Deplorable language is just one part of a climate that enables racism to flourish

Like many of Glasgow’s residents, I was sickened to see the race-related attacks that happened in my city earlier this month.

I’d heard news of a clash between police and protestors while out for a work event, and as I made my way home that night there were still police cars patrolling the city centre, though no sign of the violence that had taken place hours before. It was only the next day when I found out that worshippers at Glasgow Central Mosque had been temporarily locked into the building for their safety, a corner shop was advised to close early, and members of the public had been “attacked because of the colour of their skin”.

I cannot fathom how difficult it must be to be a member of an ethnic minority community just now. Imagine trying to go about your daily life in the place you call home, acutely aware that at any moment you might become a target. One friend told me they had been asked by a Muslim colleague to walk with them into work because they were so frightened.

And while it is the instigators of the disorder and assaults who will have to answer for their actions, it is also for all of us to consider the climate which has emboldened these individuals.

Language matters. And Reform Scotland leader Malcolm Offord using housing issues as a cover to push anti-immigration rhetoric using phrases like “strangers” and “fighting-age men with undisclosed nationality” should be exposed as the dangerous provocation it is. As much as he may try to distance himself from the violence and racism that unfolded in Glasgow and later Greenock, it is language like this that has helped to get us there.

When later confronted by journalists about the use of such language, Offord’s deputy Thomas Kerr replied that he was just using the words he would always use as a member of a working-class community. This is nonsense. He knows what he’s doing, and so do other working-class people, plenty of whom manage to express concerns about housing and healthcare and policing without leaning into prejudices.

Some of us grew up in those same communities. Some of us, yes, even echoed that language because as children we were surrounded by these attitudes. But adults have a responsibility to think about the words they use and the meaning behind them. Politicians especially should take more care. Being ‘just a working-class guy from Glasgow or Greenock’ doesn’t absolve you of that responsibility.

Equally, though, it is no use pointing to the appalling language of these politicians and placing the blame entirely with them. Discontent has been rising in the UK for well over a decade. What Reform does well is pick up on that mood and utilise it for their own aims. The real question is how has the environment in which such attitudes can flourish largely unchallenged been created.

Issues with the cost of living, the NHS and falling standards in schools are apparent but are the fault of those who have been in power. The dissatisfaction felt by people across the country, the lack of trust in the government, is the direct consequence of not only the current crop of politicians, but decades of neglecting people’s priorities.

I understand why many people are so angry that they would turn out to protest. But let’s be clear: none of this is the fault of immigrants. That is a falsity being peddled to sell an easy-sounding solution that one, wouldn’t fix anything, and two, only seeks to further divide our communities.

The violence and disorder we are witnessing is both the consequence of very real societal problems and of those using immigrants and ethnic minority communities as scapegoats.

Acknowledging that people “have the right to raise legitimate concerns” – as Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar has done – is an easy get-out clause if you aren’t willing to engage fully with the problems. If people are linking social ills to immigrants, they should be corrected, not pandered to. And politicians of all parties must hold their hands up about their own role in not addressing the real problems head on.

There must also be some acknowledgment that not all who are protesting are doing so for “legitimate” reasons. A small minority are bigots looking for any excuse to let their prejudices out. These people should be called out for what they are and not protected by the fig leaf of being just normal people expressing concern.

The problems currently facing Scotland and the wider UK are myriad and complex. There is no easy fix and indeed part of where we are now is because of multiple governments’ refusal to make difficult decisions that would in the long run better the country.

It is little wonder people are looking to any politician who at least acknowledges the problems, even as those politicians offer false solutions. Scapegoating is only possible because of the climate that has been built.

Until someone steps up and takes note, I fear continued violence on our streets will only continue.