant, and I quickly assured her that she was wrong and actually I wasn’t sharing my crayons with anyone. After that day I stopped bringing in any crayons because I’d rather avoid the drama. I grew up not understanding racism until it was discussed in school. We were told in history class about the racism experienced by the Irish by the British. We learned about the atrocities Africans Americans were subjected to for centuries. We read roll of Thunder Hear My Cry as a class to teach us how wrong racism is and what it did to families and entire cultures. Though we knew that racism hadn’t suddenly become extinct it was easy to feel that it had only really happened in the past. To believe it happened when people were less civilised, when they didn’t know as much or understand empathy like we did today. “That was ages ago”, we could reassure ourselves. Having been exposed to the internet I can see that the world did not fix itself in the way we had been led to believe.

Through the internet we can be exposed to so many harsh truths. Not everyone has grown up with the same sense of what is right and what is wrong that I have. We can now see through YouTube, social media, bloggers and online news outlets racism is still out there. More so than we’d like to think. Scrolling through comments sections on videos or articles it is common place now to see at least one or two racist remarks. A simple YouTube search will bring you page upon page of videos with someone sharing their experiences with racism or even videos containing racist content. It’s eye opening. I am a particularly empathetic person, you cry, I cry. So consuming this content can be hard. But I’ve learned so much more about what is really happening in the real world than I had before.

With the introduction of this new media I feel like the conversation about racism, cultural diversity and identity has really taken off. Because though there can be some dispiriting content out there, there is also an army of people who are ready to defend and speak out and fight against the way things are. For example, the tragic cases recently of the shooting of Mike Brown and the death of Eric Garner in America were covered extensively online. Thousands of people came out in protest of the racist treatment of these men, showing their support in so many ways through social media. Stories like this may not have had as much coverage and may not have had a chance to gain as much support as they did if it had been left to traditional media to decide what story takes preference. With social media and new media the story, the issue and the outrage could all be heard clearly.

I believe that a culturally diverse and accepting world is so much more obtainable now with new media. There are so many incredibly intelligent and broadminded people from every corner of the globe ready to give support, speak out and defend themselves and others against oppression, racism and cultural ignorance. There are so many people ready to learn more than what traditional media has told them to be true. There are also people who will abuse their right to freedom of speech and will offend and insult and attack the developed and diverse mind-set. But it is important to know that there are people like that out there, and not just naively believe when your teachers tell you that racism was in the past. This is the only way we can continue learning and growing and fighting for a diverse, accepting future. 

A World of Cultural Diversity

by Adam Halpin

Ireland is not the most diverse of nations, with less than 5 per cent of the population being of an ethnic origin other than white. As a result, one would expect a low level of discrimination and racism. In my opinion, while racism in the sense of colour is not a massive problem in Ireland, there seems to be a lot of discrimination based on origin. I find that people often comment and complain when they hear an accent from overseas as they immediately associate that accent with preconceived notions of a particular nation. These generalisations need to stop and as a nation we need to become more open and accepting, we are not all the same, but we are all human and share many similarities. I’m glad to say that I haven’t witnessed many racist acts in Ireland, but unfortunately they do happen and are mostly based on traditional stereotypes.

To be honest I feel that overall Ireland is a very welcoming country and most people will treat people with culturally diverse backgrounds in a respectable manner. In my opinion, most racism in the world can be dealt with through education, as once people know more of the world and its people they will be less likely to discriminate against those from elsewhere. Currently Ireland seems to have a system of cultural integration in that immigrants tend to respect the cultures and traditions of Ireland while keeping their own beliefs, cultures and traditions, as opposed to cultural assimilation which sees national identity forced upon all citizens. While at the outset, a clear national identity may seem favourable, in some cases it may result in negative outcomes, for example in France, where cultural assimilation has led to many racist attacks in the past. The first extreme case of racism that I have encountered occurred in France when I was 16 as part of a cultural exchange program in Transition Year. My exchange student had racist views, believing that all black people and “Arabs” were thieves who wanted to take over France. While comments such as that were disturbing, I was even more shocked when he told me to put my hands in my pockets whenever anyone that wasn’t white passed us. Attitudes like this need to disappear and can only do so if cultural diversity is respected and accepted. If that experience taught me anything, it is that as world citizens we need to be open to different cultures and look at what makes us similar rather than what sets us apart.

