Comment: Suarez and Evra are a microcosm of British multiculturalism

The most widespread and dangerous racism in British society takes place within immigrant groups.

Mainstream British culture - and by that I mean the white working and middle-classes - has taken roughly 50 years to deal with its racism. From Enoch Powell to Stephen Lawrence, it has taken a deep look inside itself and come to some respectable conclusions. It hasn't all been plain sailing - and we're not done yet - but in general outright racism has been hammered down to a minimal level. For this, we must thank media interest, the social pariah status of racists and a curiously egalitarian element to the British personality.

Similar forces do not always act in immigrant communities. Within and between immigrant groups, racism is a day-to-day event. Luis Suarez's use of the word 'negro' was, he said, an acceptable term in Latin American communities. There's some truth to that. It’s even used between lovers, in a manner which sounds odd to western ears. But in a combative situation, it is perfectly capable of being an offensive racist term.

In fact, the use of the term 'negrito' to describe blacks has a derogatory element to it. The suffix '-ito' designates something small and cute. It is often added to children's names until they are grown up, for instance. At the heart of its use, which is extremely common in Latin communities, is a subtle but telling lack of respect for black people.

In Britain, the Afro-Caribbean community is often the subject of racism from other immigrants. Those from the Indian sub-continent are very often suspicious of Afro-Caribbeans. Indian or Pakistani fathers are rarely impressed when their daughters marry white Englishmen, but they are horrified if they become involved with black Englishmen. Similar views exist in Middle-Eastern and Chinese communities. The same rules, it hardly needs mentioning, rarely pertain to their sons.

Prejudice exists within racial groups as well . Plenty of higher caste Indians in the UK hold and enforce their prejudice against lower casts on a daily basis.

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