Nearly a year ago I heard a brilliant speech given by the brilliant @naomialderman, in which she said (and I paraphrase) that over the last several centuries we have lived in a world where the only true, valid human being who enjoyed unfettered rights & privileges

Was a white, heterosexual, wealthy, able bodied male and all our institutions were created with this cultural mindset. This speech had a profound effect on me. It made me question how, as we become more aware of systemic racism and prejudice, should we define it & deal with it

We’re all subject to our environment, & if we live in a society of systemic racism & prejudice it will exist, subconsciously in all of us. How do we deal with subconscious racism? If we define racism as purely conscious and intended it can always be denied and can never forgiven

But if we listen to minorities, those groups that are affected by our actions, even unintentionally then we can change. But we must listen to them. I recently had a fascinating conversation with a female rabbi on a film set. She had admired Corbyn for years

But his conduct on anti semitism disappointed her, to say the least. She said the moral choice for of us with regards to racism is whether we choose to listen to or ignore the vulnerable minorities affected by our actions.

If we choose to ignore them for political expediency or because we feel we will lose a privilege, that is the wrong moral choice. Of course not all racial or cultural groups are homogenous. There will always be a % of them who don’t feel aggrieved by our actions

But if the vast majority are calling out for us to listen and we ignore them and turn to the overwhelming minority then that is tokenism. I’m not saying the minority are token but choosing to listen to only them because it’s suits us , is tokenism and it’s wrong.

Racism exists in all of us and we have to be honest about it in order to change. Now all you Corbyn supporters can carrying on demonising anyone who challenges your belief system but, in my opinion, it’s the wrong moral choice