M L INTERVIEW
MERSEY LIFE TALK TO JOHN BARNES
BY SAM HULSON
England and Liverpool legend John Barnes is an articulate and captivating social commentator on a broad range of issues , and in his new book ' The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism ' he tackles head-on the issues surrounding prejudice with his trademark intelligence and authority .
By vividly evoking his personal experiences , and holding a mirror to this country ' s past , present and future , Barnes provides a powerful and moving testimony . The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism will help to inform and advance the global conversation around society ' s ongoing battle with the awful stain of prejudice . Mersey Life caught up with him to find out more about his new book , life and his career .
Tell us about your new book . This book is not about me and my experiences , it ' s not about , ( although I touch on it ) racism in football , it ' s not about needing more representation of black people in higher echelons of society , on TV , sport , music , etc … It ' s about more equal opportunities for the AVERAGE black person . It ' s also about more opportunities for women , gay people , and even white working class people .
Racism , like any other form of discrimination , is about power and exploitation of many disenfranchised groups , and the solution is not to elevate elite members of those particular groups out of the ' inferior space ' society at large sees them . While still viewing the ' non elite ' members of those groups as inferior , then convince ourselves that we believe in equality . It ' s to change the negative perception of the average , black person , woman , gay person .
Since I started playing football professionally at 17 years old - when overt racism was rife - while it was very apparent and accepted on the pitch , what I continually was aware of was the black fans who had to endure much more than I did , and black people in the inner cities who went through what I may have gone through every now and then on a pitch , EVERY SINGLE DAY of their lives .
In the last few years , the overt racism which was accepted in football , is now , not accepted , and there is a drive for football
to take the lead in the fight against racism . There are many people who are using football to further their ambitions , by exaggerating the influence football has in changing peoples perception on race .
All football can do , is highlight the issue , it can do nothing to change things . We try to convince ourselves that England black players can change the way society sees the average black person , but as we have seen , if they play well , they are loved , and if they miss a penalty , they are racially abused by some . That suggests that if they are good they are accepted , but if they are bad , they get abused .
That is the aged old narrative of acceptance of the successful members of the disenfranchised group , while neglecting or showing a lack of respect for the average members of those very same groups , which does nothing to promote real equality . All that does , is to allow more elite black people , women , gay people etc into the accepted group , neglecting the ' non elite ' people .
This has affected the white working class for hundreds of years , as while some white working class people have been elevated into the elite areas of society , nothing has changed for the majority of white working class people .
Discrimination has been around for thousands of years , and been woven and embedded into the fabric of society for such a long time . If we feel we can overcome it by either just taking a knee , or to get a popular footballer to say its wrong , we are hugely misguided .
We have to de-construct the idea of HIERARCHY from a race , gender or sexuality point of view , understand how and why it was created hundreds of years ago to begin with , how it has been maintained and underpinned by the media , and stop pointing the finger at inconsequential scapegoats , like the odd football fan , Romanian 4th officials , Hungarian and Bulgarian football fans , who have no influence over knife crime , inferior housing , education , or access to social services for black kids in our inner cities but we are led to believe THEY are the problem .
We have to look at OURSELVES , me included , and be authentic in our judgement of whether we truly believe in equality .
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