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Abstract
This paper uses the 2011 viral video “My Tram Experience” as a prism through which to consider aspects of the contemporary politics of race and racism, immigration and misoxeny in Britain. The release and popularity of that clip is seen in the context of the second trial of the murders of Stephen Lawrence and in relation to technological changes and the emergence of virtual and immaterial racism on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
Notes
1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/08/victoria-coren-liam-stacey-tweets?INTCMP=SRCH
3. The right to free speech has often become entangled with what appears to be an obligation to offend minority opinion.
4. During the retrial of Stephen Lawrence's killers, the accused were asked how they viewed their own racist conduct which had been captured by a police surveillance operation some years earlier: ‘Dobson was repeatedly challenged about the views he displayed on the police surveillance footage. ‘The Dobson today is ashamed and disgusted at the Dobson in 1994, is that a fair summary?’ asked Ellison. ‘Yes’, Dobson replied. ‘I think it speaks for itself if you look at it, the language and the terminology is disgusting’. ‘Racist?’ ‘Yes,’ said Dobson. ‘And it envelops violence with racism?’ said Ellison. ‘Yes,’ said Dobson… ‘It was an idiotic young fellow talking like an idiot,’ said Dobson. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/13/stephen-lawrence-murder-suspect-gary-dobson
5. ‘Well now, look, let us try and start with a few figures as far as we know them, and I am the first to admit it is not easy to get clear figures from the Home Office about immigration, but there was a committee which looked at it and said that if we went on as we are then by the end of the century there would be four million people of the new Commonwealth or Pakistan here. Now, that is an awful lot and I think it means that people are really rather afraid that this country might be rather swamped by people with a different culture and, you know, the British character has done so much for democracy, for law and done so much throughout the world that if there is any fear that it might be swamped people are going to react and be rather hostile to those coming in’ (Margaret Thatcher 27.1.78 Granada TV interview).
7. ‘There has been a profound cultural change. I have just been rereading Enoch Powell the “Rivers of Blood” speech … the whites have become Black … A particular sort of violent destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion and black and white, boy and girl operate in this language together. This language which is wholly false, which is this Jamaican patois, that's been intruded in England’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVq2bs8M9HM
15. The allegations of racism led Carphone Warehouse to suspend its sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother. Charles Dunstone, the company's chief executive, stated: ‘Our concern has rapidly mounted about the broadcast behaviour of individuals within the Big Brother house. We are totally against all forms of racism and bullying and indeed this behaviour is entirely at odds with the brand values of the Carphone Warehouse. As a result we feel that as long as this continues we are unable to associate our brand with the programme. We had already made it clear to Channel 4 that were this to continue, we would have to consider our position. Nothing we saw last night gave us any comfort. Accordingly we have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect’. Various other sponsors of the show, Beauty-boxes.com, Zamya Aromatherapy products, United Biscuits and Cobra Beer all withdrew their sponsorship. Additional deals with various advertisers, including Cow & Gate and MoneySupermarket.com were also cancelled. See also the report of the events in the New York Times, 21 January 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/world/europe/21brother.html?_r=1&ref=europe A tally by the BBC said ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ had generated 300 newspaper articles in Britain, 1200 in English-language newspapers (including this one) around the globe, 3900 foreign-language news articles and 22,000 blog postings. Around 40,000 people – the highest on record – made complaints to the television standards regulator. Six cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, commented publicly on it, and for many of higher intellectual pretensions, there was a further agonising question.
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