Why we may Never Stamp out Racism

The scene in Paris where a black man was prevented from boarding a train on the Paris Metro by a number of Chelsea football supporters was proof that despite being 2015, very little has changed.

A bystander at Richelieu-Drouot station recorded the event on his mobile phone, capturing the moment the rowdy supporters pushed the man named as Souleymane S., 33 years old, away as he tried to step off the platform and onto the train. They chanted, “we’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it”. Overwhelmed and humiliated he gave up and walked away.

In spirituality, and long considered a scientific truth, we are all ‘one consciousness’, or Universal Mind as it is also known. This states that our everyday experience is merely a projected reality, where things appear to be separate, and yet as every being consists of energy, we are all interconnected. We therefore all embody the one consciousness. From this perspective this makes the notion of racism or any form of bigotry ridiculous and absurd.

However, there are those that remain unable to acknowledge this truth at their current stage of development, and are ‘blocked’, instead seeking out other equally insecure kindred spirits with whom they can latch onto.

Unfortunately it is to the detriment of the image of football, widely regarded as the number one sport for the masses, that a tribal mentality is able to flourish. Attracting a minority of disaffected and misguided individuals who are able to hide behind a façade. With their identities concealed and within their greater numbers, they then feel empowered to project their insecurities onto other vulnerable victims.

Without wishing to overstate the point, this may be a similar to, and perhaps more socially acceptable, than joining the National Front, Ku Klux Klan or any other racist group.

To highlight the scale of their indifference to football and clearly not being genuine supporters, they ignore the fact that some of Chelsea’s most prestigious football players were black. Most notably Didier Drogba, who was pivotal in helping Chelsea to win the UEFA Champions league in 2012 with his equalizing goal. Chelsea became the only London club to do so, and the only club to win all 4 European titles with that win. This was obviously lost on these so-called Chelsea supporters.

They showed themselves for what they are, and how football and society has much further to go.

In the end, this may be a sad reminder that this kind of behaviour may never be eradicated completely, and that the responsibility of remedying someone’s ignorance and limited world view may ultimately rest with that individual.