An example of being messed up in the head

I rarely write about news and current affairs, but today I make an exception. Following on from my previous post 'Things which mess you up in the head' a news story broke which provides a very clear example of what it means to be messed up in the head. I'm referring to the story involving Tory donor Frank Hester's comments about Labour MP Diane Abbott, Britain's first black female politician. So we're going to take an opportunity to examine what it means to be messed up in the head within the context of racism.

Before we go any further we need to read the offensive comments which are central to this particular news story.

Frank Hester also told colleagues at a meeting that Diane Abbott 'needs to be shot' and that he would like to see her shot.

Who are the main characters?

Frank Hester (pictured above) is the CEO of The Phoenix Partnership. The Phoenix Partnership works in the field of private healthcare and data sharing within the private healthcare system. It has recently taken on Government contracts worth £400 million.

Frank Hester is currently the most generous donor to the Conservative Party (Tories) which form the current Government. He has recently donated £5 million to the Conservatives for the upcoming General Election and made a similar donation of £5 million to the Conservatives last year.

It is not clear whether Frank Hester is a member of the Conservative Party. It is possible, because party donors are quite often paid up members of the political party they support and are often politically active within that party.

Diane Abbott is an elected Labour MP who has served the constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington in East London since 1987. She has served in the Opposition's Shadow cabinet as a Shadow Home Secretary. She is the first elected black female Member of Partliament and the longest serving black MP. She is also a very significant UK figure for black civil rights in the UK.

As a black female public political figure Diane Abbott has endured a sustained amount of racist and sexist abuse, death threats and threats of violence and harm throughout her political career from 1987.

The Government's response to this news story

Kemi Badenoch, who is another elected black female MP representing the constituency of Saffron Walden in Essex, is a minister in the current Government who serves as President for the Board of Trade and is also the current serving Minister for Women and Equalities. So far since the breaking of this story, which is still a major story in our media, has not spoken out publicly or given an interview to the media.

I'm not going to post photos as I have no wish to create a rogue's gallery, but I'm going to list the Government's response from what I have gleaned from the various news stories.

• The official spokesman for Rishi Sunak MP (Richmond, North Yorkshire), Prime Minister

  The official spokesman said that the comments were clearly 'unacceptable' but did not say whether the comments were racist.

• Mel Stride MP (Central Devon), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

  Mel Stride stated that 'it was clear that what he said was inappropriate' but also added 'I think the critical point here is I don't think that what he said was a gender-based or race-based comment, but it was clearly inappropriate'.

• Graham Stuart MP (Beverley and Holderness, East Yorkshire), Minister for Energy, Security and Net Zero

  Graham Stuart called the comments 'clearly reprehensible' and 'truly awful';

• Kwasi Kwarteng MP (black) (Spelthorne, Surrey), former Conservative Chancellor

  Kwasi Kwarteng said 'If he said what he is alleged to have said, I can't see how they're not racist comments.'He also said that 'saying thar an MP should be shot is clearly irresponsible' but added 'The game I don't want to play is to convict people before they've had a fair hearing… I'm not going to make any hypothetical'.

What I want to point out here is that the official Government response is based on calling Frank Hester's comments either 'unacceptable' or 'inappropriate. There is no official statement condemning the comments as racist. There is no official statement about the statement involving violence against an elected MP and public figure - please keep in mind that in recent years two serving MPs, Jo Cox (Labour) and Sir David Amess (Conservative) have been murdered. There has not been any investigation or statement on Frank Hester's relationship with the Conservative Party. There has been no action to return either of the £5 million donations nor any action or statement to withdraw The Phoenix Partnership from Government contracts.

I also want to point out that these comments were made back in 2019 at a meeting but were leaked to The Guardian newspaper. I also want to point out that at that time, Diane Abbott was serving as a Shadow Home Secretary in Jeremy Corbyn's opposition Labour government.

I invite you to draw your own conclusions here and remind you that you can leave comments on social media platforms where this is posted. You're also very welcome to share this blog post further.

My perspective and observations

I've got to be completely honest here, I'm not surprised by either Frank Hester's comments and clumsy apology or the way the Government has responded to the breaking of this news story.

Please keep in mind that that previously I have been politically active and a member of the local Labour Party in Wandsworth, I was briefly a member of George Galloway's Respect Party and served in the 2015 General Election as a Campaign Coordinator, but then moved onto the local Green Party where I was also a member. For three years since 2016 and 2019 I was the elected Officer for Equality and Diversity of the local Green Party in Wandsworth. I've also stood as a local elections candidate for the Green Party.

I'm not surprised because despite three decades of equality and diversity action and legislation - the Equality Act 2010 - there has been very little social progress in such areas. To varying degrees, white supremacy exists in all UK political parties. There's been a lot of statements, pronouncements and performative actions, mainly stimulated by the Equality Act, but this has barely made a dent in the lived experiences of many women, the vast majority of the black community, people with disabilities, and the LGBT community. These are traditional areas of inequality and prejudice. Today we have new areas of prejudice and discrimination, particularly anti-semitism, Islamophobia, and due to increased visibility and social awareness, transphobia.

