Covid exposes deeply ingrained racism in UK society

Why is Covid killing people of colour was the title of a recent fascinating documentary by actor David Harewood. He found Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) disproportionately represented amongst those getting and dying from covid. This was caused in part by a high representation of BAME people in the front line- the key worker professions like health, care, transport and food production. BAME people were also found to be over represented in poorer communities, who would be eating less well and suffering more grievously from things like pollution. A doctor ? dismissed the idea that BAME people maybe more genetically vulnerable to the disease than white people. She quoted African and Asian countries that have not been hit as badly by Covid as the UK. What became abundantly clear was that the deeply ingrained racism of British society ensured that BAME people continue to be discriminated against and treated as second class in every way. The Covid pandemic simply exposed that racism, as it has inequality on a grand scale in this society. Moving forward, things could get worse, with a perceived reluctance among some in the BAME community to get vaccinated. This often comes from a distrust born of experience. There are already worrying signs of a discriminatory framework emerging between those who have been vaccinated and those not. The last thing needed now is to throw racial division into that particular construct. The increasing control of people by fear has been a worrying tendency over the period of the pandemic. It will be a struggle moving forward to get back all of the liberties sacrificed on the altar of security. But if we are to create a better world, these liberties must be restored and the racism of society needs addressing. At present, there is a lot of denial going on, particularly at governmental level. This needs to change because otherwise society will continue to disintegrate along race and class lines.