The last few days have shown the worst of this country and the best too- the sadly predictable response by knuckle dragging racists to three young men missing penalties for England at Wembley on Sunday night, not to mention the behaviour of some of the fans in and around the stadium and central London, is profoundly depressing and enraging.
The response by people in Withington, the part of South Manchester where I grew up, has been moving and uplifting, with heartfelt messages of thanks and inspiration left on the mural of Marcus Rashford which had been defaced by scumbags at some point on Sunday night. Marcus Rashford spent some of his childhood in Withington living close to Copson Street where the mural is (the picture below shows our visit last year).
Marcus Rashford's own statement in response to events was powerful and moving, a statement of apology for missing a penalty (as if that were needed) and a defiant note against racism and intolerance. Teammate Tyrone Mings responded to Pritti Patel's shamelessness (denouncing racism this week, condemning the players for taking a stance against racism three weeks earlier), calling out her hypocrisy. It's easy to find events and the state of modern England dispiriting but the eloquence and defiance of the youth, both professional footballers and ordinary people interviewed on the news in Withington and elsewhere, is enough to make me hope for better in the future. One day the likes of Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Pritti Patel will be gone and the upcoming generation will I think make a better job of things than ours is.
Back in 1985 as The Clash spluttered to a conclusion Joe Strummer wrote a state of the nation address, the last great Clash song, This Is England. Joe looks around and sees the collapse of industry and loss of jobs, war in the South Atlantic, jingoism, police brutality, violence and racism. 'This is England/ This is how we feel', he laments.
Kirsty MacColl and Billy Bragg both claimed not to be looking for a new England, just another girl. But I think we all know they wanted both. Is it wrong to wish on space hardware? Nope, whatever it takes I reckon.
Two perfect and fabulous choices for today SA. I can't go and watch England nowadays, it brings out the worst racist scumbags imaginable although I'm proud to say I was at Wembley as an 11 year old against Czechoslovakia in 78 when Viv Anderson became the first black player to play for England. But since then it's become uncreasingly depressing, surly, bigoted and racist and I can't put up with it anymore. These people need to be banned from all foptball for life.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, as ever.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar post on Monday, expressing similar feelings. I didn't end mine with music in the end, but had originally lined up "England, Half English" by Billy.
From entitled idiots storming Wembley, middle aged hooligans trying to stop them by sticking several boots in, and the almost inevitable racist abuse of three young lads brave enough to shoulder the expectations of a nation (plus the even more predictable condemnation from the very politicians who created this maelstrom of hate. Without being flippant, when the most sense being talked comes from Aston Villa's centre half, not the ruling government, I think we know we'rerunning out of road). Think its fair to say that this England team have been a breath of fresh air, but the country that they represent is broken and ugly
ReplyDeleteWell said, Adam.
ReplyDeleteViewing from the sidelines, as an American who is Premiere League fan, I felt the weight of every player in that UK penalty kicking line up, but from Rashford's miss, the first thing that came into mind is the unbridled social media hate that would be unleashed in just seconds.
ReplyDeleteThe morass of hate, condemnation and commentary that followed was even more disheartening than I thought it would be.
21 years into this new millennium and nothing is really that different than it was 100 years ago. We convince ourselves that we grow and change as a society, as a human race, but we are easily triggered into the negative aspects of being tribal, the traps of thinking someone else is responsible for our own failings while looking directly in the mirror.
There's that old chestnut that "actions speak louder than words..." but in the age of social media its the loudest speakers who seem to be driving the conversation and yes, actions...
This may be a pessimistic view of our world, our First World Condition, but I look at the world now and compare it to the world I have know in my own past and learned from history. As David Byrne wrote..."Same as it ever was, same as it ever was..."
"One day the likes of Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson and Pritti Patel will be gone and the upcoming generation will I think make a better job of things than ours is" - I agree, and Joe's elegy for what has been lost makes me sad we've left them with this inheritance. But change will come, it always does.
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