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Chelsea’s John Terry Is Being Tried By A Media That Excuses Racism

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Chelsea’s John Terry Is Being Tried By A Vengeful Media That Excuses Racism

JOHN Terry, the Chelsea captain, must be presumed innocent of racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand. Terry says it was a misunderstanding that he came to mouth the words “fu***ng black c**t” on camera. The football pundits make their feelings known, presenting Terry’s latest problem in the context of past misunderstandings. Only, none of the items on Terry’s list of alleged inappropriate behaviour features racism.

Terry is looking like a victim of his reputation, rather then the facts.

Terry says he is proud to be captain of a racially mixed team. He has worn an armband demanding that racism be kicked out of football. But neither point is relevant. Terry would no more refuse to play with a black man then he would openly join the BNP. Terry just upholds the current culture of football that means overt racism is universally unaccepted.

This is not to say that racism does not exist in football. It is just that racism does not exist in polite society. Britain is a country where difference is embraced and tolerated. Thank god. But around the dinner party table, racism is there. In private, racism is there. Any minority knows that they are held to standards to which white, Christian Britons could never aspire. When Tam Dalyell MP said that Tony Blair was “unduly influenced by a cabal of Jewish advisers“, British Jews winced. Here was an old canard about those clever Jews – and to Jews, being called clever can be taken as a slight, a conniving glance to when Jews were presented as demonic and wily. When a wanted criminal is revealed as black, all blacks take a sharp intake of breath.

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Posted: 27th, October 2011 | In: Key Posts, Sports | Comments (2)