Something was amiss but I couldn’t say why. I was a sixth-form student and talking to a girl who told me with utter confidence that “white people can’t be victims of racism”. Racism is about power and privilege. White people have power and privilege. Black people and Asians don’t. This means that only the latter group can be victims of racism; racism is the exercise of power and privilege against people of colour.
I nodded at the time – she almost convinced me. Almost. I admired her clarity but felt her account was too neat. I liked her passion but thought it was painfully misguided.
