Racism, intent, and diversity in television advertising | Reform UK
The ‘now you see it, now you don’t’, ‘was it or wasn’t it’ Racism in recent days is not new, but it is deeply frustrating and damaging (Nigel Farage defends MP’s complaint about TV adverts as ‘ugly’ but not ‘deliberately’ racist, October 27). It turns racism into prejudice that seeps in, unwittingly, from clumsy words.
Similar excuses were made after Frank Hester said that Diane Abbott “makes you want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, and after Robert Jenrick complained about not seeing “another white face” during his tour of part of Birmingham. Both said their statements had nothing to do with skin color.
The sad truth is that racism is not limited to avowed Nazis who intentionally advocate white supremacy. Racism is widespread and affects everyone. Most white people, like me, have said racist things with varying degrees of intent. Denying it only preserves it. As American civil rights activist James Baldwin long ago pointed out, when it comes to racism, “it is innocence that constitutes the crime.”
Rod Earl
Shalford, Surrey
It is possible to put a generous interpretation on the comments of UK reform MP Sarah Bushin about “advertising that is full of black people, full of Asian people”. In light of the question posed to her about “demographics”, she might say that she was not objecting to black and brown faces per se, but to the fact that their frequency in advertising did not match the UK population.
But why do you say it “drives me crazy”? Why is it important to her that the proportion of black and Asian faces in ads does not exceed that of the population? Is it some sort of obsession with mathematical precision or is it something else? She still has a lot of explaining to do.
Richard Norman
Canterbury
For some of us, Sarah Beauchene’s objection to the number of black and Asian people appearing on television seems like a terrifying event. Broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy made the same complaint 22 years ago (“There are too many blacks on TV,” says Ludovic Kennedy, September 25, 2003).
Coming from a respected liberal, it was doubly shocking, but that it is now coming from an unsurprising source is no less troubling. For Black and Asian people, this is evidence that inclusion is always conditional, always contested; It’s always an issue where contentment can suddenly wither and instead feel complacent — whether at the insinuation, raise of an eyebrow, or shouting of racist comments.
Paul McGilchrist
Cromer, Norfolk
I think Sarah Beauchene failed to understand how advertising works. All companies want to attract the largest audience, so they include a diverse demographic in their advertising. So of course we will see in advertisements a greater proportion of black and Asian families than what actually exists in society. It’s not some kind of conspiracy, Sarah. Mathematics only.
Jackie White
Whitstable, Kent
Can Nigel Farage tell us what kind of racist comment represents the tipping point that could lead to him being expelled from his party?
Peter Brooker
West Wickham, London