Last summer, I worked in Orlando, Florida in the United States as part of a J 1 programme and was pleasantly surprised to see how well racism is dealt with in America. While on the outside America may seem similar to Ireland, it is a much more culturally diverse nation and has often been seen as a melting pot of culture as all cultures tend to exist together. This was particularly evident to me when an African American colleague jokingly asked me if black people existed in Ireland. My immediate response was that they did exist in Ireland, but not as they do in America, as I would consider most black people in Ireland as Irish. Whether or not this is a good thing I do not know, but I do find it very interesting that  cultural diversity is treated differently in different parts of the world. I find America particularly interesting in how it treats multiculturalism. Minority or ethnic groups are established, e.g. Italian American, Irish American, Asian American and African American which differentiates these groups from the rest of the population. As a result, the majority of these groups keep traditions from their place of origin, often creating their own communities which led to the development of ghettos or “China-town” like areas where people of the same ethnic origin live together. While these minorities may be accepted now, it has taken a long time for America to overcome discrimination and it is still a work in progress, with racism still occurring in some areas.

It is difficult to say whether integration or a “melting pot” can deal with multiculturalism adequately, as there are even more ways that other nations have dealt with cultural diversity. While the melting pot of the United States celebrates the different cultures of American citizens it also creates minority groups, which separates them from the wider society, in a way alienating them. On the other hand, cultural integration also has its issues in that people are forced to let their heritage become more refined in order to respect the national traditions of the new country.  As a result it’s hard to say if either is suitable for a world without racism, but a mixture of both could allow ethnic cultures to better blend in with mainstream culture.

It may take a long time for racism to vanish, but in my opinion, Ireland has already taken small steps which could be built upon. In general people need to become more informed, whether this is through school or public information campaigns, everyone needs to be encouraged to be more open in their outlook of the world and its people. It is clear that people may have established judgements which may negatively influence their actions. However, if people know more about different cultures, they may be less likely to make racist comments or attack people out of discrimination. A recent experience which has allowed me to see the similarities of cultures was last week, when I visited a mosque for a college assignment. During this visit it became clear to me that Islamic beliefs are not that different from Christian or Jewish beliefs with many more similarities than differences. I found this particularly surprising with the amount of violence cause by Islamic extremists which shows that even minor differences can cause disruption. These differences really shouldn’t separate the world, but unfortunately they do. In my opinion if we all embrace our similarities rather than differences we may be one step closer to a world without racism.

That Was Then, This Is Now

by Anonymous

My story begins in 1988. The new wave of mass emigration from Ireland in the 1980s was a different animal altogether. Emigration was most concentrated at two ends of the class/education/wealth spectrum. Unskilled and semi-skilled workers were still leaving in droves and I was one of them.

 “The world is your oyster”, my mammy said. I had just been for a second interview as a trainee manager within the hotel industry and had been successfully. Out of the 350 people from around Ireland who applied for the job only 35 people were selected and I was one of them. I couldn’t believe it I had got the job. My whole family were so excited. I was going to Las Vegas. Although I was very excited myself, I was also a bit apprehensive as I had never been outside Ireland before and I could sense from my mam and dad, while they were happy for me they were nervous about the idea too. But they knew that opportunities like this only came once in a life time. Not only did I have a very good relationship with my parents but I was also daddy’s little girl out of the 5 children my daddy doted on me the most.

The day came for me to set off on my adventure and all my family came to the airport to see me off. I remember in particular my dad holding me in an embrace so tight I thought I was going to faint. “You take care now and be safe I love you Catherine”, he said.  My heart was breaking and I cried tears of joy and sadness.

I arrived in Las Vegas dumb struck. The place was amazing everywhere was opened 24 hours, nowhere shut. The strip at night was lit up like a great big disco ball it was fantastic. After two weeks of orientation and training we were all given our shifts to work in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. I had made a lot of friends and when we had time off we would go out and about exploring all the different casinos in Las Vegas. It was all so incredible and wonderful. Life couldn’t have been better!

