Preventing Terrorism at Home - The View from Ground Zero.
A late contender for post of the year, this superb treatise on local racism, the decay and depression of outer-city housing estates and with it the potential for extremism, also contains a paragraph that gives me heart that permanently pulling up the tabloids on their bullshit, however many times you repeat yourself, is worth it:
Do go and read the whole thing.
The impulse to segregate was compounded by the messages that seemed to reinforce the idea that the treatment in Southmead reflected the mood and views of the rest of Britain. "Hundreds of thousands of migrants here for handouts, says senior judge". "Britain paying migrants £1,700 to return home BEFORE they've even got here" "The violent new breed of migrants who will let nothing stop them coming to Britain" These headlines were just three of many that were printed in the Mail, a right-wing daily during my time in Southmead. I don't usually take much notice of the headlines in the Sun and the Mail unless they are truly shocking, but in Southmead the headlines seemed to have an impact on the treatment we received. The level of low-level hostility from adults seemed to be directly linked to the content of the headlines. More outright hostility from younger adults and children followed a day or so later.
Do go and read the whole thing.
Labels: abuses by tabloids, links, racism, radicalisation
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Do the underclass read the Daily Mail ? Wouldn't have thought so.
Or does the hatred spread by osmosis, or some kind of noxious exhalation, as the plague was thought to spread in medieval times ?
Posted by
Laban |
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 1:31:00 PM
Perhaps not, but they might well read the Sun and the Star, which do much the same line in bitterness, biliousness and outrage.
Posted by
septicisle |
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 6:38:00 PM
I was so impressed by the piece I've blogged it myself - possibly with a slightly different take from yours ...
Posted by
Laban |
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 9:50:00 PM
You come from the A.N. Wilson school of thought I see...
Posted by
septicisle |
Tuesday, December 08, 2009 9:55:00 PM