Police releasing Liverpool suspect's ethnicity was a sign of the times

The National

3 days ago

Before any details of the driver of the vehicle were made public, I must admit my mind went back to the heinous attack on young girls at a dance class in nearby Southport, which of course led to three of them losing their lives. We all know what happened after that due to very malicious misinformation posts on social media, many of them deliberately so. This whipped up a modern version of the old pitchfork mobs of history. Many participating were totally frenzied, racist, xenophobic and particularly Islamophobic, running riot in some towns and cities, mainly in England, but none at all in Scotland.
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So yes, I did think to myself, 'I hope this wasn't a terrorist attack, or by an asylum seeker of colour, any Muslim, whether British or not, or basically anyone of colour.' If it had been, I dreaded to think what the consequences might have been for all these folk in England.
Clearly the authorities thought the same, and the police quickly made a statement that the alleged perpetrator was white and lived locally, and that they were not treating it as a terrorist incident. Prior to this information there was still the usual malicious misinformation online, but the speed of the announcement seemed to quell any further problems.
I thought about the gripping fear these folk I've outlined must have experienced at the time, particularly the ones directly affected by last summer's race riots. Also, I could almost hear a massive collective sigh of relief that the alleged perpetrator was white!
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But hang on, this situation is utterly grotesque! Obviously there are wicked folk throughout the world of all creeds and colour, but you would never blame all the apples for one bad one. Well, not if you are white, of course!
The implication of what happened after the Southport attack is that many folk, whipped up into a frenzy not only by extreme right-wing agitators online and in communities but by far too many democratically elected politicians, are more than willing to mete out their righteous (as they see it) revenge on all individuals of colour.
We now have our very own topical story in Scotland in this respect. The recent Reform UK political advert which totally twisted comments made by Anas Sarwar was blatantly racist and John Swinney quite rightly agreed with this, as I would along with many right-minded folk.
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Anas had stated: 'The days where South Asian communities get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is now upon us' (I'm sure oor very ain Humza Yousaf agrees with this too!). However, Reform UK twisted this into a suggestion that Anas would prioritise Pakistani people and that only Reform UK would prioritise the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse (ie in the upcoming by-election). Such twisting of the facts by political parties – which could well lead to folk in the Pakistani community, not only in the Hamilton area but throughout Scotland, receiving abuse directly related to this and even worse, possibly physical harm – is just beyond the bloody pale! Why it isn't some sort of criminal offence is beyond me!
Returning to my original point, aside from those directly involved, probably not a single white person in the whole of the UK will suffer as a result of the recent attack in Liverpool. What would have been the backlash if he hadn't been white though, and particularly if he had been a Muslim? What very dark times we live in!
Ivor Telfer
Dalgety Bay, Fife