Who’s a responsible citizen anyway? Does your race matter?
Being a citizen means we are bestowed with rights and privileges but this comes with obligations and duties for individuals. This is often spoken about in terms of civil rights, justice, freedom and protction by and from the law; political rights such as voting and standing for public office and social rights such as access to healthcare and education.
We can see then while technically some people are considered citizens in practice many people fall outside of this definition.
One way citizenship is denied is through racism which is a system of oppression rooted in history, politics, economics and culture. This can be expressed as the collective failure to provide appropriate access to services and legal rights for people based on there colour, culture or ethnic origin and can be detected in processes attitudes and behaviours which amount to discrimination through either witting or unwitting prejudice, ignorance and stereotyping which disadvantage a minority group.
Since the Macpherson report the way in which white dominated organisations create practices and cultures which tend to exclude or disadvantage white people have been put under scrutiny. However institutional racism is not confined to the police and the criminal justice system but can be found across society in general. Educational institutions are not exempt from the effects of racism. Educational systems have laws, customs and practices which reflects and reproduce racial inequalities. The system can be said to be racist whether or not the individuals such as teachers, inspectors, officers, civil servants and elected politicians who creates the education system have racist intentions at all
It is important to recognise how expectations and generalizations contribute to different outcomes for different groups. Black pupils are more likely than white pupils to be seen as troublemakers and therefore to be criticised and controlled – leading to a higher chance of exclusion and ending up at pupil referral units with the psychological and social stigma that comes with this. It can be questioned how committed the British government is in ensuring that education is a means to providing meaningful citizenship. This is because civic virtues require a commitment to justice and solidarity in resolving disagreements. It requires a sense of shared goals and common inclinations and attitudes. Vitally children need the opportunity to learn about the political community in which they live, its history and why discrimination has occurred. Without the background knowledge to make sense of one’s own experiences and position in society we cannot truly call someone a citizen. To reflect on experiences and knowledge gives us the opportunity to analyse and make decisions which creates motivation to act and react in a way that gives an individual autonomy power and the means to communicate this
An interesting example of an expression of Citizenship has come recently in the world of football during England’s recent match vs Montenegro. The shameful racist abuse of Raheem Sterling, Danny Rose and Callum Hudson Odoi has triggered a reaction in British football. We have seen the return of racist abuse within British football stadiums something which had all but disappeared in the past. It would have been common to hear monkey noises and see banana throwing back in British football in the 1970s and 80s and that is being witnessed again in the UK and across Europe along with other forms of discrimination at games including homophobia, anti-semitism and anti- romani sentiments.
What is interesting from a citizenship perspective is the reaction of UEFA the governing body of European football and of Raheem Sterling. Uefa’s disciplinary committee is expected to fine the Montenegro Football Association and enforce a partial stadium closure but the effectiveness of these mechanisms as a deterrent for racist behaviour can be questioned. Many are calling for tougher penalties such as expulsion from next year’s European championships something that would actually hurt the countries and make them rethink their approaches to discrimination
Raheem Sterling has been vocal in his response to the situation. He has condemned the action of some fans, but his choice of language, calling those responsible for the abuse ‘idiots’ and ‘silly’ and calling for ‘collective punishment’ lacks a theoretical perspective.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47703776
Another interesting perspective on citizenship and race comes from the recent case of Shamima Begum who married a Dutch convert and joined Islamic State at 15 years old (IS) but now with the defeat of IS she wants to come back to Britain. Her status as a British citizen is being denied however – she is a non-citizen.
It is interesting to speculate on her level of knowledge and how she was radicalised. As we know, the vast majority of Muslims are not radical. Shamima Begum actions go against accepted definitions of Citizenship and the question is should she lose her citizenship rights in Britain because she joined a militant extremist group? It seems this will go to the courts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47934721
The point is, Shamima and Raheem are both products of the British state and education system so where does the responsibility lie for their behaviour and the behaviour of others?
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