I originally started writing this over the weekend, wanting to capture my rising sense of anger and anxiety at what we’ve been seeing. I've gone back to it a few times, feeling a need not to just roll out some fairly obvious words at a time like this. This isn’t meant to be a ‘briefing’ or a ‘statement’ - it’s a reflection and some thoughts I would encourage you to consider.
In the last few days our TV screens, websites and social media have been filling up with pictures of rioting mobs on our streets. Following on from the horrific events in Southport and alongside ongoing wars in Ukraine and Palestine, it can be very hard to hold on to hope.
When we see images of hatred turning to violence on streets we recognise, it means that for some of us it may be the first time this has felt so close to home. I think it’s important to recognise that for many of our communities, this fear is nothing new: how many times have we seen mosques under threat in recent years? How many times have we seen asylum accommodation targeted? And even those are only the incidents which make the headlines, not the harrassments which some people experience daily. These riots are racism in the headlines again when for much of the time it lurks in corners, often muttered from a distance or casually typed online - rarely as nakedly violent and obviously visible as we have seen in the last few days.
I call this racism because that is what this is. It is not protest, it is attack. This is not disruption to raise awareness. This is not a noisy but essentially peaceful march. This is not throwing orange paint over something to draw attention to an issue. This is hatred manifesting as wilful physical violence.
There are rightly lots of concerns being expressed about the impact of social media, the voices of leaders and politicians and the role of the media in these circumstances. Over the last week I think too little of it has spoken about the trauma being felt by communities. Instead, I have seen lots of words being bandied around which reinforce and inflame biases against “otherness”. Time and again, these attitudes seem to go unchallenged in the interests of “balance”. There is no balance to be stuck here. Racism is hatred and hatred is wrong. It is just plainly and simply wrong.
For some – and as a middle-aged white male I know I’m in this group - the only direct anxiety we truly experience in this situation will be wondering how best to respond to all this? How to have those difficult conversations with family members who have fallen down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole where “facts” can be invented, lies are cemented by repetition and prejudice is dressed up in the language of reasonableness with phrases like “concerns” and “legitimate questions”. We have seen this playbook before. It is about power and nothing to do with the “concerns” it purports to highlight. Beware of those people who want to ask questions but never answer them.
However, for many people, that’s not the main experience. Right now, my fears are for my friends and colleagues who have to make an extra effort not to appear scared, for those who now have to feel anxious about setting foot outside their home or getting on a bus or going to worship; for the people who have fled to safety in this country only to find their temporary accommodation being attacked; for the children who are being taken along to watch rioting and looting like it’s just another spectator sport; for the people who are defending communities while being attacked.
What we may all share is an anxiety that this is a sure sign that the country is teetering on the brink of collapse.
But it isn’t.
Yes, there are lots of things which are wrong and unfair, lots which could be done better and lots of things in our collective past which we would not do now. That is true of every country and every individual on the planet. The point is, we’re supposed to keep trying to get better, to keep improving.
And most people are just like that. Most are kind, welcoming, thoughtful, supportive. Most people want to live peaceful lives in places where those things are valued as being better than fear and hatred.
Last night, at a moment when many were expecting further violence because of the rumours and misinformation which always happen at times like this, the imagery changed. We saw thousands of people gathering together to face down hatred with messages of welcome and love. Our screens filled with different crowds. And it wasn't only the message which was different: they were much, much bigger.
Every time there is an incident, the community response is what helps us work through it. One of the things which makes me so angry about the riots in Southport is that it got in the way of the community coming together to support each other and stole the focus away from the terrible loss of the families. Nevertheless, even then we saw the community coming to clear up the streets, to rebuild with kindness what had been broken in mindlessness. A practical and emotional show of solidarity which in the end is what powers communities each and every day.
This is a time when our sector - the charities, the voluntary and community organisations and the faith groups and all those thousands of organisations who are driven by social purpose - can help support communities and ensure the city stays calm and safe.
Manchester has hundreds of VCSE organisations who provide services and create relationships within and across communities. Often, we’re the ones who are able to work with people who aren’t in contact with statutory services or, because of things which have not worked well over the years, don’t feel they can trust the messages from the authorities. We have a unique relationship with local communities because we *are* local communities: local people organising themselves to get stuff done. That means we’re trusted and we can play a huge role in these times. We are not powerless.
So, as Macc, our ask of every one of the organisations we work with in Manchester is:
- Keep talking to the people who use your services and local communities. They need to know they are heard. Then share what you learn with colleagues.
- Think about who you can reach out to in solidarity. It may be that there is nothing practical you can offer, but support and friendship are powerful in their own way.
- Take care not to spread rumours that lead people to feel unsafe - and challenge misinformation which you know to be untrue.
- Give people space to feel safe – the people you support, your volunteers and staff. “Business as usual” is an important message but recognize that this is a traumatic time and people may need time to manage their fears and anxieties. We want people to be safe and to feel safe.
- Share stories of the positive things you are doing in your community. Show the kindness and compassion which really drives us.
- Be, as I have said so many times, defiantly kind.