Hi everyone, I am back after taking a brief hiatus to look after myself. I have always been transparent about my ongoing health issues, and recently I have had quite the flair up regarding my Sjogren’s and bowel issues. Resulting in me having to undergo a colonoscopy, and scan where I am also dealing with the pain from returning fibroids. However that does not mean that I have not been keeping up to date on what is happening in the world around me, or with my creative endeavours when I can.
With that I would like to address the current "No Kings" protest in the United States at the moment, though I am watching from across the pond, I completely understand and support the "50501 Movement" ("50 states, 50 protests, one movement") regarding their stand against what they describe (and what we see globally) as the authoritarian actions by Trump, that resemble that of a monarch enforcing his "divine right" over others, overstepping democratic norms (regarding the dismissal of each states writ of Habeus Corpus) and acting in a manner perceived as authoritarian, which is an abuse of his presidential power. Especially where this protest has coincided with heightened tensions and recent federal immigration raids, especially in places like Los Angeles, where there had been days of protests against ICE, due to the Supreme Court allowing Trump to revoke legal status for 500,000 migrants, most of which are from Latin America and protected by the US Citizenship Act of 2021, and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
These protests also highlight LGBTQ+ rights (coinciding with Pride Month), where the Trump administration has been pushing to define "sex" strictly as biologically male or female, ignoring gender identity. This affects everything from official forms to legal protections. There is also a strong focus by Trump on restricting gender-affirming care and cutting federal funding for programs that support transgender people, and of course as I have mentioned in a previous post, through the deconstruction of DEI, he is trying to eliminate anti-discrimination safeguards for LGBTQ+ people across various areas like employment, education, and housing.
Trump has also been silencing free speech that does not align with his dictatorship, especially regarding solidarity with other movements (like those deemed as pro-Palestinian) by targeting non-citizens for deportation, such as Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who was detained despite not breaking any laws while protesting, which in my opinion is a direct assault on his First Amendment rights which also extend to non-citizens like him. The Trump administration has also been threatening to cut federal funding for universities, such as Harvard where they have spoken up against Trump’s policies, and stood their ground against the introduction of "Ideological Litmus Tests" to ban entry, or remove non-citizens who support Palestinian rights or critique U.S. policy, labelling them as anti-Semitic or Hamas sympathisers despite the many American people of Israeli descent who also decry the actions of their homeland towards the Palestinian people. Plus if you want me to get etymological the term "Semitic" actually refers to a family of languages that includes both Hebrew and Arabic, as well as the people who speak those Semitic languages, which again will be those who are of Hebrew and Arabic ancestry, which guess what includes Palestine.
Getting back to ICE and the Latino community I do feel a deep sadness that due to the Supreme Court case Hernandez v. Texas (1954) which recognised that people of this ancestry could not be discriminated against, due to them legally classified as white under Jim Crow laws, has further fuelled lateral oppression resulting in the predicament they are currently in. If you are unaware of what “lateral oppression” is, in a nutshell it is when people within a marginalized or oppressed group turn their anger, frustration, or negative behaviours inwards, towards each other (through discrimination such as colourism, texturism and featurism) or against members of other ethnic groups who are as equally or in some cases more oppressed than themselves, instead of directing it towards the actual source of their oppression (the dominant group or system).
Colonialism unfortunately is a huge driver of lateral oppression because it systematically creates and reinforces power imbalances and trauma. Those who colonised these indigenous people over time often imposed racist beliefs, telling colonized people they were inferior, their cultures were worthless, and their ways of life were primitive (as seen in the book "The Conquest of New Spain" by Bernal Diaz and the start of what later became the "Casta" system). Over generations, some of these negative messages can be internalized by the oppressed. They might start to believe some of these harmful stereotypes about themselves, their own people and other groups brought into their environment when you look at the enslavement of African people, who were brought to places like Mexico and Cuba. This then led to these colonial powers implementing the technique of divide and conquer, by often and deliberately favouring certain groups over others, creating hierarchies and competition within the colonized population. For example, they might give more resources or opportunities to those who assimilated more easily, code-switched for survival or looked closer in appearance to those who were doing the colonising, thus creating resentment and conflict among different factions of the colonized people.
