The ‘Civilised’ West Needs To Do Some Soul-Searching

Earlier this week, a disturbing video emerged from the UK, in which a young Asian boy could be seen being kicked and punched while he lay defenceless on the floor of Manchester Airport. Most reports said that three Greater Manchester police officers were first assaulted – one of whom was left with a broken nose – and that this led to the police response. One officer has been suspended after the incident – which, by the way, the right-wing Reform Party took no time in politicising as it praised the police action. 

No national outrage followed the incident, barring some feeble debate about the alleged police brutality. Had a similar act been committed by an Indian police officer, the Western media would likely have judged the entire police force, emphasising India’s poor human rights records.

Akhmed Yakoob, the lawyer for the Asian boy, described it as police brutality against people from BAME (British Asian and minority ethnic) backgrounds. A few people took to streets to protest the police action as the incident reminded them of the George Floyd assault in 2020, which spurred the Black Lives Matter movement across the West.  

Racism, discrimination, and misogyny within Britain’s police forces are pervasive. Last year, after a year-long official review of London’s Met Police, reviewer Baroness Casey stated, “the force suffers from institutional racism, misogyny, and homophobia”, further adding that “it was time for the force not to be in denial about these deep-rooted issues”.

The Many Types Of Racism

Racism is not a feature limited to the police forces alone in the UK. Several recent official reports have highlighted racism in some premier British institutions, including the BBC, the armed forces, and various government offices. All of these are controlled primarily by White males. For non-Whites, reaching top positions in these institutions is next to impossible, and if at all that happens, it’s mostly just tokenism. Greg Dyke, former director-general of the BBC, famously said in 2001 that the media house was “hideously White”, highlighting the lack of diversity within its workforce at the time. His comment sparked a broader conversation about the representation of ethnic minorities in British media and other institutions. True, some improvements have been made since then, but not a lot.

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There is overt racism too, which comes alive during the 10 months of the football season (August-May) across Europe. I am a football fanatic and an avid follower of European club football; not only have I witnessed racism first-hand in and outside stadiums, but I have also been at the receiving end of it. After being called a “Paki” or a “chutney” on occasion,  I now prefer to watch matches on TV.

Even so, there is little guarantee you will be spared because you are watching the match in the company of your White mates. But even as I say so, I’ve managed to escape the worst of racism. Think of those Black players who suffer humiliation and inhuman treatment from fans of rival teams on a daily basis. Some call them “monkeys”, and throw bananas at them. 

Colonialism, Slavery and Subjugation

White, western racism has persisted for decades, even centuries. The Western hemisphere calls itself ‘civilised’, a notion perpetuated by media, writers, academics and leaders, who position themselves as champions of bringing ‘civilisation’ to third-world countries. One form of that ‘civilising’ role was donned by religious missionaries long ago, who believed the people outside of Christendom needed to be “led to the right path”.

Historical figures like Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill have espoused these ideas. The former’s The White Man’s Burden promoted this self-espoused ‘colonial duty’ to civilise colonised societies. Churchill once said, “I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia… by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race… has come in and taken their place.” Churchill, who is seen in India as racist and imperialist, is Britain’s – more specifically England’s national hero.

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More recently, Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, said in 2019, “We are the guardians of a civilisation that has been developed over millennia… We are the ones who have built the modern world, who have built the West, who have built the European Union. We are the ones who have written the rulebook of the world.” The statement does not only reflect Hungarian Prime Minister’s arrogance but also exposes him as an ignorant fool. Sadly, this arrogance is endemic in the West. 

Western Hypocrisy 

In this same context, the speech made by US President George W. Bush in November 2003 during his official visit to London was interesting. “The United States and Great Britain share a mission: to bring the values of freedom and democracy to the world… We will not be deterred. We will not be defeated. We will bring freedom and civilisation to the world,” he said. 

Bush’s comments came several months after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The two “civilised” nations, the US and the UK, had invaded a faraway country to civilise its people by implanting democracy there and imparting Western values. However, getting rid of weapons of mass destruction was the rationale presented to the world. The entire Western media jumped on to the ‘civilising’ narrative, completely disregarding their duty to question the real reason behind the invasion. Ultimately, no weapons of mass destruction were found. It was all a pack of lies, spread by the “most civilised country in the world”.

‘The Greatest, The Most Powerful’

Who can forget the gaffe by President Donald Trump – the commander in chief of the world’s deadliest military force and the President of the most powerful country – when he mistakenly claimed to have met the “President of the Virgin Islands”, not realising it was a U.S. territory? How can we expect Trump to know about the ancient civilisations of India, China, Syria and Egypt, when he isn’t sure of the geography of his own country? And yet, Trump once confidently stated in 2017, “We are the greatest country in the world. If you think about it, we are the greatest. We’re the greatest because of our values, because of our principles, because of our Constitution, because of our system of government, because of our economic system. We’re the greatest because we’re a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.”

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The West’s superiority complex and its fervid need to civilise others continue to shape attitudes and policies. The challenge is to recognise and dismantle these deep-seated prejudices. While Tuesday’s incident at Manchester Airport may not have the severity of some past events, it still is an example of systemic racism and the West’s inflated self-image poisoning institutions. These issues require continuous scrutiny and action to foster a more equitable society. Indeed, several laws have been passed in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and things have got better compared to where we stood in the 20th century. But legislation is barely enough. One needs to change the mindset, right from schools and police forces to media houses and private institutions.

(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a London-based senior Indian journalist with three decades of experience with the Western media)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author