I find the brouhaha about Michelle Brown's use of the term "coconut" puzzling, but not as puzzling as her choosing this particular insult in the first place. From her pictures she appears to be a White Anglo-Saxon and "coconut" is a metaphor chosen by African-Americans to describe other African-Americans who they felt had betrayed the black cause. "Oreo" is a similar term, both relating to something which is dark brown on the outside but white on the inside. Both seem to have replaced "Uncle Tom" as a term of abuse. But what business is it of Ms Brown?
Umunna's crime appears to be a class betrayal rather than one of ethnicity. His alleged socialite life-style, removed from the interests of the people his party purports to represent, has long featured in the radical media.
Perhaps, more worryingly, what Ms Brown objects to is mixed marriages. Perhaps she would like to see the introduction of apartheid. Perhaps if people like her came to power there would be a Group Areas Act and people like Chuka Umunna would be restricted to "coloureds only" districts.
More likely she is just silly and should either be ignored or made fun of. The po-faced response to her inappropriate attack can only cause more trouble.
No comments:
Post a Comment