Hence how easy I believe it was for Trump to convince many members of the Latino community, despite the transparency regarding his proposed immigration laws, that they were the "ideal minority", where cases like those in 1954 made it seem that they would likely not be deported. The irony of this though in my opinion, is that if it was not for the fight for civil rights, primarily led by Black Americans, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, would not have passed. This act helped to abolish the discriminatory national-origin quotas that had heavily favoured European immigrants since the 1920s (including Trump's mother) and was deeply influenced by the push for racial equality, opening the door for significantly more immigration from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Before 1965, immigration from non-European countries was severely restricted or outright banned meaning that many non-Black immigrant groups and their descendants in the U.S. today have benefited from legal frameworks and societal shifts that were directly influenced by the Black Civil Rights struggle, but I digress.
I just hope going forward, with protests such as these, will bring more of the USA together rather than continuing to feed the false rhetoric born from the man-made construct of racism. When slavery ended Black Americans were stereotyped as lazy trouble makers, yet this only happened when they were no longer working for free. I see the same stereotype regarding Mexicans, yet why are ICE raiding workplaces? Looking back during WWII many Japanese people were also illegally detained after the attack on Pearl Harbour, yet there are many in these communities (not all) who are not speaking up against Trump and the actions of ICE. Even if not from Japanese ancestry, long before WWII, Chinese immigrants faced severe discrimination in the USA, due to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which effectively barred Chinese immigration and denied existing Chinese residents the ability to become citizens. With this act only being repealed in 1943, due to the allyship the US formed with China during the second world war, yet despite this solidarity, this still did not stop many people of East Asian descent being viewed with suspicion, where many Chinese Americans had to wear badges and put up signs in their businesses in hope of preventing personal harm and harassment, which almost mirrors the same abuse many East Asians experienced during the Covid19 pandemic, thanks to Trump’s “China flu” comments during his first term as US president.
Now looking at my side of the fence, I have to address a disturbing interview I watched on YouTube (via Talk Tv) between Alex Phillips and Nigel Farage discussing the ongoing furore in Ballymena and remigration. Heartbreakingly the immediate trigger for the unrest was an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Ballymena by two 14 year old boys from Romania, who were promptly brought to justice for the incident. However like last summer in England with the upheaval in Southport; violent, and racially charged riots erupted after being "hijacked" by anti-immigration stances, despite the victim's father calling for a "peaceful protest." Rioters then went on to target homes identified with immigrants, setting vehicles and houses on fire, and throwing projectiles like bricks, bottles, petrol bombs, and fireworks at the police, leaving 60 police officers (so far) injured. As a response this has caused local residents (in fear of their own safety) to put up signs in their homes indicating they are "British households" in order to avoid being attacked, while some immigrant families have had to flee their homes completely for emergency accommodation where their homes have been destroyed.
While the alleged assault was the immediate spark, reports indicate that there have been rising tensions in Ballymena for some time, where census data shows that Ballymena has experienced significant and rapid demographic change, with a higher increase in non-English/Irish speaking residents compared to other parts of Northern Ireland and the UK. This rapid change, combined with existing social and economic grievances in some areas, is cited by some politicians as a source of underlying tension, though they condemn the violence. Some communities feel their opinions on immigration have been ignored allowing far right echo chambers on social media to play a role in fuelling the unrest, with a high volume of negative posts mentioning "migrants" in the weeks leading up to and during the riots. In my opinion this is a stark example of how fear, misinformation, and existing social anxieties can be exploited and inflamed, leading to deeply harmful and xenophobic actions. When public figures such as Alex Phillips use such incidents to advocate for "remigration" it unfortunately feeds into and amplifies these very sentiments of division and fear, rather than promoting understanding or constructive solutions. Like Farage and Phillips, I agree that an alleged sexual assault of a child is, understandably, a deeply upsetting event, but by linking this directly to the nationality of the alleged perpetrators, in my opinion is incredibly exploitative and taps into primal fears about safety, particularly the safety of children, shifting a crime committed by individuals to a broader problem with an entire group. This allows for the creation of an "us vs. them" narrative, where "we" (the perceived native population) are under threat from "them" (the immigrant population).
