As a history undergraduate, I knew David Starkey for his iconoclastic work on Thomas Cromwell's role in the court of Henry VIII. He was outspoken then, too - turning on his mentor, the venerable professor GR Elton. Everyone likes opinionated people, as it makes for good debate. I've seen enough 'debates' of like-minded, non-committal opinion to find his outburst on Newsnight strangely refreshing. It was ill-conceived rubbish of course, but one only gets a clearer impression of the truth when it is forced to collide with rubbish.
Yet there was something in Starkey's argument that does merit consideration. Underneath the Disgusted-of-Tumbridge-Wells rant about 'white becoming black', and 'black culture' being at blame - he was correct to point to a sub-culture in which glamourised violence and lack of respect for other people are considered the norm. Where breaking all the rules is a badge of honour. It was uncomfortable to hear precisely because Starkey struck serendipitous truth.
But Starkey omitted the essential rejoinder: why has this sub-culture become the norm among certain groups. It is certainly not a 'black' thing, a 'white become black' thing, or any other colour thing. And it is certainly not some new and frightening plague that has just arrived on our shores from Compton carried by Dr Dre. Anthropological and social psychology has long shown that groups of (especially) young men have informal 'codes of honour' and internalised rules by which they operate. Internal codes of honour are often connected to the notion of disengagement. Individuals who do not fit in socially adopt a strategy of disengagement and develop subcultures that provide an alternative route to self-esteem. Indeed, studies of street gangs show that when young men cannot take pride in a prestigious job or a nice house, their reputation on the street is their only claim to status. Simply put, if you feel yourself a loser in the game of life, and you believe the rules are rigged against you, it is easier to drop out.
So yes, we do need to reckon with a disruptive, corrosive sub-culture, and its immediate manifestations. And liberals must not shy away from that task, because it offends our sentiments (easier said than done - but the diagnosis that tough love parenting and discipline is surely correct). But nor should we forget what might be driving it.
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You tube video - Blaming the Black community - Let's Play this Game! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IfV0Av6QYw
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Is the foregoing:-
1. An empirical statement for which supporting evidence can be provided.
2. An opinion based upon impressions gained through social experience, directly and indirectly.
3. A politically correct mantra to keep the claws of the PC from scratching your face.
I think culture is an uncomfortable topic for the Left politically in any case. As one who has spent a lifetime on that side of the political spectrum, I have often felt that discomforture eminating from many of my comrades when this thorny subject occasionally comes up for discussion. They have you see placed themselves into a rather difficult intellectual straight-jacket. They have tended, like many do, to confuse race with culture. The Right politically have done as well. But they tend to do it in such obvious silly ways like Professor Starkey - that they can be easily attacked for it. The charge of racism is usually enough to end all debate in most instances. Which is why as a topic the Left tend to tread on egg-shells when it is raised. As for Prof Starkey's contribution: He ought to have been a little more prepared and not given his detractors such an obvious line of attack.
I remember one time after a barbecue I threw, a black neighbour came around and asked,''Who were those guys? '' referring to three or four black friends of mine she'd talked to at the BBQ. She started calling them ''boys in the hood'' and rolling her eyes. She was an Afro-Caribbean middle-class literacy project manager!
My outrageously exciting friends were average working-class guys.
You see, one of the things I discovered living in London, is that black people do not know each other. They are as divided socially and by class same as white people which supports your argument in pointing out Starkey's stereotyping stupidity.
BTW, at the BBQ this woman's boy-friend, a black intellectual revolutionary neo-colonialism is everywhere type, did not speak one word to my working-class black friends. He clearly felt awkward in their presence.
But he typifies something. The middle-class, educated black guy who intimidates middle-class whites by being a ''spokesperson for his people.'' That'll be the day.
And it is guys like him who are the PC police.