[osint] Ethnic groups shun minister's rebranding plan

Bruce Tefft Tue, 09 Aug 2005 15:39:45 -0700

 
Why don't they try something really new and call UK citizens, British?
 
Teddy Roosevelt's commentary on hyphenated-Americans seems equally
apropriate here.
 
Bruce

In an October 12, 1915 speech to the Knights of Columbus
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus> , Roosevelt said,

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer
to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of
the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans,
Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.
... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of
preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be
to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate
knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans,
French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each
preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy
with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the
American Republic. ... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who
is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an
American and nothing else."

President Woodrow Wilson <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson> also
regarded those whom he termed "hyphenated Americans" (German-Americans,
Irish-Americans, etc.) with suspicion, saying, "Any man who carries a hyphen
about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals
of this Republic whenever he gets ready."

Ethnic groups shun minister's rebranding plan

By Arifa Akbar

Published: 09 August 2005

The Independent

Britain's ethnic communities have been dismayed by a suggestion from a
government minister that they should "rebrand" their identities in an
attempt to inspire greater patriotism.

The Home Office minister, Hazel Blears, said that Muslim and minority groups
should be asked if they wanted to be referred to by terms such as
Asian-British, Pakistani-British or Indian-British, rather than simply as
"Asians". She would be floating the idea at a series of meetings with Muslim
leaders this summer, she said.

But a Downing Street spokeswoman emphasised yesterday that this was not
something the Government was actively promoting, after the idea received a
cool response from Muslim leaders.

"This is something that has been put to Hazel Blears in meetings. It is not
something she suggested. It is not something that the Government is
proposing or suggesting," the spokeswoman said.

In an interview with The Times, Ms Blears, who was appointed head of a
government commission on integrating minorities, said that it might be
useful to adhere to an American US-style identity system. "In America, they
do seem to have the idea that you're an Italian-American or you're an
Irish-American, and that's quite interesting," she said.

"I am going to talk to people and ask how does that feel? It is about your
identity and I think it's really important.

"I think it's really important, if you want a society that is really welded
together, there are certain things that unite us because you are British,
but you can be a bit different too." Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the general
secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, was irritated by Ms Blears'
suggestion. "What of the second generations? Why should they be defined as
other than British?" he asked.

"These forms of identity based on ethnic background have been tried in the
past and have failed," Sir Iqbal said yesterday.

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, of the Muslim Parliament, said: "Nobody cares for
labels. We have to create a stakeholding society and an inclusive society."

Manzoor Moghal, chairman of the Muslim Forum, said that the idea would be
deeply divisive. "It would create a lower strata of British.

"It gives people labels and dilutes their citizenship compared to original,
white British people. It is not helpful in creating the togetherness that
they have been talking about," Mr Moghal said.

Inayat Bunglawala, senior spokesman from the Muslim Council of Britain said
"it makes no sense" to re-categorise British citizens in this way and that
it could only be reductive. Mr Bunglawala said he would be more inclined to
support a faith-based label, such as "British Muslim".

How we want to be described

SARAH JOSEPH, editor of the Muslim magazine EMEL

"I think we should decide ourselves what to call ourselves. Are we trying to
create grades of being British? I'm sure Hazel Blears has good intentions
but the Government has been faced with a problem and it's grasping at
straws. The issues we are facing are complicated and we can't spin ourselves
out of the present dilemma or rebrand ourselves. We are not a margarine.
Instead of rebranding ethnic minorities, the Government should be fostering
a sense of belonging."

AYESHA HAZARIKA, award-winning comedian at the Edinburgh Festival

"I don't think anyone including Hazel is suggesting this idea is a simple
solution to the complex issues about race today. But the idea is an
interesting one. The term Asian includes a lot of different types of people.
Just because race is a highly sensitive issue at present I don't think we
should avoid these kinds of discussions. I feel I have a triple Scottish
British and Asian identity. I feel I'm an Indo-Glaswegian Scot. People
should be able to define themselves in whatever way they like."

SUMAN BHUCHAR, theatre promoter

"I'm very clear about my identity and I don't need a government minister to
tell me who I should be or what I should call myself. South Asian theatre
has tackled issues of identity for decades. In the early days, we thought
about whether to define ourselves as British or Indian but in contemporary
times, it's looking at belonging to two different cultures. This is part of
a larger issue in which the state tries to put us in categories, whether
it's for a quota, for political correctness or anything else. I don't
approve of it and I don't think it's helpful."

NITIN SAWHNEY, musician

"I have a massive problem with people focusing on nationality. In the
present climate where people's civil liberties are being undermined and
people are being specifically targeted for their ethnicity and skin colour
and religious beliefs, it's dangerous to be bringing these things into their
profile. It breeds insecurity and paranoia. If you are going to focus on
nationality then you should refer to everyone as British if that person is
born here. Why is it necessary to specify an origin, especially in this
climate?"

SHAMI CHAKRABARTI, director of Liberty

"I think Hazel Blears' heart is in the right place but the idea that you can
rebrand people from above is so disconnected to how people are feeling. This
is the whole problem: you have people feeling patronised and alienated and
then a white minister comes along and says, 'Don't worry, I'm going to
rebrand you and everything will be all right'. Perhaps she would like to
teach us how to bake fairy cakes too. It would be humorous if it were not so
sad. It is the dark comedy of enforced integration. You can't do it this
way."

KEITH VAZ, MP for Leicester East

"I understand what Hazel is trying to do but the British Asian community
know precisely who they are. We know who we are and we are comfortable in
being able to identify ourselves without the need for external labels. What
we should be doing rather than rebranding is doing more to positively
encourage young people from the Asian community to become more involved in
the mainstream. That means ministers like Hazel and others ought to appoint
more Asians to positions of responsibility through quangos, for example."