Then one night while a few friends and I were out in a bar having a few drinks and listening to the band that was playing. I noticed the guy that was playing the saxophone; he was so handsome all my friends thought so too. We both exchanged glances and before the end of the night we were laughing and talking about everything and anything, we hit it off real well his name was Kenny. Life had just got better!

Everything was fantastic I and Kenny were going strong and I had told my parents about him too. They were so happy for me especially my daddy and he said that he couldn’t wait to meet him. My work visa had finished and I had to return home to Ireland. I was devastated on having to leave Kenny and he felt the same way too. We decided that we would have a long distance relationship as neither of us wanted to be without the other. Kenny had promised to come to Ireland to visit and I had promised that I would also go back to America on holidays.

After lots of tears and hugs I took out some of the photos I had taken and was showing them to my family. Then within that one second of having my life complete my whole world was turned upside down “Jeysus he’s black” my sister shouted. My dad grabbed the photo and I seen the look of disgust and disappointment in his face as he inspected it. “No Niger will ever step foot in my home and I will certainly not allow any daughter of mine to be seen with one” and he stomped out of the room. Silence fell around the room. My mother asked why I had not told them and I said that I didn’t think that it was relevant. I loved him no matter of his colour race or religion. And I was going to continue to be with him

The day came for Kenny to arrive. I met him at the airport and the love that we had for each other was even stronger than before. He knew that there was something wrong and asked me what was bothering me. The gut feeling I had in my stomach was wrenching I felt like I was going to vomit I broke down in tears “my father is racist” I said. I had never known this before and I had never even spoken the word before, it was all too much. “Don’t worry darling we will stay in a hotel”, Kenny said, because we had decided initially to stay with my parents. When I told my father he told me that if I stayed with him in the hotel that I was not welcome in this house again.

Having to choose between the two men in my life that I loved the most was the most difficult thing I had to do. I had never thought before now, that love could be so difficult, hard unfair and racist. I naively thought that love was equal and just among all.

We spent the next two weeks in a hotel in Dublin and Kenny did not meet any of my family as my father had forbidden it. Although I brushed this aside for the sake of Kenny there were many other incidents that occurred during his visit to Ireland that made me realise how negative people were on accepting people from other countries, and cultures into their society.

Besides all the looks and slide remarks that we got when we were out together it didn’t have any hindrance on our love for one another. One example of theses was when we were walking down O’ Connell street and two white Irish lads made a comment, saying” isn’t your own good enough for you love” my reply was “well not if there like you ignorant f….”. I was not only shocked at their racist remarks but with my own reply as I would never have talked in that way to anyone. My blood was boiling, I was outraged not only because of what the two lads had said but also because of the feelings I felt towards them I didn’t hate those two lads but I certainly didn’t like them either. This was not my character I couldn’t understand it. I’d never had such bad feelings towards anyone in my life before. 

Kenny told me although he had experienced racism before and the majority of the time it didn’t bother him he said that he felt like he was living in a time warp and that Ireland had a long way to go before we could accept that all people are the same no matter what colour, race or religion they are. That was 25 years ago and although our relationship ended because we lived so far away from each other, we still remained friends.

Kenny was the first black person I had ever met. Back in Ireland in the 1980s if you walked down O’Connell street and seen a Chinese, Japanese or black person (which was quite rare) you automatically thought that they were on holidays. Now over 500,000 foreign nationals are calling Ireland home. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go. Even though we live in a society were multiculturalism, globalisation and cultural diversity is more customary, there will always be those slide remarks, presumptions and in cases violent behaviours that need to be overcome.

As for my father, he is now more aware of not how different people are but how different we can be in realising that we are all the same no matter of race, creed or colour.

Racism in Ireland; An Angled View Through Real Life Encounters

By John Mc Cormack

Racism was something that I once had only heard of. To me it was something portrayed on TV and in movies that how showed African Americans were once treated in America.  As a child and a teenager I believed that these encounters of racism towards blacks, often very inhumane treatments, were records of the past, and were now displayed in a form of historical story-telling that brought tension and interest for the viewer.  Soon, topics of socialization during secondary level education brought to light the realities of racism, and that racist behaviour still existed. Until this point I had still not experienced any racial discrimination on a personal level, or witnessed it inflicted on anyone else.  Having experienced bullying to a large degree, I held a degree of empathy with the hurt that can be endured by the unnecessary treatment from one person to another because of how a person looks or where they come from. The one thing I did not understand was how and why people could possess the evil characteristics it takes to do this.

