O Tempora, O Mores! (June, 2001)

More Echoes of Enoch

Last month we reported on a British Conservative MP John Townend, who caused a huge stink in his party for praising Enoch Powell and saying his constituents are worried that “Commonwealth immigration” is undermining Britain’s “homogenous Anglo-Saxon society.” The MP from Yorkshire East stood firm for several weeks against the blast, even accusing the Labour government of wanting the British to be a “mongrel race,” but in May he was broken to the party line. It appears that it was the threatened defection of the Conservatives’ prize possession — a black peer — that spurred Conservative leader William Hague finally to tell Mr. Townend he must recant or face expulsion.

The party “cannot contain both Mr. Townend and people like me,” intoned John Taylor, a black lawyer who serves in the House of Lords. Mr. Hague, who had said he would not expel Mr. Townend because he was not running for reelection in the June 7 campaign, changed his tune, and on April 30 extracted from Mr. Townend a statement worth quoting in full:

I entirely accept that racism has no place in the Conservative party and am very sorry that ill-chosen words by me may have given a different impression.

Accordingly, I withdraw the recent words which I have issued on the subject of race, apologise for the embarrassment which they have caused the Conservative Party, regret any offense which I have caused to others and undertake not to repeat them under any circumstances.

It is said that Mr. Townend tried to put up a fight, but capitulated in 30 minutes. Lord Taylor, who knows how to press an advantage, said this was “too little, too late,” and criticized Mr. Hague for not bouncing the miscreant.

And yet, on the very same day of Mr. Townend’s humiliation, another Conservative MP, Laurence Robertson of Tewkesbury, endorsed his sin. Mr. Townend’s remarks were “basically true,” he said, adding: “Having too many people in different multiracial groups makes society very difficult to manage, especially in certain parts of the country. It is about how successful can you be in cramming people together from different cultures and expecting them all to get on in a very harmonious way. It is not that easy to manage that kind of society.”

The next day, he too was made to eat crow: “I apologise for saying that John Townend’s comments were right, and I retract my own comments to that effect. I undertake not to cause further embarrassment to the Conservative party, nor to give further offense to others. Nor will I repeat my remarks under any circumstances.”

Mr. Hague was about to pat himself on the back for nipping rebellion in the bud, but rebellion refuses to be nipped. Lord Tebbit, a former Conservative cabinet minister, said it was entirely proper to muzzle Mr. Townend, but then went on virtually to endorse his views, saying he had doubts about the merits of promoting multiculturalism, and adding “I do not know of any happy multicultural society.”

The original miscreants haven’t entirely shut up, either. On May 2, Tory leaders summoned John Townend for yet another frosty meeting to question him on press reports that he regretted apologizing, and that he planned to start talking about race as soon as he leaves office. Mr. Townend appears to have had another funk: “These stories are fiction — Townend will remain shut up,” said a Tory spokesman after the meeting. Newspapermen are not retracting those stories.

Laurence Robertson hasn’t gone away either. Less than 24 hours after he promised to sin no more he wrote in the Gloucestershire Echo that Britain is a “crowded island.” “[I]t is difficult to manage a society when there are great numbers of people belonging to different ethnic groups, all with different cultures, languages and religions, within it,” he wrote. “[I]n order to create good race relations we need to limit the numbers of people coming into this country.”

And finally, Simon Pearce, the Conservative candidate for St. Helens North, sent a letter to the Daily Telegraph supporting Mr. Townend and warning of “the dangers posed by large-scale immigration.” Conservative leader William Hague, already furious over Mr. Robertson’s recidivism, came under great pressure to kick Mr. Pearce off the ballot.

Not surprisingly, all these racial dissidents are doing very well with their constituents. Mr. Robertson has been telling colleagues he has received a great deal of support, and Lord Tebbit has also been flooded with fan mail since he wondered about the success of multicultural societies.

As AR goes to press, the Conservative Party seems to be faced with a virtually unprecedented opportunity to consider doing right. Given the cowardice of its leaders, it is sure to do wrong, but this may be at least the beginning of a long-overdue debate about the future of Great Britain. [Kate Kelland, Racism Row Boils Up Among Britain’s Conservatives, Reuters, April 27, 2001. Hague Fails to End Tories’ Race Row Rift, Guardian, May 3, 2001. Nicholas Watt and Michael White, Race Row MP Denies He Will Speak Out, Guardian, May 3, 2001. Nicholas Watt, MP in New Outburst, a Day After Pledging to Keep Silent on Race, Guardian, May 4, 2001.]

Multi-Cultural Town

A 76-year-old white D-Day veteran is the latest victim of continuing racial violence in the British town of Oldham. Walter Chamberlain, a former bus conductor, was hospitalized with a broken nose and cheekbones after three Asians attacked him saying, “This is our area, get out.” The assault came at the end of a week that saw a group of Asian youths — which in England usually means Pakistanis, Bangladeshis or Indians — declare parts of Oldham “no go” zones for whites, a claim local police are denying. [Cahal Milmo, Extremists Stoke Racial Tensions After Attack, The Independent (London), April 25, 2001.]

