Express and ‘ethnics’: Now the veil has gone
Previously, I've talked about racism so thinly veiled that you can hardly see it with regard to Richard Desmond's Daily Express and Daily Star.
Now the veil has gone.
'Ethnics' is such a 1970s word, dripping with contempt. It's not the first time that Richard Desmond's Daily Express has used it:
'Ethnics and women' lumped together in that delightful front page splash from June 2008. But to have it slap bang in the centre of the front page, as if there's nothing wrong with it at all, is one step further down the road to out-and-out racism. This has gone beyond dog whistles. This is not about a nudge and a wink any more - Richard Desmond's Express and Star leave that kind of subtle signposting to the Daily Mail, who are more than capable.
No, this is what it is. Leave aside that we're all 'ethnics' of one mongrel sort or another; this makes it quite clear what's going on. There are whites and there are 'ethnics'. How much more explicit does it have to be before we start calling it what it is?
And what image does the Express use to illustrate its vile story online?
Of course. Women with their faces covered - veiled more discreetly than the racism on the Express front page, ironically enough. But it's clear what's going on: this is all about fear.
It's the same story we've seen countless times before: panic about the population, with an added dose of pressing whitey's worry buttons by saying 'black and Asian families' will move out of inner-city areas (hey, some of them even have dared to get out of their enclaves already!) and move into the suburbs and countryside.
And of course it's all about pressing to 'curb immigration' in Richard Desmond's world. Someone whose family was once immigrants, and maybe described as 'ethnic' themselves, now quite happy to peddle this kind of thing on his front page to try and go for the racist market. And don't worry, there's a quote from Sir Andrew Green of MigrationWatch. Phew! Just when you thought there'd be a story without a quote from him, no bother, there he is. (Sometimes I wonder if the Express just ring him up about every story to be on the safe side.)
There is no veil any more.
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July 13th, 2010 - 09:17
Excellent post, as always. The Express’ article says that ‘other whites’ (from Europe, Australia, US) will be fasted growing group – yet they’ve gone with the picture of the Muslims anyway.
July 13th, 2010 - 09:28
Who’s advertising on the pages adjacent to that story? I think it might be time they got some letters about whether they want their brand associated with BNP-level racist tripe.
July 13th, 2010 - 09:46
Wish I’d screengrabbed it; last night the story online was accompanied by a close-up shot of a British passport being checked, I was…well I don’t want to say surprised…disappointed to find that this morning they’d switched it for that.
July 13th, 2010 - 09:54
The Express stopped pretending to be not racist back in 2007 in ‘Ethnic baby Boom Crisis’.
In that one, the paper claimed Sheffield Council were having to introduce emergency measures because the number of ‘ethnic’ babies being born meant there would be riots.
Guess what? It was bollocks.
July 13th, 2010 - 09:55
At the time, I came up with this graphic that I had started to think was a bit childish until today.
July 15th, 2010 - 11:22
Nice one – years ago I did a DAILY HEIL mock-up for a spoof news website I co-wrote. Never ended up using it, wish I had now…
On the main subject – Christ, I’m depressed now. Generally, I avoid looking at newspaper frontpages nowadays because they’re so rancid, but this one really takes the biscuit.
July 13th, 2010 - 09:56
Great post.
Two things stand out for me…
1. The idea that ‘ethnics’ place is in the inner cities, which is a disgusting thing to say
2. They seem to report it in a way to suggest that ‘ethnicity’ is taking over, like swine flu. It’s almost identical to say “1 in 5 will catch swine flu by Christmas”
I suppose they can get away with it, at elast as far as the PPC is concerned, since it doesn’t offend an indiviual who can complain about it.
July 13th, 2010 - 10:52
Offtopic somewhat, but here’s something that’ll gladden the heart.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10611110.stm
July 13th, 2010 - 11:55
That’s a wonderful piece of news.
July 13th, 2010 - 11:10
I’d stopped blogging about stuff like this, but then on the way to work I saw a furious man in the street holding the paper out and jabbing it with his finger, shouting at the women who were with him “This shouldn’t have happened! This shouldn’t have happened”. He’d been made furious about ‘the ethnics’ by the Express. I think irresponsible racist headlining like this has such a damaging effect on race relations, I ended up having to write about this time.
July 13th, 2010 - 12:21
Indeed it has gone.
All that’s left for them to do is run a headline to the effect of “Die Araber sind unsere unglück”.
July 13th, 2010 - 13:09
Checked again the PCC code of conduct and I’m not sure under which section a complaint could be made, maybe section 1 – accuracy.
Just wonder how far this goes to justify a charge of inciting racial hatred?
July 13th, 2010 - 13:53
If I remember correctly I’m pretty sure that when the BBC went undercover inside the BNP they filmed their deputy leader at a meeting in Leeds pledging to send “the ethnics back”. It really is as openly disgraceful as that.
July 13th, 2010 - 14:50
I see that not only do they assume that ‘ethnics’ = immigrants and ‘muslims’ = ‘ethnics’ when of course neither is necessarily true.
July 13th, 2010 - 17:13
(lets retype that)
I see that they assume that ‘ethnics’ = immigrants and ‘muslims’ = ‘ethnics’ when of course neither is necessarily true.
July 13th, 2010 - 17:27
At least they’ve conceded that ethnics can be Britons. That’s more than we’ve got from the Mail of late.
July 14th, 2010 - 01:41
Fuck the ethnic’s I say, in fact, as well as fucking, I always find its good talking to the ethnic; they usually have something positive to say. In further fact, I reckon just about every person I’ve ever met has been ethnic of some variety or other – so much so, even the natives can’t decide which tone of brown is the best to purchase – so I reckon the Express highlights a major factual bullcrap. The UK is pretty much 5 in 5 for ethnic’s. But the Express Daily Star of the Mail clearly refuse to understand language, or culture or history or facts or reality, but hey… I’ll take a Pepsi/IndianFizzPop challenge with any right-wing fear-merchant over the genetic make-up of this racially unpure ‘nation’…
July 15th, 2010 - 13:29
Years ago a middle aged man I was standing next to in WH Smith was puce with anger at a headline in the Daily Mail. ‘Look at that, that’s disgusting, what a world, we’re all going to hell in a handbasket’ etc etc. I looked at the headline and it was indeed disgusting so I replied that you don’t get much else but disgusting in the DM and that maybe he should buy a proper newspaper. Or the Daily Mirror at least.
I have to say I don’t think he understood my meaning. Ah well.