Saturday 22 March is Anti-Racism Day and on this date at 10:30am in George Square, Glasgow will host a rally, a march and a demonstration against racism and fascism
By Jack Tannock, Media Volunteer
This Saturday will be a day of opposition to the scapegoating of immigrants and foreigners in these tough economic times and a day to stand up to prejudice, hatred and intolerance:
A large scale demonstration under the name ‘Stand Up to Racism and Fascism’ will take place in George Square, Glasgow, from 10.30am.
The rally is supported by STUC, UAF Scotland, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Positive Action in Housing, Scottish Refugee Council, Friends of Romano Lav, numerous trades councils across Scotland, most major trade unions including EIS, UNITE, PCS, UCU, UNISON and more.
More than that though, it will be a day to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of Scottish culture; a culture that is and should always be welcoming to all.
Fighting racism
Scotland has a proud tradition of taking up the fight against those who seek to oppress or discriminate against their fellow man.
I would like to live in a nation where all men (and women) are treated equally regardless of their differences, be it colour, creed, nationality, religion, sexuality or gender. I would like to live in a nation that is welcoming to all and where no one is allowed to place themselves above anyone else. Which is more, I would like to believe that Scotland is such a nation.
But I accept that Scotland, like anywhere else, has its problems and has its vocal minority who are not accepting of these values and not accepting of those who are different.
That is why it is so important that on the 22nd at George Square, we continue to stand against those same forces who seek to divide us and seek to gain from fear and ignorance.
Multiculturalism is here
Finally, if we are going to stand up for multiculturalism then it is worth mentioning what it actually is and why it matters. There are many within politics and the media who seem to hold multiculturalism in distain and many within society who openly despise it. Those who oppose multiculturalism often refer to it as ‘an experiment that has failed’. We refute that be contending that multiculturalism hasn’t failed but it is surely more important to state that it is not an experiment in the first place. Rather than an ‘experiment’, multiculturalism is simply the way that life has always been. It’s not top – down, it’s bottom – up. Diversity exists not as some trendy media construct but because life itself is diverse.
Britain is the very definition of a multicultural state as, apart from anything else, it is made up of four different nations. We are all Scottish or English or Irish or Welsh. Or, more likely a mixture of two or three or even all four of these different nationalities which each have their own culture and art and even languages. Our heritage is Celtic and Roman and Viking and Anglo-Saxon and Norman and French and half a hundred other things. There is a long and proud Jewish heritage in this country and all these things and more make our nation the brilliant, eccentric, unique and diverse place that it is today. This has only been added to over the years by thousands of people from all across the globe to make this land their home. Theirs is the food we eat, the music we listen to, the books we read, the products we buy and even the words we speak. And now ours too.
And that all sounds like something worth standing up for to me…
Find out more about the Stand Up to Racism and Fascism demonstration.
