The England football team will defeat Croatia 5-0 this week, taking their first steps toward World Cup glory. Of course, that prediction is pure fantasy. However, what Wednesday's match will truly demonstrate is how united we remain against those who seek to divide us.
We will laugh again, cry again, cheer again, and remember how to embrace complete strangers. We will honk car horns at random people in the street, commiserate in pubs when we come so close yet fall short once more.
Football's Timely Arrival Amidst Division
The football could not have come at a better time. Britain is being set ablaze by racists and xenophobes. These hate-mongers are indifferent to the fact that we remain utterly united in condemning anyone who inflicts harm, as seen in last week's riots.
They are being allowed to challenge that narrative. Regular readers of this column know my ongoing concern that the relentless airtime given to those who wish to divide us could lead to something terrible.
Last Week's Violence
Last week, it did. Belfast erupted into pogroms similar to those seen across England during summer 2024. People of colour were terrorized, their houses set on fire, their businesses wrecked. This was inflamed by a right-wing social media trillionaire spreading the false claim that crime is perpetrated by just one demographic.
Platforms legitimizing stone-cold racism remain in plain sight. Lies go unchecked on TV and radio. Rhetoric for which the average person would be sacked is amplified on broadcast media. On Sunday, ex-Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman lied on Sky News, claiming non-white people are treated less harshly by the UK justice system.
Disproportionate Targeting
Statistics from government bodies, human rights groups, and watchdogs consistently prove Black people are disproportionately targeted by police. In March, a King's College London study revealed Black people are four times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people across England and Wales. For the Met, it is 3.7 times. Around two-thirds of stops lead to no action or establish wrongful suspicion.
Yet they lie with impunity on TV, poisoning society by amplifying untruths, fomenting fear and loathing. Some broadcasters allow racism to be drip-fed into our homes on breakfast shows disguised as debates over legitimate concerns. Some in the Westminster political class treat politicians who would have been marginalized 20 years ago as heavyweights today.
Questioning the Narrative
Even after Belfast carnage, TV news presenters asked: 'Were they really race riots or protesters voicing their concerns?' Ask the families who fled their homes set on fire by thugs. Anyone who asks that question is part of the problem.
The Arsenal parade proves the nonsense of football can cut through the chaos and unite us all.
