From the great Greek scholars such as Aristotle and Plato through Karl Marx, philosophers and theorists through time have dreamt of a Utopian society. A society whereby which poverty, war and sickness cease to exist, whereby we are devoid of prejudice and racism. Society has come a long way in developing it’s attitudes to equality over the last few centuries but we are far from perfection, or reaching an enlightened state of acceptance and peace with ourselves and our neighbours.
In our multicultural society where Indian, afro-Caribbean, white and polish share the same supermarket and car parks; work for the same companies and enjoy the same restaurants and sporting activities – one would expect the matter of skin colour, religion or background to be of no consequence. Outwardly we appear integrated in the United Kingdom yet sadly this is far from the truth.
Blackburn footballer El Hadji Diouf recently became embroiled with the police and FA bosses after racist comments he made to a member of his team.. It is reported during an argument with a team member he spat “**** off white boy!â€
One would hope that the descendent of those who were subjected to persecution and enslaved would be more enlightened, yet no race has yet achieved a perfect state of equality and acceptance as of yet. Racism can come in many forms and from any culture as is prooved by opening any newspaper, turning on our television sets or simply walking down the street.
Even more shocking is the reaction Diouf has received from fans on the internet. The striker has received hate filled death threats and harassment since his outburst. The expression “two wrongs do not make a right†could never be more relevant.
These fans are flaming Diouf for showing his contempt for a white team member but at the same time are displaying exactly the same kind of aggressive and hostile attitude they are condemning. Without doubt Diouf was wrong to make these comments and whilst this type of behavior should not be condoned, the pubic should not be exempt from acceptable behaviour, nor see this as justification for violation.
One might hope that the police can trace these internet attackers – cowards hiding behind keyboards – and penalise them accordingly for hate crimes. As for Diouf let the FA bosses deal with the matter and lets hope he has seen the error of his ways.
And my final thoughts – let us all dream of a brighter future and a day when are beyond such negative human emotions. When colour, creed and class are of no consequenece. When we can live a truly peaceful existence without hate or prejuidice.
