Meinungsfreiheit rechtfertigt keinen Rassismus

England hat dieselben Probleme mit Fremdenfeinden wie die Schweiz und Deutschland – dabei benutzen die Fremdenfeinde dort dieselben Methoden zur Rechtfertigung, agieren vor demselben Hintergrund und so kommt es zu derselben absurden Debatte, in der Rassismus plötzlich als "Meinungsfreiheit" gelobt wird und sich die Rechtsradikalen als verfolgte Märtyrer aufspielen. Der einzige Unterschied: Was bei uns vor allem die "Musels" sind, sind dort häufig auch die "Neger". In seiner Auseinandersetzung mit dem Publizisten Rod Liddle, einem britischen Gegenstück zu unserem Thilo Sarrazin und dem helvetischen Roger Köppel, berichtet Lee Jasper:

In today’s increasingly intolerant racial climate its open season on black young people and this article has sparked widespread debate by other white people who feel they can no longer speak the "truth" as they see it. Freedom of speech is used as a justification to allow racism to remerge in public debate. Just look at the online comments and judge for yourself.

One can dismiss the Liddle article as a desperate attempt by a fading journalist to court public controversy. Clearly the man is a joke and Liddle’s credibility has sunk so low he is reduced to a small fan base of inbred racists, demented fascists and assorted lunatics.

However while he can easily be dismissed, the article reflects a growing trend among some white middle class men who believe that they have no voice. The loss of economic status and empire, the consequences of the war in the Middle East, 9/11 has resulted in white men in Britain feeling threatened. And when they feel threatened they become increasing hostile to those they see as being in part responsible for their feelings of powerlessness. This partly explains the appeal of the resurgent BNP a sense of national melancholia for a ‘glorious’ past.

Liddle’s comments reflect a growing trend in political debate. Dismissing claims of racism as overblown and decrying the benefits of multiculturalism has become a national sport. This is not a new phenomena, scapegoating black people has accompanied most economic recessions. It’s a form of white hysteria that becomes more acute when the economy nosedives. Lets not be fooled, attacking multiculturalism is a Trojan horse for the ongoing project rehabilitation of range of racist ideas. In this case, he is revisiting that old chestnut that “all black people are criminals.”