The Runnymede Trust’s report on Race and Elections tells us that one of the groups least likely to register to vote is those of mixed heritage. They are relatively young; they move around – not least to study; and of all the things they have to do, registering to vote isn’t a massive priority. Undoubtedly, that will change.
Still, the growing number of mixed-heritage Brits – 1.2 million now, the biggest single increase of any group in the 2011 census – will give rise to all sorts of recalculations. Nigel Farage might reconsider his terminology. Last week, he boasted of a member who was “half-black”.
An acquaintance, white British, went into an east London electrical store the other day. She owns a flat and, before renting it on the private market, needed to buy appliances. “My last tenant left without warning and took the appliances with them,” she explained to the middle-aged south Asian man behind the counter. “Was he black?” he demanded. “I’m sorry?” she said, assuming a miscommunication. “Was he black?” asked the vendor again. “I bet he was.”
“Well done,” she said, realising that there had been no misunderstanding and that the vendor was serious about his racism. “You’ve just cost yourself hundreds of pounds in sales.” She left to find a store where the banter is less poisonous. Truly an unwise sales pitch to a woman with a black British husband and mixed-race children.
What was good about this? One, the fact that she refused to play along with his bigotry and made it clear that it would cost him in a tangible way, through the loss of hundreds of pounds to his business. And two, that she shut down his secret space. He felt comfortable dissing black people because he is Asian, she is white and he did not believe there was any interested party present who might raise an objection. I know plenty of disinterested parties who would also have raised a voice, so he was always taking a bit of a gamble, particularly in London.
But with all those mixed-race Britons – beloved by friends and relatives – his expectation that casual racism would find spontaneous complicity was self-destructive at worst, unwise certainly. Welcome to the multicultural version of mystery shopping; these days, you never really know who you’re talking to. Best keep the bigotry to yourself.
