Dear Ms Birbalsingh,

The subject you write about – discrimination and racism – brings out many different emotions and I respect you for being so passionate about it. However, I am writing to you because I so strongly disagree with what your article says about Mark Duggan.

Firstly, your agenda is twisted: ‘What colour is Mark Duggan?’ It shouldn’t matter what colour this man is; everyone should be treated equally. Sure, he has a different skin colour and yes, he may have done some bad things, but does that give anyone the right to take a life of another? For you to say that the Tottenham riots started because of race is wrong; I strongly believe that they began because of a complex combination of factors due to frustration about an injustice of equality. One example of this is the fact that at least 338 black males and females since 1998 have been murdered whilst in police custody and there has not been a single conviction of any officer for any of those deaths. This shows that the black community is not currently safe, even with the police officers who have sworn to protect them. You have said that the police are not a problem and that their behaviour shouldn’t excuse black males’ and females’ actions. And yet the black community can’t even stay in a cell, behind steel bars, without having to worry about their lives being taken from them.

Institutional racism has been cataloged in the police force for decades now, dating back to the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 whilst waiting for a bus. This attack was racially motivated but incredibly it took 20 years before the murderers were convicted. Macpherson’s public inquiry in 1998 found that the police force were corrupt and racist. As recently as 2015 – 22 years after the Stephen Lawrence murder – Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who is Britain’s most senior police officer, admitted that racism is still endemic within the police force: “If other people think we are institutionally racist, then we are. It’s no good me saying we’re not and saying you must believe me. [That would be] a nonsense, if they believe that.” The fact is that years of ingrained racist treatment from the police means that the community have become mistrustful of them and when a death within the community occurs this only adds more distrust and paranoia to the minds of both the black and white community. Aside from racism, there is also the massive problem of poverty and social inequality faced by the people living in these parts of London: research shows that in 2013 every 1 in 3 children living in Tottenham faced the problem of poverty. Yet commentators such as yourself give simplistic reasons why events like riots take place across London.

Every human being should have freedom of speech and the opportunity to make their point clear. However, I strongly feel that you’re being biased about this subject – you are basing your article on the assumption that all black males and females are aggressive and violent, when history shows that the real situation underlying violent protests such as these riots is much more complex. I know many black people who wouldn’t even hurt a fly and I feel that it is totally unfair of you to compare all the decent males and females to all the negative ones; at the end of the day we are all human beings and we are brought up to live with people even if they have flaws. Every human being has the potential to be aggressive, violent and nasty, and I bet that you have had your moments too…. Black people have had to face violence and pain for many, many years and time has proven many people wrong in their treatment of them. The black community only seem to be violent and aggressive when we are violent to them; if we didn’t provoke this type of behaviour then there would be more chance of everybody getting along.

In conclusion, I feel your piece is only looking at the London riots in a way which is actually presented to you. The media has come along way in its technology and one advantage they have managed to create is the ability to hide or twist situations in a way which suits them. The police have suffered a lot of allegations in the past, accusing them of hiding the truth from the people and I can strongly say that I believe these rumours. Personally, I would say that you may need to look at things from the side of the ‘blacks’, before you start pointing the finger.

Thank you.
Sincerely, Thomas Melville.