The world wasn’t born yesterday, it is made up of a lot of struggles and pain and families and people who trust each other.

What happened twenty years ago can be relevant to what goes on now. We are communicating in a language which has evolved over at least a thousand years. I was down Brick Lane ten minutes ago talking, in Syhleti, to people for whom the 1970s shaped the Bangladeshi world they live in.

It was their battle against the racism of the state and the National Front. You denigrate their struggle. But of course you do not know about it.

Halima Ji, the time has come for the truth! Otherwise the history will be the ridiculous ” New East End” from the those well know fantasists the Young Foundation! I will, write my bit if you will start writing yours.

I think it should be a compi
lation of the memories of those involved.
Dheka Hobey.

Sunny, get a Bengali opotion on the site, I can’t express myself “proper” in Ingrez.

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.

Billarcaydickey

Hope to be back in the summer for a bit so will call you! But let me email you for a proper catch up.

Its like the early 70s all over again.

While I give the fullest respect to those who fought the good fight back then, its time to move on like the rest of the world has. The fight is different, you’ll need a different sort of debate to win it.

Respect is collapsing with defections to Labour and the Tories and the left simply cannot understand what went wrong in just two years. They should have taken a course on village politics instead of reading Trotsky.

When are you back? I might do Bangladesh this coming winter, Abbas has a flat in Syhlet town that he keeps empty for people who want to use it.

Yes, discussion tactics are different.

I just think, though, we’re actually on the same side ( broadly speaking) when it comes to anti-racism – including the post above. The side that’s concerned with giving young people, whatever their backgrounds, a decent future.

The white working classes are now dis-enfranchised- and I personally feel that I would be racist if I couldn’t contend with the fact that many indigenous white people feel alienated and that they have missed out of the economic prosperity that the country had enjoyed over the past decade. If we can’t accept this notion are we any different to the rightists who couldn’t understand why black people were rioting in Brixton, Toxteth and Lozells a couple of decades ago?

The issue is central to this discussion about Ray Lewis. He has been providing what is reputedly a good intervention to deal with the slippery slope of exclusion of young black men. Why then Indrak (#27) is it right wing politics to suggest that some young white people are facing discrimination – though accept the issues are not the same as people of minority ethnic/faith. I have not seen the precise comments made by billaricaydickey on this— but contend that too often administrations of both political persuasions have treated deprivation, poverty and causes of crime with disdain and as a political football- to clamber for votes and not to necessarily deal with the real issues. These are issues that are affecting white working classes disproportionately – lack of strategies and effective outcomes in my eyes is discrimination.

Thatcher tried to buy votes with ‘right to buy’ and Labour has just forgotten about the real issues of their faithful supporters who had voted for them whether in opposition or power. Just take a look at how much money has been invested in social housing estates – other than on housing- and you realise how the wider issues have been ignored – how many of the grand regeneration schemes have gone to outer city rather than inner-city estates with large BME communities? In my area the answer was none until the BNP started to have a showing in the ballot box. And for me that is too little too late –it is not a responsible policy but a politically responsive ‘save our seats’ strategy.

Instead the powers that be continue to suck upto the politics of separation vis-a-vis Sharia Law or positive discrimination (which is discrimination- however you look at it) and further give credence to the persuasive arguments of the BNP to the indigenous white voter – that mainstream politics is ignoring them and their issues.

BTW – in case anybody wants to second guess or jump to conclusions – last time I checked I was not a white supremacist BNP frog-marcher!

Yes I figured as much. I have respect for Bill on that basis, but he has some bizarre discussion tactics. I met Nick Lowles the other day at a Compass event, so I’m assuming that’s how Bill knows about my changed stance re: the BNP.

I never knew that. Thanks for telling us.

Leaving aside the argument, he’s not a lunatic. He’s been engaged with anti-racism for quite some time – and clashed with the National Front and Combat 18 head on many times in Brick Lane – and helped many British-Bangladeshi families in East London fight racism. He’s helped homeless families squat into disused council housing, including my own family, in the the late 1970s. And still works for Searchlight.

When I say fight racism, I don’t mean making a speech wearing a suit as I might these days, but he was on the front line fighting Combat 18.

The reference to your son (comment #20) has been removed.

On a lighter note, this discussion has reminded me of how much I enjoyed Boris winning.

billaricaydicky:

Any more references to people’s families, whatever they might or might not have done, and we will have to consider barring you.

“Am I missing something here? Why would the Church of England want to attempt to smear anyone?”

Lee just gave us the answer: it’s open season on blacks. And it makes a lot of sense, like in a murder mystery, the perpetrator is always the one you least suspect. I mean, who would have thought that the Church of England would smear a perfectly innocent man?

Happy to have debate but this man is a lunatic. Please remove references to my family. Let the rest stand if you must but this comment is beyond the bounds of reasonable political debate.

Lee