What do you see when you look at those tragic images from Paris? Did you see what the Daily Mail reporter saw, which they described as ‘large men battling on the streets of Paris with makeshift clubs’?
That is not how I see it. I am tolerant you see. I care. If you had an ounce of compassion, you would see a vulnerable young child. A child you should be adopting. I would do it myself only, well, it’s me nerves you see. I would adopt a kid if it wasn’t for those pesky trolls and taxi drivers.
But look at the picture through my caring eyes. It appears that somebody has given all these poor refugee boys some French loaves. Lily Allen perhaps. Or maybe Bob Geldof has taken a break from bringing up his own model family to show us all how to be good.
Rather than greedily scoffing their bread, these adorable young boys appear to be using them to conduct a folk dance. They are clearly Morris dancing. I bet you cannot Morris dance can you? And yet these young men know more about your country than you do. They have integrated. Oh, I bet there is a viral in this. I might send it to Buzzfeed, they will run it before you can say ‘fact check’. And, OMG, I bet you will feel silly one day, when you go to your local NHS hospital and you have to rely on these boys to perform lifesaving surgery on you.
At least that’s my interpretation of these images. But then again, I’m not a racist. You probably see something different. Oh no, I’m not saying you are a racist. I’m sure you are not. (Chortle).
I’m not saying you do not see the good in others. Maybe you do.
But there is an important distinction between me and you. It is not enough for me to just see the good in others. I have to be seen to be seeing the good in others.
Now, let me show you another picture, from Rotherham this time.
Do you see a young vulnerable girl falling victim to a child sex ring? Or just some provincial Little Englander from Brexitshire? Lily Allen had a song about Little Englanders. F**k You Very Much. I do not imagine Lily or Bob will be visiting Rotherham soon.
Won’t somebody please think of the children? No, no! Not those children, the fashionable ones.
(Image: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène)
