Jo Brand: ‘you can’t be racist towards white people’
Posted by admin978 on October 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
“[Y]ou can be prejudiced towards a group of people who are more powerful than you, but I don’t think you can be racist towards them,” says ‘comedienne’ Jo Brand.
Not very funny, Jo. You seem to be thinking that ordinary white people in their own country are politically more powerful than other ethnic groupings. They are not!
TELEGRAPH BLOGS, 14Oct09: The ever-excellent Biased BBC notes that Jo Brand has been explaining the meaning of racism on Radio Five Live:
Jo Brand: My personal opinion is that you can’t be racist towards white people. You can be prejudiced about them but being prejudiced isn’t an illegal act whereas being racist can be.
Phil Williams: Don’t you think racism is just being derogatory about a race, regardless of the colour?
Jo Brand: No I don’t. I think the definition of racism also encompasses political power. So you can’t be racist towards a race that’s politically more powerful than a minority. That to me is the correct definition of racism. I think you can be prejudiced towards a group of people who are more powerful than you, but I don’t think you can be racist towards them.