Years later I travelled overseas, open to accept the ways of other nations. In doing so, I also learned that the racism I once saw in movies and on TV did not only exist as an entertaining form of history, but in the shocking reality of the present.

Two memorable incidents on two distantly separated continents remain very clear. Although both were non-direct, and part of an opinionated conversation the mentality of the perpetrators to hatefully separate humans into very different categories in such a manner shocked me.

The first incident was in the U.S.A. where an employer was advising me where to find accommodation for the duration of my stay. I was advised not to buy or rent in a particular area because it was “full of n…”....” once they move into an area, they destroy it”. I questioned my employer’s view, only to receive the response that “when you live around them long enough you will know”. 

The second encounter happened in Australia, where another employer, angered by an employee not showing up said “Sure he’s only a dirty Abbo” When I also questioned this statement, the man replied “Yes, all Abbos, Aboriginals, are useless drunks, they’re primitive, they should be rounded up, given some land, fenced off, and let them live there, away from normal people, because they are not normal”.

 Although non-direct or physical, the incidents I described are clearly racial, and I use them because they were my initial encounters of very outgoing racist comments from people I knew at nearly opposite areas of the globe. In both incidents I found the people in question (victims) to be very likable and one remains a friend today.  

There is clearly racism, and discrimination joins it hand in hand. I believe both come in many forms and begin as a mind-set, progressing to a verbal stage (as the two examples) on to actions and physical behaviour. 

But is there racism in Ireland? Let me explain that in a very personal way. Discrimination falls under many categories, often not involving clear race/ethnic differences. I say this because the most outrageous and discriminating incidents I encountered were attacks on myself by fellow Irish men with enormous hatred towards me being from Dublin. The attacks were physical assaults, one causing grievous bodily harm, and the other causing property damage. Both were based on the fact that I was not from the area of Ireland where these attacks took place, and in both cases it was clearly stated that I was from Dublin and did not belong in these rural areas. ‘Jackeen’ and ‘Blow in’ are discriminative terms still used in rural areas of Ireland towards Dublin people or people not born in those particular areas.  Perhaps also here refer to the experiences of travellers? Who despite being of the same ethnicity/religion they are very much discriminated against perhaps in ways that parallel those of black Americans and Australian aborigines

The little country of beauty with some remaining primitive ways, still holding a reputation of being welcoming and friendly, may only hold valid to ‘money-spending’ tourists and certain nationalities.

In the same way that most of the world opened its doors to Irish immigrants to come and share their way of life, when Ireland became part of the E.U. it opened its doors to foreign nationals to come here share our way of life. But the famous Irish welcome may not have greeted all that came. While I did not witness any cases myself, I know there have been many cases of racist attacks due to their exposure in the media. I see good caused by the exposure of racial discrimination in Ireland and I feel there has been a certain amount of fear injected into the minds of members of the Irish public not to behave in a racist manner.

As mentioned at the start, my experience of bullying helped me empathize with the endurance of racism abroad, but now I have empathy towards people of a different race living in Ireland due to the experiences of hate I endured from fellow Irish. What I once had to travel to see, I shamefully see deeply ingrained in many of the people of my country of birth, Ireland.

Although racial acts may have decreased in Ireland, or at least that is what the media portrays, I feel that many Irish people possess the ability to hold a deep hate towards others who are not local. While I think it is great that many of the racist cases were addressed, I feel that discrimination, race based or not, need to be the main focus. I think every act that stems outside the norms of how society should treat each other, no matter who is the victim, needs to be treated for the crime it is.

