Well done Lawrence Fox!

trisher you mean as you denied the anti semetic wall mural? You said it was not anti semetic

If I as a straight woman said something wasn’t homophobic and a gay person said to me that it was and that my perspective was informed by the fact I was straight, I wouldn’t be so bloody arrogant as to say they were wrong. I’d listen to them and reflect on it. As I’ve said elsewhere on GN there are nuances in racism, sexism, homophobia etc that those most affected negatively by them are much more attuned to and aware of. It’s the height of white privileged to ascertain you understand racism - the irony of that is astonishing. It’s one reason I won’t have any transwoman go unchallenged when she tells me she knows what it likes to feel like a woman.

Oh yes he was. He didn't say "I don't think it's racism" he said "It's NOT racism" if you are telling someone they are competely wrong that's accusing them.
I wish people would take a little time to understand how deeply racism is entrenched in this country. How colonialism effectively wiped out any reference to the culture and traditions of other societies and how that is our legacy. How our whole upbringing has been based on white Christian traditions and their supremacy. Until we all consider this and question things we are effectively racist (and I include myself in this). It's not enough to think I am friendly to my neighbour and he/she is black, you have to think more carefully and consider your responses every time. It isn't easy but denying that is wrong. That's what Lawrence Fox did and that's why he is racist. By the way try replacing the word racist in that conversation with anti-semitic and then consider how Fox would have come across.

You’ve shifted your ground Baggs. What was wrong or accusatory in her saying that his perspective of racism is informed by white privilege? Of course it is - how could it not be?

Baggs Harry is privileged, wealthy, white , same as Lawrence
Fox, so he can’t understand racism can he ?

Audience woman was accusatory. LF was not.

Where did Harry come in?

A truly thinking person is always aware of the limitations of their understanding of anything.

Not sure that audience woman was aware of such. I don't think she showed any understanding of the fact that there will always be a range of opinions that she won't like but which are still 'valid' whether one agrees with them or not.

Harry doesn’t know what he is talking about , no surprise

Okay, susie. I get the point addressed to me but not the one addressed to anniebach. Why can't a privileged white male unspderstand racism? He moght never feel it but people are capable of understanding feelings they have never had themselves. See empathy and sympathy.

A truly thinking person is always aware of the limitations of their understanding of anything.

It's simply not true that people who aren't white cannot be racist. That's not to say most are, but some are, just as some white people are, but in both cases it's a minority.

If no-one had mentioned Meghan's parentage I wouldn't have noticed she is 'technically' black. She's also technically white. I actually don't care and I don't think most other people do either.

Yes

Baggs the woman in the audience did not call him a racist. She said his perspective was informed by his position of white privilege. What’s not true about that? My view of sexism is informed by the fact I’m a woman.

suzie are you saying’being white’ makes him unable to understand racism ?

Is saying "It's not racism" over and over making a valid point?

Yes, if that's his opinion.

I think there are quite a lot of people who don't think it is because of racism that Meghan wants to live in Canada again. There are quite a lot of people who think racism might have something to do with it but it's not the whole story. And there are those who think racism is the cause of all evil and that all even mildly right-wing people are racist bastards.

The woman in the audience was being racist towards LF. Why? Because the definition of racism is judging someone because of the colour of their skin. Think Martin Luther King if you're doubtful of that.

Or, tell me what you think the definition is nowadays.

Oh and quite stupid

Good for Lawrence Fox. I do hope a lot more people will start to speak out about this PC nonsense. This country seems to be getting so narrowminded and bigoted.

Being white

Question time really needs to be put out of its misery, its just awful these days.

Good point, Anniebach

Very confusing, what makes him unable to understand racism

His schooling, his family, his money , he is white ?

If all these how can Harry speak of racism?

I saw a clip of this and heard some re-played on the radio. No surprises but I'm absolutely with Doodledog, trisher and others on seeing Fox as a middle aged, middle class man who grew up in a very privileged environment. He came over (not for the first time) as a man in denial of the benefits that come automatically to men born into a life like his. Sense of overwhelming entitlement .

The women allegedly works for the BBC it’s all over “twitter”

I don't think that people are opposed to MM because she is mixed race. I remember when she first appeared on the scene peoples' reactions were generally favourable, for a number of reasons. I think that she/they have attracted a bad press because of they say one thing (ie about travel) and do the opposite. I remember seeing some footage of her sitting next to the Queen and chatting to her. She was laughing and the Queen was smiling and I thought how happy the Queen looked.

Racism is sometimes difficult to understand. We lived in Brixton during the riots in a mixed race road. In the aftermath, walking home from work I passed teenagers sitting on a wall and I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't know them, or their parents but I wondered whether to say hello. It wouldn't have occurred to me had they been white. Was I being racist? I don't know.

Our neighbour at the time was black and we got on well with him and his family. The cultural differences were mainly to do with gardens. Our back garden was paved with large borders. His was beaten earth with some chickens and he grew veggies. In the front garden we had a honeysuckle growing up the wall and along the side and front fences. One day I looked out and he was slicing through the growth vertically with a machete and this cut through the lateral stems. I asked him not to do it on that fashion and explained why. Where he originated they had rain every day and the undergrowth went berserk and it was attacked with a machete.

After the rioting his attitude towards us changed and he was quite suspicious until we mentioned how badly the police had been behaving in Brixton at that time. After that conversation normal relations resumed.

Apologies for going slightly off piste.