To: letters@guardian.co.uk
Re: Confusing feelings of racial identity with "racism"

Date: Wednesday 11 May 05

Dear Martin,
 
Judging from what you write in "The shame in Spain" (nice title, by the way), you obviously didn't agree with anything I wrote to you on 16 April and 3 May in response to "The Middle Kingdom Mentality".
 
I hadn't realised that you are a Marxist, who in my experience, are generally intellectuals who believe they understand the world and human nature better than most, but in many respects are badly mistaken, and while meaning well, in fact, help create or make worse many of the problems they wish to resolve.
 
What you write about expressions of white "racism" towards black football players in Spain, makes matters worse, not better, for black people, because you confirm them in their role as victims of white men's "racism". It castes you in the role of a knight in shining armour, fighting the dragon (of white racism) and protecting the fair (or rather, black) damsel, but what it does is force the damsel into a passive, victim role (confirming her fears of inferiority). Perhaps that is what the knight in his shinning armour, and the damsel, subconsciously want, thus creating niches for themselves in the socio-economic environment, but I am quite sure that it is not in the enlightened self-interest of either of them. 
 
If I went to a football match, China vs. England, and found that half the Chinese players were Europeans, I would be very disappointed and if some of the spectators started jeering the white Chinese players, I would understand why. It is a question of identity, in which race is an important component. I associate the Chinese with certain racial characteristics, and if they are missing I have difficulty accepting them as being Chinese. That, I suggest, is the reason why England's black players were jeered in Spain. They expected the English to be white, just as I expect a Chinaman to look Chinese. By misinterpreting that as "racism" you are doing a great and dangerous disservice to everyone.
 
By denying the importance of race, confusing and condemning as "racist" any expression of, especially white (European), racial identity, you are attempting to suppress deep and powerful feelings. You may seem to be succeeding (aided by the shock we are all still under caused by the Nazi's - not just criminal, but insane - misuse of the concept of race), but sooner or later they will reassert themselves. They need to be accepted, understood and channelled in rational and humane fashion, not suppressed. Otherwise, you will help create (are already well on the way to creating) the very racial conflicts that you seek to avoid.

I don't know much about Marx, except that he meant well and was a great admirer of Darwin - to the extent of wanting to dedicate Das Kapital to him. However, I don't think he could have really understood the implications of Darwin's theory of evolution in respect to man's animal origins. Which are that our entire socio-economic order is deeply rooted in our animal nature, which our capitalist, free-market economy has developed and been honed to exploit (fear, greed, competitiveness, the desire for a free or cheap lunch, for power, social status etc.). This is why in many respects it works so well. Unfortunately, apart from being inherently unjust and inhumane, it is also fundamentally unsustainable.