Absolutely Fabulous? Absolutely Not!

by Anonymous

I was born and raised in Dublin until 1995 when my parents uprooted and moved the family to Amacao de Pera in Portugal, where I would spend the next twelve years of my life. Over there, my parents ran a successful restaurant and with that came long hours and what could have been a lonely childhood. However, I had my amazing older brother, Peter who is fabulously gay with clothes brighter than the sun. He’s amazing, always has been always will be. My week consisted of School, homework, church and the occasional swim, granted Peter would bring me. We used to do everything together just the two of us. Then Gustavo appeared on the scene. He was Peter’s boyfriend who was just as amazing he was. While my parents took care of the restaurant they took care of me.  Everywhere we went people loved them. Everyone in church knew them, my teachers frequently asked about them and my friends depended on them for fashion advice that was much needed at the time. These are the fondest memories I have from Portugal.

 

After twelve years there my father decided it was time to return home, much to my dismay. Little did I know that I was in for the biggest culture shock of my life. Upon arrival, I quickly learned of the prejudices that surround Irish culture. Walking through the airport we were getting odd looks and smart remarks none of which I got too upset about. One of the first prejudices I encountered was when I visited my Grandmother for the first time since I moved back. I was so excited to tell her all about Portugal and Gustavo and Peter. However, when I showed her pictures she let out an exasperated yelp and said ‘Oh, I didn’t realise my grandson was one of them.’ Those words still ring in my ear as it was the first time that I realised people saw my brother as different. He was classified as ‘them’ not ‘us’. It broke my heart. However, after the initial shock, I put it down to my grandmothers age and thought nothing more of it. However, over the coming weeks I began to notice a major difference in Peter. First it was his clothes. The bright colours and bold fashion statements were replaced with jeans and plain jumpers. He retrieved within himself and it got to a stage where his voice even changed to a toneless, arguably more ‘manly’ one. Suddenly, whenever I spoke about Portugal and what Peter and I did I was shushed. Gustavo, Peter’s boyfriend was known as ‘Emily’ Peter’s girlfriend to friends and extended family and everyone carried on as if it was normal. In school, I was judged when I told my ‘friends’ about my brother and his boyfriend. I was met with taunts with words I had never encountered in Portugal such as ‘queer’ which I had an extreme hatred of. Suddenly, my world was turned upside down. Something that I saw as normal was now a secret and to my understanding, in Ireland at least, was wrong. I couldn’t understand it. The entire meaning of being a homosexual was drastically different in Ireland, that was a mere two and a half hours away from Portugal. I soon learned to go along with my families lies and continued to refer to Gustavo as ‘Emily’ not because I was ashamed but because it was what peter wanted. I’m not sure what was worse, the fact that society in Ireland on a whole felt homosexuals were different or that Peter now felt like he was different.

 

It’s four years on now and not much has changed. Peter is now happily engaged to his fiance Ross however, I am the only one who knows. Peter is too ashamed to openly tell his family and friends and Ross is an entire different story. His family disowned his brother in 2009 for coming out and he is too afraid to tell his friends as he fears he will be seen differently in his profession.  

 

With all of these thoughts running through my mind, the secrets, the lies, the stares and the taunts something clicked in my head and my eyes were wide open to the extent of Ireland’s prejudices. I began to think, if this is how the Irish culture views Irish people from their own land based on their sexual orientation, what sort of discrimination do they place upon other races in this country? Was I discriminated against in Portugal? Was I seen as a foreigner that should ‘go back to their own country’? Everyday, everywhere I went I saw people from various ethnicities; African, Chinese, Spanish, Korean, French and an overwhelming feeling of disappointment came over me. All this time I had worried about my own experience that I neglected to see the racism that surrounds Ireland in everyday life. You wouldn’t have to sit long in an Irish pub before you heard someone complaining that ‘they took our jobs’ or ‘they should go back to their own country’. These comments are taken lightly everyday by the Irish, however how does it make people from those countries feel? People who consider Ireland a home are being constantly told that it isn’t and that they should go back to theirs. Racism in Ireland is a topic that I feel a lot of the population is ignorant of due to the light heartedness towards most comments made. It needs to change. United, we can make magic. If we keep letting our differences separate us, we will never progress.

 

Ireland, in my eyes has a long way to come with regards to LGBTA rights something that I feel very strongly about but we have even further to go to combat racism in this country. I do not understand how people from one socio cultural group think they have the right to deem another group different due to their own differences from them. I believe being different makes a difference and that is why I encourage anyone who is reading this to get out there and vote yes to marriage equality in the upcoming referendum. We can combat discrimination together, one step at a time.