Over her har vi et symbol på hvit overlegenhet.
Komisk eller tragisk? Trolig begge deler. Det er rett og slett ingen grenser for hva som er rasistisk og elitistisk for tiden. Noen hevder at "woke," forstått som en militant og ensporet bevegelse for å kansellere, kaste ut og gi sparken til alle som på de mest utenkelige måtene har sagt noe som strider mot læresetningene, er på retur. Men kanskje ikke. Det er bra å være mot rasisme og andre -ismer som stempler og utestenger folk på basis av irrelevante egenskaper, men det er ikke bra å være ensporet, fordømmende og utagerende i sin selvtilfredse jakt på synderne. Denne heksejakten minner ikke så lite om, vel, jakten på hekser for rundt fire hundre år siden, og jakten på avvikere i alle totalitære regimer. Det "woke" jeg og mange andre reagerer på er dette siste, og det mangler ikke på absurde utslag.
Noen av disse absurde utslagene er samlet av Michael Deacon i Daily Telegraph, og gjengitt av meg under her.
Les og måp!
Astrophysics. “Astrophysics ‘Steeped in Systemic Racism
and White Supremacy,’ Says Colorado College Science Professor”, Fox News
website, January 2023.
Ballet. “Dance School Drops Ballet from Auditions
as it is ‘White’ and ‘Elitist’”, Telegraph,
July 2022.
Cutlery. “Knives and Forks? Sorry, They’re Racist,
Says Chef”, Daily Mail, July 2021.
Dieting. “The Racist Roots of Fighting
Obesity”, Scientific American magazine, June 2020.
Eye-rolling. “Rolling Your Eyes is Racist – Nod Your
Head Instead, Civil Servants Told”, Telegraph,
January 2024.
Fireworks. “National Geographic Tweet
Suggests July 4 Fireworks Are Racist”, New York Post, July 2021.
Gardening. “Weeding Out Horticulture’s Race
Problem”, Guardian, June 2020. (Subhead: “Even in the garden,
there’s bigotry to be found.”)
Helmets. “How US Helmet Laws Are Used Against
Cyclists of Colour”, Guardian, April 2021.
Insects. “Scientists Ask Americans to Help Change
Racist Insect Names”, Newsweek, July 2021.
Jingle Bells. “Jingle Bells Rooted in
Racism, Boston University Professor Says”, Fox News, December 2017.
Killing parakeets. “Parakeet Cull is Racist – They’re as
British as Curry, Say Experts”, Evening Standard, October 2009.
Libraries. “Ivy League Librarian Says Libraries
Reinforce White Supremacy”, US newspaper The Hill, May 2021.
Milk. “Cow’s Milk a Symbol of White Supremacy,
Peta Claims”, CBS News website, October 2018.
Numeracy. “Focusing on the Correct Answer in Maths
‘is Racist’”, Times, May 2021.
Opera. “Opera Can No Longer Ignore Its Race
Problem”, New York Times, September 2020.
Punctuality. “Expecting People to Be On Time is Part of
‘White Supremacy Culture,’ Duke Medical School Claims”, New York Post,
July 2024.
Queen Elizabeth II. “Queen Elizabeth Represented Racist
Violence as Much as She Did Glamour”, BuzzFeed News, September
2022, the day after the late monarch’s death.
Remembrance
poppies. “How the Poppy
Became a Symbol of Racism”, Independent, November 2016.
St George’s flag. “One in Eight Labour Voters Says St
George’s Flag is ‘Racist and Divisive’”, Daily Express, April 2024.
Tipping. “Tipping Perpetuates Racism, Classism and
Poverty – Let’s Get Rid of It”, US news website Vox, July 2014.
University
exams. “Now University
Exams Are Attacked for Being ‘Colonialist’”, Mail, June 2024.
Veganism. “Why So Many White Supremacists Are Into
Veganism”, Vice, October 2017.
White people. “Of Course All White People Are
Racist”, Guardian opinion column, July 2002.
X. “Guardian Quits X Social
Media Platform, Citing Racism and Conspiracy Theories”, Reuters, November 2024.
Yoga. “Americans Who Practise Yoga ‘Contribute
to White Supremacy’, Claims Michigan State University Professor”, Independent,
January 2018.
Zombies. “The Racist History of Zombies,” ABC
Australia website, March 2016.
Sadly, however, I’ve
run out of space to mention Alice
in Wonderland, Body Mass Index, the
countryside, dating apps, the Enlightenment, the
four-day week, gun control, house prices, interior design, jogging, King
Kong, lavatories, moccasins, nuclear weapons, Of Mice and Men,
photography, the computing term “quantum
supremacy”, Robinson Crusoe, swimming, theme parks, The
Ugly Duckling, vineyards, the “wellness” industry, X-rays, yearbooks and
zoology.
Come to think of it,
that’s a second A-Z. Perhaps next time I’ll do a third.