Wednesday 28 October 2009

What If We Gave A Party With 'Ethnic Minority Arts', And Nobody Came..?

A councillor has criticised a free night-time festival for failing to encourage non-white people along.
And why does he think this?
He was speaking after a complaint was sent to all the city’s councillors and the local authority’s chief executive suggesting the festival alienated people.
One complaint? One?!

But that's all it seems to take these days. Witness the single complaint that sent a man from Inverness Council scurrying to take down the Skull and Crossbones raised above the Town Hall for Halloween, after a former merchant seaman complained it was 'in bad taste'.

Because of events in Somalia...

But back to Brighton and Hove, where we discover the councillor in question is a Green. And he has a blog:
Speaking on his blog, Coun Duncan said: "I think he might have a point: White Lights was fantastic. Although there were events specifically focused on ethnic minority arts, it still felt mono-cultural. "According to the 2001 census (now hopelessly out of date, of course) the city's Black and Minority Ethnic Population is about 15,000 people. Not many of them were out and about last night.
The ungrateful swines...

How's a council supposed to be able to meet its diversity targets if people don't co-operate?

Comments, as always, are well worth reading. One misguided soul says:
pancaker, Lewes says...
3:13pm Tue 27 Oct 09
Just when the Green Party was gaining credibility we have to have this.
It was?!?

10 comments:

Quiet_Man said...

Green normally means switch off and do something else for me too. Unless I'm blogging on their latest tax swindling enviroloony global warming scams of course.

Angry Exile said...

Witness the single complaint that sent a man from Inverness Council scurrying to take down the Skull and Crossbones raised above the Town Hall for Halloween, after a former merchant seaman complained it was 'in bad taste'.

Because of events in Somalia...


Oh God, please let that have been a practical joke. Please let it have been someone who just wanted to see if he could get a dickhead to take the flag down just for shits and giggles.

Mark said...

'How's a council supposed to be able to meet its diversity targets if people don't co-operate?'

It isn't just Councils Julia. Theatre and museum goers are still overwhelmingly 'hideously white' (but still probably beacons of diversity when compared to, say, audiences at the Wigmore Hall).And our NuLab masters don't like this involuntary 'apartness' one bit.

Today's 'Metro' has an extended interview with our leading black playwright, and it's pretty clear that the National Theatre is doing all it can to support him,and that of his lesser imitators, while still at the same time offering a permanent 30 year gig to Sir David Hare. To do both, however, requires pots of public money. Which is fine if the plays put bums on seats, and get a transfer to the West End afterwards, as Hare's and Kwesi-Armah's usually do. Is that true however of the second division of ethnic dramatists who benefit from the NT's (and our) largesse ?

Anonymous said...

what a joke we have become

James Higham said...

Social disobedience is a wonderful thing.

Hurf Durf said...

I've always recognised the Greens to be totally loony. Wherever they have power, anywhere, they always screw it up with goody-goody ecosocialism.

Longrider said...

I did like the comment from "wilftop".

Oh for goodness sake, as an ethnic minority I can safely say I couldn't give two hoots. If it is something I wish to attend I would otherwise I wouldn't. why do we need to encourrage people to attend an event if they don't want to no matter what thier ethnicity.

Will people please stop with all this namby pampy political correctness. Speaking to friends of mine who are also of ethnic minorites we don't care, it's the doo gooders who make it an issue. Don't speak on our behalf we can speak for ourselves.


Can't argue with that. As for "diversity targets" if ever there was a phrase to send a chill down the spine, that is surely one.

Blognor Regis said...

http://twitter.com/KemptownBen has previous.

JuliaM said...

"Green normally means switch off and do something else for me too."

It's starting to mean that for a lot of people, I'm pleased to say...

"Oh God, please let that have been a practical joke. Please let it have been someone who just wanted to see if he could get a dickhead to take the flag down just for shits and giggles."

It's nice to think so. However, there's far, far too many people out there who would not only complain, but expect to have their complaint attended to.

They will then whine when something they favour is hit by this tactic, mind you.

"Theatre and museum goers are still overwhelmingly 'hideously white' (but still probably beacons of diversity when compared to, say, audiences at the Wigmore Hall).And our NuLab masters don't like this involuntary 'apartness' one bit."

This reminds me of the 'campaign to get ethnic minorities into the countryside', launched last summer.

JuliaM said...

"what a joke we have become"

I'd like to think we are getting better, but a glance at the headlines soon disabuses me of that notion...

"I've always recognised the Greens to be totally loony. Wherever they have power, anywhere, they always screw it up with goody-goody ecosocialism."

Luckily, they aren't often elected. ;)

"I did like the comment from "wilftop"."

Yes, me too. More like this, and less from the perpetually-offended, and we'd all get along a lot better.

"KemptownBen has previous."

Aha! I knew I'd heard the name somewhere else recently!