Hovis. The Best Of Both.

This is the first time I have blogged about a topic on request, but it is a topic that is of genuine interest to me and one which raises several questions.

What is life like being mixed race?  It’s great, I love it, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.  But, wouldn’t a white, black, brown, yellow or green person say exactly the same thing?  Surely not many people wish they were a different race?  In my experience people tend to accept who they are and the attributes they have been brought into the world with.  You can be jealous of individuals sure, but not of an entire race right?  People are who they are.

My background.  My dad’s family are Dominican and my mum’s Italian.  Unfortunately I haven’t yet had the pleasure of visiting Dominica, but I have been to Italy countless times and love the place.  I live with my mum and spend a considerably greater amount of time with her than I do with my dad.  Yet if someone was to ask me to describe myself as either black or white I would most likely say black.  To me that seems strange.  Why black?  Why not white?  I guess it’s simply because of the colour of my skin and how much that influences everything society.  To society I am black because my skin is brown.  Simple as.

There is a strange deep-rooted view in society that a white face is the starting point for human creation and that anything else is a deviation.  Race is treated like adding fruit squash to a glass of water, as soon as the first drop hits the water it becomes something else, no longer pure water.  In fact that is not how it works at all.  We don’t start as anything, white, black or anything else.  We are all unique blends of our parents and that should be appreciated and respected in it’s own right.  I embrace both my cultures as much as possible and would never ignore or disregard part of my make-up.  It’s my belief that at some stage in human development there will be a time where there are no longer strict races, and all people will end up being mixed.  This will go a long way to stopping much of the violence across the world and creating an overall better harmony in society.

To me, being born with parents from different cultures was a blessing.  I gained two sets of beliefs, traditions, and experiences.  It is harder to be labeled and put in a box.  But the thing I love most about being mixed race is, in my opinion, the way in which you can interact with diverse groups of people, from all different races.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that one group of my friends are predominantly white and another predominantly black yet I find it easy to fit into both.  That’s not to say that only mixed race people can socializes across cultures of course because that’s not true at all.  I just mean that having a racial/cultural bond with both groups, subconsciously perhaps, allows me to fit in without much difficulty, the same is true when meeting new people.  I would be interested to hear from different people to hear about there experiences.

I'd be really interested to hear what you think?

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Signing off.

Hovis ‘The Best Of Both’

The London Riots...

Shameful.  Shocking.  Embarrassing.  Childish.  Ignorant.  These are some of the words that come to mind as I watch the news footage of the London riots and subsequent riots across the UK.

On Thursday August 4th, Mark Duggan was shot dead by police who had tailed him in a minicab.  He was said to be carrying a gun and quite obviously had a criminal background and criminal links.  I don't know whether he was rightfully shot or not but quite frankly there hasn't been enough time to find out.  Of course I don't think the police should go around shooting people but for Mr. Duggan's brother to claim that he was a gentle family man is way off the mark - that kind of person doesn't carry a gun.  Also, I read that his wife had said they planned to move out of the Broadwater Farm area and 'start a new life' - it's amazing how many people say that but never do...

From this incident, a group of people gathered outside the police station demanding answers.  Fair.  However, a number of people then decided to take to the streets and cause havoc.  I can't even call it a protest because the only thing I've seen is violence and criminality.  Smashing up cars, setting them on fire, burning down buildings and shops, attacking the police.  None of those are constructive in the slightest and quite frankly have nothing to do with the death of Mark Duggan - his death has acted as a catalyst for what has subsequently happened.

These individuals have gone on to loot shops in Tottenham, Enfield, Brixton, Wood Green, Westfield, and in the short space of writing this I can add Hackney, Peckham, Lewisham, Deptford, Catford and more.  These people in my eyes are worthless, unintelligent scum.  I'd say 99% probably had never met Mark Duggan, yet they have decided to go out and cause as much damage as possible, essentially in his name - thankfully his family have condemned their actions.  These individuals are caught up in some sort of deluded buzz, running around with their hoods up, posting their activity on social networks and taking part as if it's some sort of recreation.  

Any parent of the individuals responsible should be utterly ashamed.  They should feel great responsibility.  You brought these people up with these morals.  You brought these people up to think that this sort of behaviour is acceptable.  I know that even if I walked past an empty PC World with people streaming out with goods in hand that I would walk away - because I know that it is wrong.  People's livelihoods have literally gone up in flames over the past few days, and for what, in the name of what - nothing.

Unfortunately, many (not all) of the individuals I have seen to be involved are black youths (just to be clear I am not at all claiming that it is solely black youths responsible and I do understand the part the media can play in creating these images).  Yet this angers me greatly.  If any of you read this you are giving every law-abiding black person out there a bad name, you are making black people look like criminals, like animals, like ignorant pieces of dirt who have nothing better to do than cause trouble.  Not to the average person out there in the world, but you are provided the casual racist with easy material to add to their hatred.  For this you should be most ashamed.  You are a fucking disgrace.  You all are! Every race, every age, you are a disgrace!  If people cause chaos because they believe it to be a means to an ends I can at least understand the reasoning, even if it is far fetched and unfounded.  Yet the people I have seen in the last fews days have been doing it simply for the sake of it.  Copy cat vandalism and sheer criminality.

Lastly, I am fearful of what lies in store for London in the days ahead.  If the police and the government don't get a grip of this I honestly don't know what might happen.  Why have the Prime Minister and Mayor of London been on holiday all this time?  Why has the army not been brought in to deal with this?  I think that would quickly make these individuals re-think and retreat.  We have been slow to act and what we have done has not been good enough.  If I was a religious man I would be praying tonight.

I'd be really interested to hear what you think?

Please subscribe/follow my blog if you think I'm worth listening to...