As I mentioned earlier, Ballymena has experienced significant demographic change and existing tensions as a result of that, allowing politicians like Farage, and certain media outlets, to exploit these local grievances by presenting them as symptomatic of a national crisis caused by immigration, thus allowing those who already hold anti-immigrant sentiments to see events like Ballymena as "proof" of their fears, even if the actual facts are more complex. It validates their biases and makes them more receptive to calls for stricter immigration controls or remigration, and allows parties such as Reform UK to leverage the public's distress and push their agenda to position themselves as the only party who truly understands, sees and makes an effort to address public concerns around immigration fears, thereby gaining political support and votes.
Keir Starmer's recent U-turn on the "National grooming gang enquiry" (I blogged about this last summer too) has also added to Farage's self-righteousness regarding this issue, despite the fact that Starmer's decision has nothing to do with him. Previously Starmer had resisted calls for a full national inquiry, stating that his focus was on implementing the recommendations of a previous inquiry by Professor Alexis Jay. However, following the recent publication of a new independent report by Baroness Louise Casey (which has recommend that another national inquiry is indeed needed), Starmer has now committed to launching one. This U-turn is being presented by his critics (including the Conservatives and Reform UK) as him being "dragged" to the right decision after months of pressure, ignoring the fact that Labour had openly supported the national inquiry into child sexual abuse in 2022, and that Professor Jay had openly admitted that she felt “frustrated” that none of the 20 recommendations from her published report to tackle abuse had been implemented more than two years later before Labour came into power.
Personally I find it profoundly upsetting that complex social problems can be reduced to simplistic, fear-driven narratives for political advantage, and it is particularly painful when it touches on the safety of children and promotes xenophobia. Looking at this immigration dilemma, "remigration" is often a solution touted by the far-right (particularly the Identitarian movement), which in reality is a form of ethnic cleansing, as "remigration" is not about voluntary return to your country of origin, but rather like in America the mass deportation of non-white immigrants. Even scarier the mass deportation of their descendants too, including those born in the country and who are citizens, back to their "place of racial ancestry." It completely disregards their citizenship, legal status, or even their personal history and connection to the country where they were born and raised, and an ideology based on a deeply racist belief that a country should only be for people of a specific "ethnic" or "racial" background, usually white European. It seeks to define national identity solely by race, rather than by citizenship, culture, or shared values.
The UK, like many nations (as discussed in a previous blog), has a long and complex history of migration, both inward and outward, so to suggest that anyone not conforming to a narrow, racially defined "native" identity should be "remigrated" is to deny centuries of intertwined histories, diverse communities, and the contributions of people from all backgrounds. In my opinion it is practically impossible and morally repugnant to want to "remigrate" millions of citizens, and will only lead to unimaginable abuses regarding human rights by playing on people's worst fears and prejudices. When people like Phillips talk about "remigration" she is not talking about supporting people who wish to return to their ancestral homes, she is talking about a vision of the UK (and Europe) where non-white people, regardless of their citizenship or birth, are forcibly removed.
It is a profoundly illiberal, anti-democratic, and inhumane idea, and a direct slap in the face to history and to countless individuals and families who have contributed so much to the very fabric of Britain, like my Gran who was from Jamaica and part of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth itself only exists because of the historical ties of the British Empire. People from these nations were subjects of the British Crown, educated in British systems, and often raised with a strong sense of loyalty to Britain. For many in the Commonwealth, British values were not just something taught, but rather something that was embraced and lived. My Gran raised us all in the Anglican church and was a royalist, as I remember her taking pride in the newspaper clippings saved from the Coronation of Elizabeth II, and all the Royal weddings until she passed away in 2017. My Gran was part of the “Windrush Generation”, where the British government invited people from the Caribbean, to come to the UK after World War II. They were needed to rebuild the country, to fill labour shortages in essential services like the NHS and public transport. They answered that call, often leaving behind everything they knew, to contribute to their "Mother Country."
To then be told they do not belong, or that their descendants should "remigrate" is an act of historical amnesia and profound ingratitude. Especially where hundreds of Jamaicans and other Caribbean men and women (those from Africa, India, Pakistan, Poland and Romania too) volunteered to fight for Britain in both World War I and World War II. They served in the British West Indies Regiment, the RAF, the Royal Navy, and other forces, demonstrating immense loyalty and courage. They fought and died for "King and Country," for the very values and freedoms that these modern xenophobes now deny them and their descendants. Their sacrifices were fundamental to the Allied victory and the very notion that these individuals, and generations of their descendants who are born and bred British citizens, should somehow be "remigrated" is not only a logistical impossibility but a moral outrage. It completely disregards the shared history, the sacrifices made, and the immense contributions these communities have made and continue to make to British society.
