... In the same debate, I saw the ugliest side to the
European Parliament. We saw racism on that day, the first time I've been
confronted with racism in a very long time. A Polish MEP described black people
as n***ers and n****s, comparing the millions of unemployed young people to the
southern United States.
We were all stunned by the speech and I wondered at
first whether I had misheard. But the 'n word' kept on coming. UKIP's Jim Carver
MEP was the first to react with cries of "shame on you" and the rest of us took
to booing. Incredibly, the president of the session seemed unperturbed and would
have moved straight to the next speaker had there not been uproar in the
chamber.
Racism is a serious word. It is a serious allegation
and not one which should be taken lightly. And in modern society, there are few
more serious charges that can be levelled against anyone, but I use the word
advisedly to describe what happened in the European Parliament that
day.
I will leave you with one thought. When the Left of
British politics throw the word 'racism' about like confetti, they cheapen the
word and demean the experiences of those who have been the victims of racism.
They should hang their heads in shame.
Follow Jonathan Arnott on
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