Tuesday 6 September 2011

Why do ministers so like being seen in schools with lots of ethnic kids?

Politicians see poor white kids as a reminder of political failure; and rich white kids as a reminder of their own privilege - so try to avoid both.

Under the former Labour government, when a minister appeared in a school, it was not uncommon for barely any white pupils to be seen. This happened to the extent that it got mentioned and discussed on a number of social networks.

Now just the other day, Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister - Leader of the Liberal Democrats) appeared in a class of children in a clip related to his belief that holding back kids with good parents will help kids with bad parents (weird idea, but there you go).

In this clip Clegg is seen sitting in the middle of a row of about a dozen kids - with (as far as I saw) one while kid far away near one end. The child immediately next to Clegg - to whom he actually spoke before leaving was a little girl wearing a hijab head scarf (so very clearly and obviously 'ethnic').

What's all this about?

Well, undoubtedly politicians are very careful about their photo opportunities and leave nothing to chance, so this must have been carefully arranged and thought out - as must be the earlier labour school visits. But to what end?

My conclusion is...

UK politicians are embarrassed to be seen with obviously native poor (average) kids in school - it shows that the UK and UK politicians have failed these kids, failed their parents and probably failed their parents too.

UK politicians are embarrassed to be seen with obviously native rich kids in school - it reminds viewers of the obvious privilege our MPs have often experienced, and the privilege their kids will undoubtedly experience.

So ministers, MPs and politicians prefer to be seen with kids who look relatively new to the UK - obviously ethnic and not too integrated - because they are kids who actually have some hope of doing better than their parents. They are kids who may really be socially mobile.

This is in contrast to the native kids who either 'have it all' already or know that they are going nowhere and have no hope - a nasty reminder of what politicians should be focusing on but, for whatever reason, choose to avoid.

Could this same reasoning be behind the deliberate and huge immigration figures the UK has been experiencing for many years now? Our politicians find native citizens, the results of their policies, an embarrassment they want to ignore -- so by importing new, enthusiastic, people from abroad they have a fresh generation to let down - but by the time those results are seen the politicians will be long gone, tucked up comfortably with their ill gotten wealth and privilege.

No comments:

Post a Comment