I’m puzzled by your pedigree
I wonder if you’re refugee
What with your skin so ebony
So where do you come from?
And by the riot of your dress
You clearly don’t show Britishness
So I’m prepared to make a guess
At where you’re really from.
Perhaps from Bechuanaland?
Or maybe it is Swaziland?
I’ve got it! It’s Nyasaland
Is that where you come from?
Following up on UIC's points: The thing I find inexplicable (unless there was an agenda in her behaviour) is why Ngozi
Fulani of the black women only charity "Sistah Space" should
use an assumed name and apparel that declared oriigins from
elsewhere than England or even the wider UK, yet seemed
unwilling to put her enquirer's mind at rest by the simple
expedient of some polite and helpful elaboration. E.G. "I was
born here in the UK but my ancestry/family origins lie in... ."
and at this point -
she could have mentioned these to help explain her mode of
dress and adopted name>. As it was, she seemed to have
been intentionally obtuse and Lady Hussey took the baited
hook. The question now is who was the real victim here? 😗
And that’s the point, Uilleam. Anyone might ask where someone is from. But to refuse to accept the answer betrays the innate racism of “You can’t be; you’re black”.
Sun 4th Dec 2022 17:09
It isn’t asking the question which demonstrates the racism; it’s the refusal to accept the answer.
That was my initial view on the matter, John, however I await developments with interest.
Thanks for your further thoughts, MC, Keith, Reggie’s Ghost, and Uilleam. And thanks for the Likes Stephen A, Leon and Holden.
Sat 3rd Dec 2022 21:26
I'm not a monarchist, and my first instinct has always been to defend whoever I perceive to be the wronged and the underdog.
However, in recent years I've learned at much cost to my pride, to be more cautious in my reactions to stories such as these.
Let me say this: regardless of your colour, be you Jew, Muslim, Christian or of no faith, if you are fraudulent or mendacious in your claims / accusations, you are playing straight into the hands of those who intend to do real harm to genuinely oppressed people.
As we speak, I see the truly xenophobic gobshites, rousing their gullible rabble, rubbing their hands with glee, and saying "look I told you so"!
💓
If the woman had a name such as Kowalski, born and raised in UK, would there have been the same furore if asked about her family origins?
All this nonsense utterly baffles me as I have, throughout my life, been asked questions about the place of my birth and the background of my parents. I don't see this as some sinister attempt to undermine me or my identity. MC raises a good point about nationality and ethnicity. I am white, English as were my parents and grandparents. So what.
Good poem
Thanks
Keith
Denial or delusion? Interesting point. Do you refer to my own
comments or the trust placed in Lady Hussey over six decades
by the late Head of the Commonwealth - a Queen who prized
that institution and is hardly likely to have kept a "racist" so
close to her side. There is the modern inclination to confuse
"nationality" with racial origins.to take into account. Lady
Hussey was following up on the adopted name and identity
of this figure from a charity that was/is closer to "racism" than
her own persistent probing. Check its raison d'etre.
Denial or delusion, MC?
It isn’t asking the question which demonstrates the racism; it’s the refusal to accept the answer.
I'm sure the American side of my family would have no problem
following the thrust of the enquiry into origins and reply
accordingly. It seems there is more to this incident than is being
reported in the MSM, Her late Majesty The Queen retained
Lady Hussey's services for six decades - a noteworthy indication
that the Head of the Commonwealth had no qualms about
"racism" from that direction.
Thanks for your thoughts, gentlemen.
Botswana, Eswatini, and Malawi in new money, Greg. I recall there was a Basutoland also (Lesotho). I remember them having brilliantly colourful stamps of wild animals,
Personally,, Graham, I think the monarchy will emerge stronger for this. And, although I describe myself as a reluctant monarchist, I have hopes for a king with a modern, relevant conscience.
Many years ago, when I had a proper job in management in a very large national company, every so often, when you thought everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet, someone would do something that was so off message that you thought they were sabotaging the business.
Of course they were just poorly informed, and even though good and loyal workers, had to be got rid of. Did it mean the whole business held those same views? No!
Sadly, and I'm certainly no monarchist, the comments of this old lady has played into the hands of those that will seek to make a statement out of it. Even more sadly, I believe their actions will inflame even more racism as a result.
JC I must admit when I saw your title I thought it was another Peter Sarstedt rip-off. Disappointed!
Love it, John, all those old colonial names that will mean nothing to younger folk. Shows how out of touch the royal family is, failing to put its dotty old racist retainers out to pasture.
Nice one, John. Captures the out-of-date brick thickness of such royal hangers-on perfectly. (Oh dear, my Daily Express has just self-destructed).
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John Coopey
Mon 5th Dec 2022 15:21
A unique and curious take on it, MC.