Grief Hijacked: Racism’s Final Groans in a Multicultural Britain

On 13th of March 1996, a gunman, Thomas Hamilton went to a primary school in Dunblane, killed 16 children and one teacher and injured 15 others, then killed himself. The community was devastated and the whole country rallied round them to support them in their time of grief.

Some 28 years later, on 29th of July 2024 a 17 year old, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, went to dance class and stabbed and killed 3 young girls and injured several others. The community was devastated but this time the rest of the country was not allowed to rally round them and support them in their grief. Instead, the country is having to mobilise itself against racist attacks nationally while the families are grieving.

The difference? The perpetrator this time is seen as a foreigner. Isn’t that warped logic? Isn’t a crime just plain wrong regardless of who committed it?

It warms my heart to see that in the past few days there have been more anti-racist rallies and protests in the streets and the racist have been outnumbered. Don’t get me wrong, there are racists out there, no questions about that. But, they are in the minority. They are a bunch of disaffected criminals that feel hard done by, by the arrival of immigrants and they are desperate for an outlet.

So, they hijack the grief of others with little disregard for the grieving families and cause more disruption in local communities and also have no shame about going to other communities just to wreak more havoc.

This racist minority has been caught in a time warp. They didn’t realise that things have moved on. People don’t want their hatred in their streets anymore. They want to get on with their neighbours. They realise that diversity enriches us all.

I personally see the uprisings  as the last rebellious groans of a beast just before its death. Time has moved on. Anyone that has got kids will tell you that the youth in particular celebrate their differences and diversity. They love their multicultural heritage and friends. Their sense of identity is more along the lines of being citizens of the world. Call them snowflakes all you like, but I think they have got something right.

You only have to look around you to see multiculturalism expressed everywhere and like it or not, it is here to stay. Organisations are going out of their way to ensure that diversity is welcomed in the workplace and society at large. A lot of work has gone into this and although we are not out of the woods, it is a great sign that we have reached a tipping point when you get more anti-racist protests than racist ones. 

The sign of an enlightened society is when we look after our neighbours, regardless of their colour and ethnic origin and strive for equality in our societies. The destruction of shops and city centres is not a good thing but there is a silver lining, the racists are outnumbered and it is now visible for all to see. We will not allow a few thugs to tell us how to live anymore.

Now let’s go back to supporting those grieving families, which is what we should have been allowed to do all along, just like 28 years ago, in Dunblane.