TV news presenter Naga Munchetty has been reprimanded by the BBC for saying that Donald Trump’s comments telling women of colour to ‘go home’ were ’embedded in racism’.
Despite qualifying her remarks by saying; ‘I’m not accusing anyone of anything here,’ she has still been found in breach of editorial guidelines, with the BBC explaining that ‘audiences should not be able to tell’ the opinions of its journalists on matters of public policy.
This is by no means the first time that calling out racism has landed the accuser in hot water.
This week, Indigenous Australian rugby star Latrell Mitchell revealed that he has faced a ‘deluge of abuse’ for calling out racism online.
American football star Colin Kaepernick was effectively blacklisted from the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem in protest against racism and police brutality.
Model Munroe Bergdorf was fired from L’Oreal in 2017 for saying that the existence of ‘all white people’ was ‘drenched in racism’, in response to the white supremacist protest in Charlottesville.
Facebook even removed her comments on the grounds of hate speech.
Beyond losing her job, the model also received rape and death threats in the week after her comments went viral, she says she didn’t leave her flat for four days because she was too afraid.
Two years later, and the furore over Naga Munchetty’s criticism of Donald Trump signifies that calling out racism, on any scale, is still a total minefield.
How have we got to a point where the accusation of racism has become so loaded that it can lead to such swift and hostile backlash?
American author and academic Robin DiAngelo has a name for the reactionary response to these accusations:
‘White fragility describes a consistent pattern that surfaces when white people are racially challenged,’ Robin told Metro.co.uk earlier this year.
‘That pattern is defensiveness.
‘The term is meant to capture how little it takes to upset white people.
‘For many of us, the mere suggestion that being white has meaning, much less generalising about white people or assuming that we could know anything about anyone just because they are white, will cause great umbrage and defensiveness.
‘But the impact of that defensiveness is not fragile at all.
‘It is actually a highly effective means of everyday white racial control. Because it works to silence the challenge and to hold the current racial hierarchy in place.’
Robin says that making it impossible to accuse anyone of racism without facing backlash, reprimand, or even being fired, ensures that the conversation is shut down and racism is given the space to continue to exist.
On the other side of the argument, some believe those accused of racism risk ‘disproportionately harsh’ punishment, despite their ‘fantastic’ record as a person:
‘Being accused of racism can be absolutely disastrous for people’s careers,’ psychologist Professor Craig Jackson tells Metro.co.uk.
‘There have been many occasions where people have said things on social media and the public has turned against them and retribution has been very swift – possibly disproportionate – and often not following due process.’
Craig references the sweeping public condemnation of Jade Goody for her racist remarks about Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother and Danny Baker being fired by the BBC within 36 hours for tweeting a photo likening the mixed-race Royal baby to a chimpanzee.
This fear that white people like him face when it comes to race, Prof Jackson believes, is something that people of colour have never had to deal with.
‘White, educated, middle-class males like me, live in fear of being accused of racism, sexism, or predatory behaviour,’ says Craig.
‘Those are the three big things.’
He says the fear instilled by widespread public vitriol against things that are perceived to be racist has caused people to become hyper-defensive about being labelled in this way.
‘When it comes to accusations like this – the smell tends to linger, and that can be really damaging,’ he says.
‘I have a teenager and I see that kids are much better at calling out racism, without labelling the person as a racist.
‘Adults quickly jump to calling someone a racist, over the fact that they are a husband, or a father, or have 20 years of experience as being a fantastic worker.’
Craig says that this sense of fear and defensiveness ‘sets the movement back’ because rather than allowing conversation to flourish and for people to learn from each other, it means people ‘hunker down’ and argue any accusation with everything they have.
Another problem comes with those who think that racism isn’t a thing any more.
The Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight claimed that racism was ‘solved long ago’ and the ‘old wounds’ were being brought up.
‘There is comfort to be found in the belief that we, collectively, are now more enlightened, more inclusive,’ Professor Binna Kandola, author and senior partner at Pearn Kandola, tells Metro.co.uk.
Because overtly racist acts and comments are now widely condemned where they were once condoned, she says, it’s all too easy for people to believe that the problem has been dealt with.
‘To be told that this is not actually the case is a worrying prospect,’ she says.
‘The truth, however, is that racism still very much exists.
‘It has evolved into what psychologists refer to as modern racism, which is more subtle and nuanced than the typical representations of racism.’
Binna says that ‘modern racists’ believe that racism is a thing of the past.
‘This notion that racism no longer exists may help to explain the uproar that Naga Munchetty’s comments have caused,’ she says.
‘Naga is, to modern racists, complaining about something that is no longer an issue and, as a result, she must be out to cause trouble.
‘It is a very neat and clever inversion which then makes her the problem rather than racism.’
The effect this has is one of distraction. Rather than discussing the racist sentiments and the impact they may have on the minority group they were directed at, the conversation is hijacked and instead becomes about the validity of the accusation itself.
Dr Pragya Agarwal is writing a book about the science of unconscious bias, and she agrees that the slippery, ever-changing nature of racism makes it incredibly hard to call out.
‘Some people are offended by being called a racist, more than being a racist because the idea of the moral parameters of racism has evolved,’ Pragya tells Metro.co.uk.
‘When people around them, such as their party members, or close friends, do not impose the same moral sanctions on them, then they are bound to feel that their acts are not abhorrently racist or bigoted.’
Pragya is saying that racism has evolved and become more subtle, but ideas about what constitutes racism have not, which is why calling out microaggressions can be a minefield for minorities because that kind of prejudice is not always immediately apparent.
‘The aversive forms of racism (microaggressions) can be more upsetting and can have a far-reaching impact on mental health,’ says Pragya, suggesting that the effects of racism on those targeted is likely more significant than the ‘lingering smell’ it can cause for the accused.
Many news outlets have made it clear that they believe Trump’s ‘go home’ tweets to be examples of overt racism, so some people have been confused by the BBC’s reluctance to allow their news anchor make the same assertion.
It has been argued that Naga’s reprimand is a question of impartiality rather than the fact she was criticising racism – but there has been an outpouring of support for the presenter from her colleagues and peers who don’t agree with the BBC’s decision to uphold the complaint.
‘When journalists can’t call out obvious racism when they see it and everyone else sees it, then people get away with racism. I’m one hundred percent with #nagamunchetty,’ tweeted science Journalist Angela Saini.
Even Piers Morgan defended his rival breakfast presenter, saying the BBC’s complaint is ‘shameful censorship’.
So, is it this combination of ‘white fragility’ and the malleability of racism that makes it so difficult to talk about race without descending into defensive accusations or hostility?
Professor Kandola thinks it is the knee-jerk reaction of repeatedly shutting down anyone who dares to call out racism that prevents important conversations from being had.
‘This sort of thing happens in organisations on a daily basis and is the reason why people are afraid to complain about the discrimination they experience,’ she explains.
‘The criticism that Naga Munchetty has received is a clear sign that we are not prepared to look these facts in the face.’
Sanctions against those making racist comments is finally starting to happen.
But if the people who call out racism can’t feel secure to do so without becoming instant targets, how much progress can really be made?
If the BBC’s New York correspondent Nick Bryant – a white male – was able to directly refer to Trump’s tweets as racist at the time, and face no punishment, is the problem with calling out racism less about what is being said than who is saying it?
It’s hard to answer that question while racism is still so difficult to discuss.
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