Thump! The sound of a government-commissioned 258-page report on racism in the UK hitting tables yesterday. Smack! The sound of a slap landing on the poker faces of the perpetrators of this piece of pernicious propaganda. Well, the slap didn’t happen, but it should have, repeatedly. It would have been deserved, repeatedly.
Continue reading “Govt Race Report Thinks Racism Doesn’t Exist – WTF?!”Racism – I tell you what it is, how it’s done and where you can get some. Plus how to install it in your car. Actually none of that is true…. well most of it’s not true. But there will be a bit of race in this discourse, and I don’t mean on the track… or the road for that matter.
Continue reading “BrownCarGuy – Is It Racist?”A few days ago, Motoring Middle East, which is an automotive news media channel across YouTube and social media platforms, but based in Dubai, celebrated its 9th birthday. Why is that significant? Because in 2011, along with Imthishan Giado, I co-founded ‘MME’, as we came to call it.
Continue reading “From LJK Setright to BrownCarGuy”
The automotive internet is in a justified furore over a comment apparently made by Petrolicious founder, Afshin Behnia on his Facebook page. I’ve found what purports to be a screen grab – you’ll notice I’m using my words carefully because I did not see the post myself and it appears to have been subsequently deleted. In any case it’s gone viral. In it he appears to describe the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement as ‘domestic terrorism’.
Continue reading “Petrolicious: Drive Racially?! This is NOT okay.”
There was a blackout on the web yesterday – around 30 million black squares posted on #BlackOutTuesday to saturate social media with one crucial message: #BlackLivesMatter.
It was surreal and heart-warming, and sent out a much-needed message of solidarity that was unprecedented in its scope and sentiment.
Continue reading “Was the virtual blackout enough?”
When I was growing up in Islington in the 1970s, my brown skin steadily thickening in response to regular racist abuse of some kind or another, I was always inwardly overly ecstatic whenever I had the rather rare opportunity to interact with another brown person (who was not a relative or family friend). ‘Brother from another mother!’ my inner voice would cry out in barely restrained rejoice.
Continue reading “2020 – Enjoy a year of diversity, not divisiveness”
It’s going to take at least a decade for this cycle of prejudice, fear, resentment and hate to run its course. That’s if there isn’t a World War first of course. In which case we’ll all be dead soon anyway.
Trump’s election is being compared to the rise of fascism and Hitler in Germany. But Trump and Brexit are the symptoms of the same social malaise – frustration, helplessness, resentment and hopelessness brought about by the apocalyptic economic avalanche of 2007, that’s still reverberating today – perhaps moreso than ever this year in particular.
I wish to share with you the fact that I’ve recently had some rather positive feedback on YouTube – and the reason this is significant is because such an event is usually a rare and momentous occasion!
When I was a kid my parents told me that I was unique, different and better. They lied. Of course they did.
Continue reading “No pigeonholes please, I’m not of a feather”
