Defining all those -isms

Racism, sexism, agism, we bandy the words around a lot but sometimes they are simply used in the wrong context, which defeats their purpose. At other times, when you point out that something is sexist, for example, you get all sorts of explanations and justification why, apparently, in some people’s view, it is not.

Take racism. Lately, it has become the norm to call someone (who is Maltese) a “racist” against other Maltese, purely because that person sticks up for other nationalities who have been treated unjustly. But, really, that cannot by any definition of the word be called racism. It’s not because I want to quibble, but not only is it the wrong word, but also an entirely wrong concept.

What it can be called is a certain kind of prejudice formed not because of the race, but because of the behavior of that type of person.

Speaking for myself, yes, I have to admit that I am probably becoming more and more prejudiced against eye-watering ignorance; the kind of ignorance which does not pertain to lack of schooling, but lack of appropriate social behaviour, and a dearth of logic or common sense.

There are highly qualified people with strings of letters to their name who open their mouths and display such ignorance that it is mind-boggling. And then there are people who are not well-educated in the academic sense, but who are extremely wise and can spot the fallacy of an argument in ten seconds flat. They also know how to conduct themselves perfectly no matter what the occasion, which is more than can be said for a lot of people who claim to be intelligent.

I tend to become highly irritable and impatient when I come up against any kind of ignorance, irrespective of whether the person is Maltese or not. For all I care they could come from the moon, because as we can see every time we read the news, the trait is global; ignorance has no nationality.

The Americans have their share as we can all see every time we switch on cable TV, the Italians too, as we can see from some of the types who swarm to Malta in the summer months, as do the British. What they share in common is definitely not their nationality, but their loud, obnoxious, anti-social behavior, taking over public places both physically and these days, virtually, on Facebook. They think that laws, rules and regulations have nothing to do with them, but only pertain to other people. What is worse is that their unpleasant behaviour spills over and disrupts the rest of society.  

I recently came across a very interesting theory which points out that what is really at issue are what are known as “value memes”, which vary from one group of people to another.

Let’s be frank, most of us do tend to go through life attributing “value memes” to other people’s behaviour. We choose our circle of friends and acquaintances accordingly, and only hang around with those with whom we feel comfortable.  

Mocking Sai Mizzi's accent, saying they “all look alike”, calling her a geisha (when she is Chinese not Japanese) and so many other derogatory adjectives I have seen all over the Internet – well, that is racism, pure and simple.

So if I take as an example the now notorious bus terminus incident involving the Nigerian-Hungarian man who tried to form a queue and the Maltese woman who spat at him and slapped him, I cannot be accused of racism “against my own people”, simply by saying that the woman was wrong and the man was right. Let’s not get shackled by this skewed kind of nationalism which seems to dictate that we always have to stick up for one another, even when someone who is Maltese is patently in the wrong.

What is definitely racism is a certain type of language and behaviour being directed to Sai Mizzi right now. The criticism should have remained focussed on the fact that she should never have been appointed to an extremely-well paid government job from our taxes purely because she is married to Konrad Mizzi.

Questioning her competence for the job and whether she is actually delivering anything tangible with all the money she is receiving, is also perfectly legitimate. But that, and only that, is relevant.

However, mocking her accent, saying they “all look alike”, calling her a geisha (when she is Chinese not Japanese) and so many other derogatory adjectives I have seen all over the Internet – well, that is racism, pure and simple. Referring to her ONLY as Konrad Mizzi’s wife without mentioning her name is also sexism. Sure, point out the family connection which is the root of the argument, but do not obliterate her identity and wipe out the fact that she is an individual in her own right.

And as for shutting her down and not even letting her speak, well let me put it this way, would that even have happened if she were a man? I very much doubt it. In this country, there are so many who try to diminish women by not allowing them to have a voice, and here we were seeing it literally happening in front of our eyes.

Because that is the test of what constitutes one of these “-isms”. Would your language/behaviour be different if the person was white rather than African or Asian? Would you ridicule and belittle a man in the public eye for his appearance in the same way that people often tear apart the appearance of women? With all things being equal, would you prefer to give a job to a young person rather than to someone over 50?

It is ultimately the motivation behind a person’s reactions which is the key. And in some cases, the knee-jerk reactions are so deeply entrenched and so widespread, that many people are completely oblivious to the fact that certain attitudes are not acceptable and they are positively astonished when you point them out.