“You have to take yourself out of the conversation — it’s not about you — and truly think about society, structurally, economically, as a whole.” — Munroe Bergdorf.
I’m fortunate enough to have not been in many circumstances that have led to a moral dilemma about whether I should speak up, or remain silent. I have, however, had instances where I’ve regretted how I acted, or more embarrassingly, how I didn’t when put in a situation where I could either benefit from my selfishness or stand against what I knew was wrong.
Recently I have done both of these. I was in a conversation about a month ago where prejudiced things were said and, due to my fears and personal relationships, stayed complicit and didn’t report it. I was terrified of the consequences for both myself and the person who said it. It took me a whole month to realise the severity of what was said.
During the month leading up to my friends and I reporting the incident, I was constantly in fear that it would happen again. It was not until we spoke to other people about it that the severity and the impact came to light and we realised how ignorant we had been.
Racism, sexism, transphobia etc is never acceptable and many people believe that because they aren’t, for example, racist or saying things that class as homophobic this means they are not part of the problem and therefore hold no responsibility for the societal divides many people still have to endure. This is not true. To solve the problem, you must be able to call it out; every time.
This point has been championed many times in recent years but most publicly and controversially by Munroe Bergdorf — a black, queer, transgender model and activist from the UK. In 2017, she came out as saying that “All white people are racist”, a statement which divided the nation and enraged many people (99% of them being white, obviously). Probably the most enraged individual was the cobwebs-for-brains Piers Morgan who interrogated Bergdorf about it first thing in the morning on Good Morning Britain. She explained that all people in a position where they are privileged (white people for example) are part of the problem of racism if they do not actively do anything to combat it. In simple terms, the more that those who are free from discrimination allow it to continue, the longer it will take to build a society where it is rarely seen. Bergdorf’s ideas about privilege and race are very interesting yet understandable and something many people are still very upset about despite her explaining that it isn’t a personal problem, but a societal one. I have included the link to the interview below and I highly recommend you watch it.
Watching back this infuriating interview before reporting the incident I was a witness to make me realise that it needed to be brought to the attention of people with more influence than myself. Essentially, if I kept quiet any longer, I would be agreeing with Piers Morgan, as well as allowing someone who had said unforgivable things to get away with it and face no consequences or repercussions. As of right now, it is being dealt with and I’m so pleased that my friends and I came to a conclusion to report it. I’ve learned an extremely valuable lesson from this situation and in the future will never allow anything like this to slip through the net.
Complicity is just as bad as engaging in discrimination. Watching from the sidelines as something happens and not helping is nothing to be proud of. Reject complicity and instead embrace what you know is right, even if you think that you might receive backlash from those involved. Don’t allow prejudice of any kind to continue with no consequences.
By Felix Wiseman
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