Therefore while we have made a little progress, white supremacy is still acceptable enough in wider society to form an effective block on the growing number of social, environmental and political issues faced by many people in society. Therefore we still have a considerably long way to go.

To avoid writing another one of my very long blog posts I'm going to truncate my other observations and points in shorter bullet points. You're welcome to comment on social media sites where you see this post and also share your thoughts and perspective by e-mail or via the Contact page. All comments are very welcome.

• The Government could not have responded any other way than what it has.

  This applies to both major 'Establishment' political parties in the UK. The core basis of mainstream UK politics is Western individualism. There is a subtle difference between the two major parties, the Conservatives promote Western individualism from an individual perspective and Labour promote Western individualism from a collective perspective. This is a very subtle difference but irrespective of whether you get a Conservative government or a Labour government the core of their policy making decisions is based on Western individualism.

  Western individualism is based on a core belief in free will, a social hierarchy, social class, and a categorization of people in society into different categories and labels. I have written about this in my previous post and the implications of believing in free will, social privilege and a social hierarchy.

  The Government, which is the authority over the preservation of social values and thinking, presiding over education and the media, could not have responded differently without compromising it's core values as a political party. It should be different, it needs to be different, but it isn't different. The biggest obstacle to political change is the belief in political power. It is what it is.

• The persistent abuse of Diane Abbott is by no means unique

  UK society is still predominantly and fairly solidly white supremacist. Please pay attention to my use of the term white supremacist which unlike the more simplistic racism is far more multi-dimensional and involves in many cases intersectionality. As an example Frank Hester's comments were far more white supremacist due to the inherent sexism as well as racism. This is what makes the comments indefensible, and yet we find the Government struggling to defend the comments through the obvious use of mental gymnastics.

  Minority public figures, black, women, with disabilities, LGBT all receive amounts of abuse both online and offline. This is also prevalent in sport. Football (soccer) is currently struggling with both racism and sexism. Black football players are often racially abused while playing, though often by opposing fans who seem to accept black players in their team because they play for the team they support.

  But it's also important to understand that many people who identify as black, non white, Muslim, women and so on often do not receive comparable opportunities to become public figures or successful in certain career fields. As an example racism for most black people starts in childhood and persists throughout their lives as an integral part of their lived experiences of life. Even if you are black and British, it is assumed that you are an immigrant from some other country with a black population.

• There are 'good' Muslims and 'bad' Muslims

  I'm going to give you an example of intersectionality and just how nuanced white supremacy is - based on my observations - there are clearly 'good' Muslims, from Asia, Saudi Arabia, or who have lots of money. There are also 'bad' Muslims, i.e. those without money, asylum seekers, migrants, and so on.

  You can find many different nuances in perceptions of the black community. There is even a hierarchy of skin tone, where the lighter shade of brown you are the more acceptable, and the darker shade of brown or black, the less acceptable you are and the more acceptable the racism and white supremacy against such people.

• Condemnation doesn't liberate, it oppresses

  This is where I am choosing to insert my most controversial point. I'm not prepared to condemn Frank Hester as a human being. Please keep in mind that I am white and yes, I am also prepared to admit that in my past I have also been guilty of such bigotry as racism and sexism. To condemn Hester for his comments is to believe in the same free will and personal agency which lies at the very root of the issue here.

  In fact I still have times when I experience thoughts I would not want to reveal or which I would not be proud of. However I have developed enough social and environmental awareness to understand such thoughts are unacceptable, foolish, stupid, and toxic. Therefore I dismiss such thoughts and check my thinking to ensure that I don't come out with inappropriate bullshit.

  I also recognize the fact that part of my social programming and conditioning involved values white are white supremacist. This is my personal issue. I am still learning through a deliberate process of unlearning such attitudes though I would not claim to be completely non-racist. That's not my call to make. But it's down to me to make myself approachable and acceptable as an equal from the perspective of someone who is black or non-white. In all cases I see myself as an equal and ally to people who are different from me, and I would hope that others feel the same about me.

• As a white person whether you're white supremacist/racist or not isn't your call

  This is another perspective which has got me into trouble or for which I've received flak in the past.

  But there's a principle here. Let's bring to mind a court of law. Who determines the sentence for the murderer and rapist? The judge and jury? Or the murderer and rapist themselves.

  Words are powerful, very powerful. White supremacist is abuse. Racism is abuse, as is sexism. It is never acceptable. If you are an abuser you don't get to decide what is abuse and what isn't. That's the call of the victim or target for the abuse. I hope that makes this clear.

• The Prime Minister not calling this out is very telling.

  I think it was Martin Luther King Jr who said something about the complicity and silence from friends and allies does as much damage as the oppression.

  The same applies to political figures and political authority. Furthermore if a political leader doesn't call out such comments and reject white supremacy, that lack of rejection legitimizes the white supremacy attitudes, viewpoints and comments.

• When making a statement about others, you make a statement about yourself.

  This is why the apology and explanation comes across as insincere.

  Nobody else is calling Frank Hester a racist or white supremacist, because this is how he chose to define himself when making such comments. Life is all about relationship. Separateness is an illusion. Nothing defines you more as a human being as your actions and words addressed to other people.

That's enough from me and this is where I will conclude this ugly topic. Please feel free to comment as I'm interested in your perspectives.