'British Other'?... No, I'm English!...
A HOLBEACH woman was outraged after being told she could not call herself English by library workers.
June Booth, whose details have not changed in decades, was asked her ethnic origin when she popped into a Lincolnshire County Council-run library to find out if her card needed renewing.
Having said she was English, Mrs Booth was told she must fit into the category of either "British White" or "British Other". Mrs Booth, of Cedar Drive, said: "I think it's all wrong. I'm not going to have my nationality taken away from me. I don't think it's a small matter - it's being said that there's no England."
When she refused to acknowledge herself as anything other than English, the library worker classed Mrs Booth as "British Other".
She said: "It was ridiculous and embarrassing because other people were there. It seems you can call yourself Scottish, Irish or Welsh but you can't call yourself English. I feel like everything is being taken away from me."
Mrs Booth believes it is something many other people feel strongly about and refuses to allow the matter to be brushed aside.
What really horrifies me is that the article goes on to say that the library form, common to libraries throughout England, uses criteria from the Commission for Racial Equality . Large numbers of people in England consider themselves to be English, but the Commission somehow considers that nationality unfit to be listed. However, the Commission considers "White British" perfectly acceptable. Why should colour come into the equation? Surely that is far more racist than giving all people in England the option of listing themselves as British or English?
Amusingly, the home page of the CRE currently contains a link to a CRE Scotland article (there is no CRE England) on fears that the World Cup could lead to an escalation of anti-English racism. This is ironic, as the CRE routinely practices anti-English racism, as seen in criteria provided for ethnicity listings at libraries across England!
Also on that home page is a link to a completely useless report on how "Britishness" has been portrayed at recent general elections. All this is simply to reinforce the government's brainwashing for the people of England that we must be BRITISH. We must not question devolution. We cannot be English. English is nasty. But the Scottish and Welsh can be Scottish and Welsh.
The Commission for Racial Equality is simply an anti-English government puppet. Much of its current role revolves around supporting the government's unfair devolution settlement, by keeping the people of England divided.
30 years since it was formed, the Commission for Racial Equality is a corrupt department of a corrupt government, dedicated to a racist, elitist cause: the provision of democratic devolution to Scotland and Wales, and the dissolvement of England via regionalisation without consultation.
The effect of this would be: a continuation of lower public spending in England; a continuation of non-representative MPs in key English ministries; a continuation of the West Lothian Question; the possibility of a largely democratically unaccountable Prime Minister in the near future.
The woman who found "English" was not listed as an ethnicity option at her local library and was distressed, matters not a jot. By submerging England and ignoring or demonising the concept of Englishness, the CRE serves the government well. The hope is that, by keeping the concept of "Britain" and "British" to the forefront in England, hopefully not too many people will get wise to this government's dreadful discrimination against every man, woman and child in England.
The corruption of the CRE in its attitude towards England and Englishness is quite a recent thing. A few years, ago Trevor Phillips, the Commission's head, was actually saying how proud he was to be a black Englishman. He was thrilled that it was now accepted to be black and English, and cited an experience he'd had on holiday in France when a Frenchman had referred to him as English. This was featured in the Sun (it may have been the Star or Mirror, but I think not) a few years ago on a St George's Day (I'm almost certain that it was during the Cross of St George frenzy). Sadly, I didn't keep a copy, but anybody who has a Sun newspaper archive should be able to find the article.
Phillips later stated his concern that English children were not fed positive images of themselves compared to the Welsh and Scots. Ominously, the Government then commented that certain changes might be made to the CRE, and from then on the Commission has towed the anti-English line.
The Commission for Racial Equality is an outdated and now highly racist tool of a government determined to prevent an inclusive, English civic identity; determined to prevent the people of England from uniting against the current system of divide, deprive and rule.
Devolution for Scotland and Wales, an undemocratic nightmare for the people of England.
I don't know how CRE staff sleep at night.
Drew and I have e-mailed the CRE, asking for a comment on their anti-English stance. It shall appear on this blog if they condescend to contact us. Why not drop them a line yourself? The E-mail address is info@cre.gov.uk
Oh, and if anybody has a copy of the Trevor Phillips Sun newspaper article, I would really appreciate a scan of it.
Update...
Here's the reply
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