Brown Girl

A few days ago, I wrote about Barack Obama. I stated that it would be a long long time before the UK would see a Black PM. Today, there is an interesting quote from Trevor Philips.

"If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold on power within the Labour Party."

"The parties and the unions and the think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It's institutional racism," he said in the interview.

Well, we know Trev does nothing about these instances but talk about it. Reports come and go and the situations remains the same. The blame should really be laid at the CRE's door because in the end, they are a talking shop incapable of actually doing anything constructive about the UK's problem.

From the medical professions point of view, a few years ago, the Kings Fund published some definitive research on racism. And here we are - Esmail's research on the same issues. A lot more studies yet no action. And here he is gloating again

"I also provide independent advice on accountability mechanisms, on an ad hoc basis, to organisations, which have included the General Medical Council, the British Medical Association, the Department of Health and the Law Society. My membership of national committees is a reflection of this work. My election to the Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee of the BMJ is recognition of the credibility that I have achieved nationally in relation to work on racism in the medical profession"

I had to smirk at this of course because despite the above, large proportions of foreign doctors are sent down the GMC steps. So, Esmail's work has achieved - NIL. We should pamper the old guy as he deserves it - afterall, he is the one who writes the papers and then the rest congratulate him for it. The racism in the NHS remains the same. This can be seen by this article here. Arora describes it as well. We can safely say that racism exists in the NHS and extrapolate that to the entire UK. No one is saying that each and every person is racist, they aren't. There are though pockets of populations that have not become used to the idea of integration and multicultural society. Racism goes both ways of course, there are a number of asian doctors who would not allow their children to marry "white guys". This aspect of racism is under represented or perhaps not mentioned. I have no intention of saying that asians are angels because they aren't. They can be just as racist as some caucasians.

So I was considering the aspect of me turning into a caucasian whistleblower. Now that would be novel. If I was one, my integrity would never be questioned.

This though is the price of doing business. In some sectors many would say " How does Rita Pal, being a little asian girl have the temerity to criticise the British NHS". I don't think these thoughts are consciously racist and I certainly don't feel people in general are racist - it is though a mindset that society is brought up with. A sort of "how dare a foreigner come into this country, be educated by us then seeks to undermine the NHS". This view would probably be more important in some sectors than patients dying.

A brown person or a person of colour is apparently less credible than a caucasian. That is what the media think, that is what the legal profession thinks and that is what society thinks. This is just from personal experience you understand. Essentially, asians or British Asians probably have to work harder, have far more evidence and spend a great deal of time establishing themselves. We compare Professor Rod Griffiths to me. Griffiths is a caucasian high class twit. He is also a serial liar. He knows this, we all know this. It is though interesting that as a brown person I have been subjected to more investigations than your average Professor who holds a CBE and lies at the drop of a hat. His lies though become the truth by way of his CBE and his colour.

So, we come back to the question - why did the GMC look at the way I write. Because, they expect me to write like a caucasian person. They expect everyone different to conform to the upper class British way of doing things. This idea is not endemic within the medical profession, it is simply that the GMC is populated with posh people - who are of the view that they can look down on the rest of us "different minions". It is really a cultural aspect and a failure for the GMC to move forward in any way or form. Sure, their idea of racial equality is to feature pictures of black people on their website or to choose committee members who won't say boo to a goose and remain under the thumb of the English establishment doctors. This cosmetic approach to equality has been ongoing for years - which is why the actual problem of discrimination has never been solved.

Colour should not be an issue but it is and it will remain so until a new generation with a new vision takes over the establishment.