It is a deliberate rewriting of history to suit a hateful agenda and weaponizes a selective and distorted version of the past to create division in the present. These "fears" they speak of are often exaggerated, and the "solutions" they propose are based on exclusion and hatred, not on any genuine understanding of complex societal issues or historical truth, for example with the calling for a burqa ban, would you ask a nun to do the same regarding her habit, or a devout member of the Orthodox church to remove their mantilla? It is a deeply painful thing to witness, especially when it directly impacts my family's history and my son's future, but I will leave it at that.
I am and will always be a believer in spiritual equality. The Anglican faith I grew up in has always emphasized spiritual equality before God, where all individuals possess inherent and equal spiritual worth, regardless of external factors like social status, gender, or other perceived differences. I am an advocate for egalitarianism and believe in the ancient Greek concept of “Xenia” which was an institutionalized relationship rooted in generosity, and reciprocity during that time, especially towards those considered as foreign, and was understood as a moral obligation, as well as a political imperative, something we need more of in the world right now rather than ongoing hostility.
References:
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70622038yxo ("No Kings" protests America)
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwynl8jv4gjo (What is Habeus Corpus and why is Trump going to suspend it)
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/15/us/ice-raids-migrants-la-protests (A tumultuous week in Los Angeles illustrates the human toll of the Trump administration’s more aggressive immigration crackdown)
- https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-22/southeast-asians-los-angeles-region-detained-deported-routine-ice-check-ins (Southeast Asians in L.A. region are being detained, deported at routine ICE check-ins)
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgq7wd7xg2o (US orders 500,000 citizens of four countries to leave)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Citizenship_Act_of_2021 (U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Reform_and_Control_Act_of_1986 (Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986)
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/6-ways-trumps-executive-orders-are-targeting-transgender-people (Six ways Trump’s executive orders are targeting transgender people)
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgj5nlxz44yo (Who is Mahmoud Khalil, Palestinian student activist facing US deportation?)
- https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/ (The First Amendment)
- https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/harvard-trump-administration-foreign-students-00403417 (Harvard and Trump admin clash over court protection for foreign students)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litmus_test_(politics) (Litmus test in US politics)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1952 (The US Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernandez_v._Texas (Hernandez V Texas 1954)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_violence (Lateral oppression explained)
- https://colorismhealing.com/pretty-privilege-colorism-featurism-and-texturism/ (Colourism, featurism and texturism explained)
- https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2022/hss/code-switching-the-pressure-on-people-to-change-how-they-speak.html (Code-switching explained)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Mexicans (The history of Afro-Mexicans)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Cubans (The history of Afro-Cubans)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casta (The Casta System of Latin America)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_minority (The stereotype of the "Ideal Minority")
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965 (The US Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internment_of_Japanese_Americans#:~:text=During%20World%20War%20II%2C%20the,two%2Dthirds%20were%20U.S.%20citizens. (The Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII)
- https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act (The US Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 and repeal in 1943)
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/24/coronavirus-us-asian-americans-racism (Racist incidents are increasing while Trump promotes racism by calling coronavirus ‘the Chinese virus’)
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7872pngj2qo (Keir Starmer announces new national inquiry into grooming gangs)
- https://youtu.be/Qx7WZ5OcZVs?si=OHcJUQqUPM-fgPpD (Talk TV discussion between Nigel Farage and Alex Phillips regarding remigration and the Ballymena riots)
- https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jun/14/facile-explanation-for-ballymena-outbreak-of-hostility-northern-ireland-racism (What is behind the hostility in Ballymena)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remigration (Remigration explained)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identitarian_movement (The Identitarian movement)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations (The history of the Commonwealth)
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43782241.amp (The Windrush Generation)
- https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-the-west-indies-helped-the-war-effort-in-the-first-world-war (How the people of the Caribbean helped the UK during WWI)
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/04/britons-largely-unaware-of-black-and-asian-contribution-to-ww2-effort-research-shows (Black and Asian contributions to the WWII effort as part of the British Empire)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II (Allies of WWII)
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/10/britain-politicians-ban-burqa-muslims (British politicians want to ban the burqa)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_egalitarianism (Spiritual equality explained)
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenia_(Greek) (Xenia explained)