Oldham, described by city councilor Abdul Jabbar as “a relatively successful multi-cultural town,” has seen a dramatic increase in racial violence against whites during the past 18 months. Last year alone, there were 572 racial attacks, 62 percent of which were against whites. The most serious assault on a white came in February, when a gang of Asian teenagers attacked Mark Clayton, 23, taunting him with racial abuse before stabbing him and leaving him for dead. His attackers have not been caught.

Unwilling for the moment to admit the existence of “no go” areas for whites, the local police commander, Chief Superintendent Eric Hewitt, concedes that there is a “very real danger” they could become a reality, and adds, “We cannot hide from the fact that the trend of racial crime in Oldham is continuing to rise.” [Nigel Bunyan, Police Fear Asian Gangs May Set Up “No Go’ Areas, Electronic Telegraph (London), Friday 20 April 2001.]

BBC radio quoted an Asian “youth” who claims there are warnings all over parts of Oldham that read, “Whites enter at your own risk.” He says the violence is “. . . a matter of getting revenge, a matter of giving as good as you can take.” [BBC, Police Deny “No-Go Zones’ for Whites, April 19, 2001.]

News from Oldham has reached India, where one paper blames the violence on past indignities. It quotes a young Asian: “There is a strong feeling among a generation physically stronger and cockier than their immigrant parents, that they will not put up with the jibes and ill-treatment their elders suffered . . . Some Asian lads can be quite rough when provoked by racist groups.” Another Asian says, “They still remember from being kids watching their elder brothers or parents getting attacked and that’s stuck in their minds. What they want to do now is turn it totally around.” [Hasan Suroor, The Hindu Online, UK Sees Racism Again . . . by Asians, April 25, 2001.]

Playground Hate Crime

An 11-year-old British schoolboy will go on trial next month for racially aggravated assault. The charges against the boy, known as H in court documents, stem from an incident last September on the playground of the boy’s school in Ipswich. An Asian boy called him a skunk and compared him to a Teletubby. H called the Asian a “Paki bastard” and punched him twice in the back. Although the Asian boy started the fight, his parents complained to police, who arrested the then 10-year-old on charges of racially aggravated assault and common assault. Another 10-year-old faces common assault charges for allegedly tripping the Asian student. Both the police and the judge hearing the case have grave reservations about it, but the Crown Prosecution Service is undaunted. “We considered there was sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it would be in the public interest to proceed,” says a spokesman. [David Sapsted, Boy on Race Charge Over “Name-Calling in Playground,’ Electronic Telegraph (London), April 12, 2001.]

Preposterous Priorities

In the May 2000 issue we reported that in Britain undercover police are being dispatched to ethnic restaurants to have a meal and make sure waiters are not insulted by “racists.” Assignments of this kind are very popular. As Detective Chief Inspector Brett Lovegrove, head of a hate crime prevention unit, explains, “Our officers are keen on spending the night in a nice warm restaurant at this time of year with a meal and a soft drink — no alcohol allowed, of course.” On any given night, as many as 20 London officers are sitting down to Indian, Chinese, or Thai meals rather than pounding the streets looking for criminals. [A Curry a Day Keeps Crime at Bay, Reuters, March 27, 2001.]

Tale of the Tape

During the Seattle Mardi Gras riots on which we reported in April, the media and the police tried to deny eyewitness reports that the vast majority of assaults were carried out by blacks. The police did promise to bring as many offenders to book as possible, and have combed through video tape records trying to identify them. The Seattle Times has obligingly posted on its web page 26 images of suspects caught on video tape, with a request to readers that they call police if they can recognize any. The last time we checked there were 24 black faces, one Hispanic, and one white.

Sensible Approach

North Carolina State University in Raleigh has received $472,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to study whether police stop black drivers more often than whites because they are more likely to speed. In a pilot project, graduate students rode in the back of a van, set the cruise control at the speed limit, and used stopwatches to clock the speeds of cars passing the van. Preliminary findings indicate blacks indeed do drive faster than whites. [Linda Wallace, Is it Race or Pace that Causes Profiling? DiversityInc.com, Feb. 16, 2001.]

Make Him Pay

San Diego County estimates that it spent $50 million in fiscal 1999 to jail, house, and medicate illegal immigrants. In February, the county supervisors voted to send President George Bush a bill for that amount, arguing that the money had to be spent only because the federal government failed to enforce immigration law. Other outraged citizens pointed out the $50 million doesn’t cover education and other services to illegals. County Supervisor Greg Cox says the money comes from the people of the county and should be spent on such things as improving parks and extending library hours. [AP, San Diego to Send Bush $50 million Bill for Illegal Immigration Costs, Feb. 16, 2001.]

