Yellow people. Red people. Black people. Brown people. White people. In theory, we believe everyone’s lives matter equally. In practice, we know that society falls short. I like to think in terms of the philosopher John Rawls’ veil of ignorance. How would you want society to be structured if you didn’t know who you would end being in that society? So, if suddenly your skin changed colour, would you be confident that you would get a fair shot in life? Or if the police stopped you, what skin colour would you prefer – white or black?
Growing up as a brown person, I remember clearly how walking around with black friends was a fundamentally different experience than walking around with white friends. With the former, people would cross the road to avoid us. If we were sitting in a stationary car, a police car would pull up – like clockwork. This never of course happened when I was with my white friends.
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Yellow people. Red people. Black people. Brown people. White people. In theory, we believe everyone’s lives matter equally. In practice, we know that society falls short. I like to think in terms of the philosopher John Rawls’ veil of ignorance. How would you want society to be structured if you didn’t know who you would end being in that society? So, if suddenly your skin changed colour, would you be confident that you would get a fair shot in life? Or if the police stopped you, what skin colour would you prefer – white or black?
Growing up as a brown person, I remember clearly how walking around with black friends was a fundamentally different experience than walking around with white friends. With the former, people would cross the road to avoid us. If we were sitting in a stationary car, a police car would pull up – like clockwork. This never of course happened when I was with my white friends.
Now, you and I are not racist. Of course not. It’s those bad apples. Or uneducated white folk. Or those people on the extreme right wing. And I’m brown, so how can I be racist? Right? The trouble is that, as anyone with an Asian heritage will know, Asians can be extremely racist towards black people too.
So, what to do? The first step would be to understand whether you have power, privilege or authority in a given situation (deservedly or not). If you’re a man, you generally have power in most situations. Or if you’re rich, you have power. And in the UK, having the right Oxford accent gives you power. Then, in the given situation, use that power to be an ally to those that don’t. If you’re a man in a meeting, let women speak. If you’re white or brown, support black people. If you are rich or run a company, hire people that don’t look like you.
What I found most heartbreaking about the killing of George Floyd was not the video, but the words he uttered – specifically, that he called out for his (deceased) mother. On death’s door, he simply wanted motherly love. Let’s show motherly love to everyone around us. Here are his (abridged) final words:
“It’s my face man
I didn’t do nothing serious man
please I can’t breathe
please somebody
I can’t breathe
I can’t move
mama
mama
I’m through
I’m claustrophobic
my stomach hurts
my neck hurts
everything hurts
some water or something
please
I can’t breathe officer
don’t kill me
they gon’ kill me
I can’t breathe
Please I can’t breathe”
His eyes shut, then he was pronounced dead.
Bilal Hafeez is the CEO and Editor of Macro Hive. He spent over twenty years doing research at big banks – JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and Nomura, where he had various “Global Head” roles and did FX, rates and cross-markets research.
(The commentary contained in the above article does not constitute an offer or a solicitation, or a recommendation to implement or liquidate an investment or to carry out any other transaction. It should not be used as a basis for any investment decision or other decision. Any investment decision should be based on appropriate professional advice specific to your needs.)