We Are All the Same Human Family, Whatever the Colour of Our Skin
Image by Joel Muniz/Unsplash
On Saturday, over 100,000 people marched through central London. Some of these people were, no doubt, decent and ordinary folks, worried about the lack of social housing and GP appointments, the cost of living and other issues. But many of them were motivated by darker forces, sporting openly racist or anti-immigrant slogans on their signs and clothes. We have also seen a rash of flags attached to bridges across the UK, hoisted up lampposts and painted on to roundabouts, in the name of ‘patriotism’, but feeling decidedly threatening and menacing. And noisy, flag-draped protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, often spiralling into aggressive and violent behaviour.
This comes at a time when nationalist, anti-immigrant parties and politicians are on the rise across the globe. Even mainstream politicians are adopting some of their rhetoric, demonising ‘migrants’ and blaming them for social and economic ills, which have nothing to do with them. It is a scary and worrying time, especially if you are an immigrant, a person of colour, or from the LGBTQ community.
I am a psychotherapist, not a politician – and this post is not about politics. It’s about humanity, compassion and basic decency. I have written before about my heritage, but it bears repeating here. I am the descendant of Russian Jews, on my maternal side, who escaped the pogroms at the beginning of the 20th century and found a safe haven in the UK. My grandparents worked for a Jewish charity, helping those fleeing Hitler’s horrors before and during WWII. So the issue of immigration, racism and persecution of minorities is deeply personal for me.
We are all one human family
In a way, racism is entirely meaningless. We are all African, if you trace our roots back far enough. Every single person living on this planet, whatever the colour of their skin, has common ancestors, who migrated from Africa around 180,000 years ago. On a fundamental, genetic and ancestral level, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’, we are all us.
Even if we now look different, we are still fundamentally the same. We all want to lead safe, happy, flourishing lives. We all love and cherish our children, doing everything in our power to keep them healthy and safe. All people everywhere want rewarding, meaningful, well-paid work. We all need to relax, play and spend time with those we love. In every way that matters, we are all the same.
Of course, I understand why people are angry and scared. Many people in the UK are struggling, barely earning enough to pay their bills. Poverty is at unprecedented levels. Public services are creaking at the seams, after 14 years of austerity, drastic cuts and underfunding. The gap between rich and poor has never been wider. Billionaires waft about in their private jets or on superyachts while children turn up at school hungry and in worn-out clothes, because their parents couldn’t afford breakfast or new uniform. Western industrialised societies are fundamentally broken and do need significant change, but not the change that snake-oil salesmen and right-wing populists prescribe.
Love is always the answer
Instead of hatred, division and othering, we need more love, more empathy, more compassion for those who are suffering. And we can all do this, every day. Start by performing as many small acts of kindness as you can, throughout the day. These acts spread little waves of kindness, friendliness and connection, which ripple out, person by person. You may also want to support charities helping refugees, like the excellent Refugee Action. Amnesty International is doing vital work in this area, as is Hope Not Hate, who have been campaigning against racism and the far-right for many years.
Although this is a challenging time, we have been through many other turbulent times in human history. We have faced down racists in my country time and time again – and will do so now. And most people are not racist, they are loving, kind and decent. Even the ones on that march were driven by fear, which is an easy button to push for the unscrupulous people manipulating them. They are not bad, or evil, just angry, hurt and misguided. So we should treat them with love and compassion too, because the last thing this world needs is more anger, more hatred, more division.
‘Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,’ as the great Martin Luther King taught us. It remains as true today as it did in the Sixties when he said it, during another time of racial tension and upheaval – but which led to fundamental, positive changes in the culture, Western societies and the law. We can make those changes again, if we all come together with love and determination.
Sending you love and strength, especially if you’re feeling scared or threatened right now.
Love,
Dan ❤️
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