Natalie Solent has been under attack from blogger Matthew Turner for a post she wrote on race. Natalie was commenting on black on black crime and educational underachievement when she wrote:
"Because the biggest problem facing black people in Britain (and the US) is crime by other blacks. This truth is often denied, but you watch the loudest deniers choose which tube carriage to get into late at night and you will get an education. Even black women will avoid a group of young black men. Imagine the tragedy of a black mother who watches her son go from being a lovable kid to being one of those rowdy, threatening youths. Eventually her fear for him may well turn into fear of him. "Matthew Turner wasn’t happy with this:
Now unless I am reading it wrong she thinks all 'group[s] of young black men' are 'rowdy, threatening youths' who even may (she allows a 'may' here) frighten their mothers.Presumably it was for this reason that he felt comfortable branding Natalie Solent a racist. To me, Natalie’s comments are an invitation to debate not an opportunity for name-calling.
In any case, having flung the insult and then retracted it, Matthew gets to the meat of the issue .
Essentially however the point of our disagreement is that Solent believes that black youths try less hard at school because they don't think they'll need qualifications because everything will be made easier for them. I think that's a load of Horlicks.I expected this to be followed up with Turner’s views on the reasons for black educational under-achievement but he doesn’t offer any.
In my opinion, if you’re going to say that someone’s talking “a load of Horlicks” you should be able to say why you think so. Personal attacks are no substitute, unless of course your blog is “based on nasty, smart-assed comments about other people's sites”.
Race and social identity, crime and education are important issues that impact on the lives of millions, both black and white. They need to be examined and discussed and it doesn’t help when someone tries to address these issues for them to be shouted down as “racist”.
Just for the record: I don’t agree with Natalie Solent’s explanation for poor educational performance by black kids (my experience of the issue is a little different) but it’s a complex and important subject that deserves to be seriously addressed.
I’m hoping for more debate and less name-calling.
