“Nuts About Coconuts?” asks Solicitor in Sutton Coldfield after Bristol Councillor Prosecuted

During a debate about funding for BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) groups in Bristol, a Councillor found herself in hot water when she called a fellow Councillor a “Coconut”.

Black Councillor Shirley Brown became angry when Asian councillor, Ms. Jay Jethwa, argued in favour of cuts in the budget.

In such a context, the word “Coconut” is usually taken to mean someone “who is brown on the outside, but white on the inside”.

Other slang words used in a similar context include “Oreo” – ie “black on the outside but white inside”; or “Banana” in the Chinese community – “yellow on the outside and white on the inside”.

Ms Brown later apologised repeatedly to Ms Jethwa, however the issue was taken to local, regional and then national hearings, before being taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The CPS said the prosecution was “in the public interest… because it alleged an offence where the suspect demonstrated hostility towards the victim based on discrimination against the victim’s ethnic origin”.

On Monday Ms Brown was convicted, and was handed a 12-month conditional discharge as well as being ordered to pay costs.

So… without wanting to use phrases like “political correctness gone mad” or coming over all “Daily Mail”, does anybody think this was a good use of public funds or really “in the public interest”?

Obviously one cannot put oneself into the shoes of Ms. Jetwa to experience her sense of hurt directly. However, my wife is of British Indian origin and I am a white man from Northern Ireland. We’ve both encountered mild barbs of this nature – “Paddy” or indeed “Coconut” (since my wife “married out”). For me it really falls into the “sticks and stones” category, surely?

BBC Asian Network radio actually have a section – which is very popular for phone-in requests – called “Coconut Classic”. This is where listeners playfully identify themselves as “closet coconuts” when choosing mainly cheesy Eighties “classics”, like True by Spandau Ballet, which are then played on-air. I have never heard anybody call in to complain that they were being oppressed by the concept!

Indeed the Asian community has it’s own “reserved” slang words for members of other communities which are used routinely – like Gora (“white man”, sometimes pejorative, sometimes not); or “Kala” (“black man”, used mainly in a pejorative way in my experience).

So… where do we draw the line? Should Carol Thatcher not have been prosecuted when she used the term “golliwog” on television last year? To me that seems a much more hurtful and insulting phrase.

Are there any “black and white rules” we can take for granted on this Black and White issue? Or is it all shades of humourless, homogenous grey?

Posted via email from Harvey’s posterous