Ringing the Changes

High school class rings used to be symbols of school spirit. Now, with many different designs offered to students, they are becoming symbols of ethnic pride. Alice Kim attends Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, but her parents grew up in Korea. “I just like keeping in touch with my Asian culture,” she says, explaining the dragon engraved on her school ring. Jennifer Nguyen of Falls Church, Virginia, got a dragon too. “Even though I was born here, I’m still Vietnamese,” she says. Vicky Rodriguez of T.C. Williams High School, also in northern Virginia, has parents who were born in El Salvador, so she got a ring emblazoned with her country’s flag. “I’m very proud of where I came from,” she says. [Nancy Trejos, For Students a Ring of Truth, Personalized, Washington Post, Feb. 16, 2001, p. B1.]

Non Sequitur

Jefferson Davis is one of the best-known alumni of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. One of the residence halls is named in his honor and used to display a portrait of the Confederate president. On March 29, a black resident found what is described as “a racial slur” written on his door. On April first, he found another one. The author has not been found, but no one seems to think it could be the black student himself. Charles Shearer, president of the university, promptly took down the portrait of Davis and put it in storage. “If you have African-American students who live in that hall, and we do . . . I can understand how that [the portrait] would make them feel,” he explained. [Thomas Watson, Jefferson Davis Portrait Draws Fire, AP, April 4, 2001.]

No White Organizations

In 1997, a white employee of the Social Security Administration named Frank Keliher asked permission to form a White Affairs Advisory Council, modeled on the Black Affairs Advisory Council, which was established years ago. He was turned down. When the Washington Times ran a story about this the Social Security Administration grudgingly gave permission to form a white group. When Mr. Keliher put up signs advertising it, blacks tore them down. Although Mr. Keliher named them in a complaint, the administration did not discipline the blacks, and instead said signs angering employees would not be permitted.

Mr. Keliher then asked if he could invite a speaker — AR editor Jared Taylor — to address employees. Patricia Carey, Acting Director of the Office of Management wrote back, explaining the prior decision about posting notices, and also ruling on whether Mr. Keliher could invite a speaker:

“[Y]our prior request was denied, consistent with Agency guidelines on employee communications, because we determined that continued posting of that notice could potentially not be in the best interests of safety and the working environment. [Emphasis added] Based on the information currently available to us, your request to invite this speaker poses similar concerns and therefore must be denied.” In other words, anything that makes blacks angry — whether posting notices or inviting speakers — is a threat to workplace safety and must be forbidden.

Bold Solutions

Gen. Shlomo Gazit was the head of Israeli intelligence during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, and has served in public office ever since. At a March 26 Jewish Agency Zionist Council attended by senior figures from all sectors of Israeli life, he argued that high Arab birth rates within Israel’s borders pose a problem so grave it cannot be countered through democratic means. “The demographic danger is the most serious danger facing Israel today,” he explained. “If we don’t come to our senses on this issue and don’t take proper steps immediately, then within one generation, or at most two, the State of Israel will cease to exist as a Jewish Zionist state.” The solution is to redraw borders: “In order to save the State of Israel and preserve a Jewish majority, a decision must be made to evacuate the settlements en masse . . . so that the permanent borders of the state contain as few Arabs as possible. We erred in establishing these settlements and now we must make the difficult decision to dismantle them.”

Gen. Gazit does not think politicians can do this: “[U]nfortunately, the political system in Israel today, both from an organizational standpoint as well as from the standpoint of political parties, is unable to make decisions on this issue. So, under the prevailing circumstances it seems that only an emergency regime and abandoning the democratic game can perhaps resolve the problem.” [Amir Rappaport, Establish a Dictatorship and Restrict Birth Rate, Yedioth Ahronoth (Israel), March 26, 2001.]

Warrior Respects His Foe

Columnist David Yeagley is professor of humanities and psychology at Oklahoma State University. He’s also a proud member of the Comanche tribe and an American patriot — he doesn’t consider the two mutually exclusive. He defends the use of Indian names for college and professional sports teams. He says this reflects respect for the fighting virtues of Indian tribes, and proudly points out that the US Army uses Indian names like Apache and Comanche for its attack helicopters.

Says Yeagley, “The white man may have taken my land. But he took it like a warrior, fair and square. Yes, he treated my people harshly. But he never denied their bravery, never besmirched their memory as warriors.” He adds, “If my ancestors had been strong enough, they would have taken the white man’s land, instead of the other way around. And they wouldn’t have felt guilty about it afterwards. You wouldn’t have seen any defeated white people getting affirmative action from Comanches.” [David A. Yeagley, It’s a Warrior Thing. You Wouldn’t Understand, FrontPage Magazine.com, March 7, 2001.]

Ritual Gang-Rape

Eleven young North African immigrants are being tried in France on charges of gang-raping a 14-year-old white girl seven years ago. The attack was part of a ritual known as tournante  — take-your-turn — in which a teenage boy seduces a girl, and then offers her to his friends. According to Sylvie Lotteau, a French magistrate, gangs of immigrant teenagers have been performing this ritual since the late 1980s. “Their technique was to pick up a young girl — a white girl — and once she had become the girlfriend of one of the members, he would allow his mates to make use of her,” she said. [Agence France Press, Teenage Gang-Rape Ritual Plagues French Suburbs, April 24, 2001.]