RECENTLY, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, defended his comments made earlier this year when he referred to ‘these Asian paedophiles’.
Despite the controversy at the time, have we reached a new level of acceptance with what can and cannot be said?
When asked about the tweet, speaking on the Today programme, he said: “I’m very much aware of the need for politicians to be careful with language as well as what they do.
“When it comes to gang-based child exploitation it is self-evident to anyone who cares to look that if you look at all the recent high-profile cases there is a high proportion of men that are of Pakistani heritage.”
There are a few points that tend to get lost. No-one in the Asian community or anyone else is saying we should not talk about these issues.
Have you spoken to any person of Pakistani descent who does not think such crimes are disgusting and vile?
These are the actions of criminals. I have yet to read or meet a single Muslim, or for that matter Pakistani, who says such actions should not be tackled head on.
And in no way can anyone claim that by pointing out Sajid Javid’s apparent disregard for common sense does it mean one wants to brush the issue under the carpet or wish to ignore it.
This, however, has got to do with the contradictions within what we find acceptable and what is not.
On the back of this I spotted a headline in Pakistani and Indian newspapers which claimed… ‘Most paedophiles in the UK are of Pakistani origin’. Really?
The latter was blazed across the reputable Times of India, of all places.
Clearly the message tends to be lost in our fascination with pointing out the failures of a culture and a nationality rather than the actual crimes being committed.
We would not, however, look to judge other crimes and try to link them to a certain religion or nationality in such a way. And why would we?
Sajid Javid has Pakistani heritage and has fallen into that common trap where he senses he can’t be openly controversial of such subject matter because of this fact.
I have read many commentators and politicians who tend to think they cannot be accused of bigotry because they are in fact Asian or black themselves.
By doing so they use words and descriptions that are likely to be found in the comments section of a far-right Facebook page.
But just because you can say it, does that mean you should?
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