ninme

The Sunday Times - Mr Multicultural shows his teeth, by Nirpal Dhaliwal

It seems that Trevor ain’t been “keeping it real” enough for Ken (or K Diddy as we call him on the street), so he’s calling new Labour’s No 1 homeboy a coconut. Maybe Trevor [Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality] should get some gold teeth and grab his crotch more often.

Like in America, Britain’s debate on multiculturalism is becoming an empty-headed bun-fight in which race is a convenient bat to beat your opponents with. The United States has always been fraught with individuals tapping ethnic anxieties to further themselves. The Rev Al Sharpton and his jerry-curled hair became famous throughout the country as he jumped on the flimsiest bandwagons to make hysterical overstatements about race.

Britain’s irony is that the person profiting most from exploiting racial tensions is not a glamorous funky demagogue but a white middle-aged nerd. But K Diddy is savvy to the way race is skilfully employed in America and has imported those techniques here.

Amazing. A non-white Englishman is the only person writing in Britain who’s ever got our race relations problem right. Which rather proves a very large point, I’d say. But first, let’s get back to K. Diddy:

Livingstone clings to the myth that he is Britain’s Mr Multicultural. In his view even black people can’t be less than euphoric about the [Notting Hill] carnival. He makes glib associations between Phillips and the far right, while snuggling up to dark-skinned fascists himself. The mayor pats himself on the back for an occasional street party while sneakily exploiting ethnic divisions.

Yesss!

Ooh I almost saved and then I realized I’d linked to this guy before! On Awards, from April 16, 2005, about the “Decibel Prize”, and I said:

I think I love this guy.

He’s bringing me flowers.