Brexit And Hate Crimes: Do You Feel Safe?

In fact, fewer people are dying as a result of terrorist attacks now than there were when I was watching it happen on TV as a child. But that doesn’t make it any less worrying, and it is something that we as a country, and as a united world, need to tackle. But it’s not the reason why I don’t feel safe in recent years, especially since Brexit.

Although the risk that The Troubles will ignite again as a result of Brexit is something we Brits all need to be concerned about. Yet for some reason, our politicians pushing for a no-deal Brexit aren’t taking it seriously. But that’s a debate for another time.

The perception that terrorists are coming into the UK to attack us was a reason some people gave for wanting to leave the EU. It was one of the reasons my mum gave me for wanting to leave the EU and denying help to refugees fleeing places like Syria because there might become terrorists.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the media, but I do take it with a heavy dose of scepticism. The media is a business like any other, and certain media moguls have questionable agendas. Thus, I get my news from multiple sources, left, centre, and right-leaning.

My mum’s unquestionable belief in soundbites and belief in the fear that was stoked up during the Brexit referendum really grinds my gears, however. If you can get a white mother of a black child, whose dad is an immigrant (from a British Overseas Territories – BOTs), to believe these fears, without question, then anyone can be made to believe these fears, the fear of others. The fear of anyone who doesn’t look like us mentality.

But the problem is, there’s little evidence that is happening, most of our terrorist attacks have been done by people with British citizenship.

Harold D. Clarke, Matthew Goodwin, and Paul Whiteley used data from more than 150,000 voters to analyse the factors and concerns that led people to vote Leave. They found that, of those Leave voters, immigration was the biggest factor in affecting their vote. But they also found that most of those voters also felt that remaining in the EU would increase the risk of terrorism. Even though the reality is that the majority of our terrorist attacks are homegrown, which is also a similar reality for the terrorist attacks across the EU.

But it’s not even the big acts of terrorism or far-right terrorist attacks that make me feel unsafe, it’s the low-level everyday petty stuff that makes me feel safe.

The hero imam Mohammed Mahmoud of the Finsbury Park far-right terrorist attack who protected the terrorist from harm found himself a victim of hate crime. A white male called him “despicable” and spat at him.

I don’t fear the terrorism going on at the moment because I’m statistically safer now from terrorism than I was throughout my childhood. Hate crimes, on the other hand, that’s what concerns me. I thought I’d left the worst part of my childhood (Suicidal Child) behind me as society seemed to have become more accepting of minorities and different cultures.

If fewer people are dying from terrorism now in the UK than there were during The Troubles, then the rise in hate crime is more concerning, for me at least. It seems that current events are just being used as an excuse for people to indulge in their built-up prejudices.

It also shows that facts don’t matter and that minorities are a convenient scapegoat for our country’s problems. When really, most of our hardships have been caused by such government policies as austerity.

This, and Brexit, has fuelled ideologies like the “Great Replacement“. The fear that the white majority is being replaced. Believing that immigrants and minorities are destroying their culture and seeking to replace them, which isn’t the case. People just want to be able to live safely and provide for their families. Furthermore, cultures evolve, and that’s not something you should be scared of.

But it should be noted that between 2012/13 and 2013/14 there was a small increase in hate crimes, then, its upward trend suddenly started to run away with itself, with 2016/2017 jumping massively.

But what no one seems to be considering is the lead-up to the referendum vote was incredibly toxic, as certain news media and politicians sought to dehumanise immigrants. We had people like Nigel Farage standing proudly in front of his anti-immigrant posters, and David Cameron, Prime Minister at the time, referring to migrants as a “swarm“.

You can’t have people in power or who have influence making dehumanising comments and not expect it to affect people from certain parts of society negatively.

Not feeling safe due to Brexit has had an effect on my anxiety disorders (The Weird Behaviour Of My Anxiety Disorders). Especially with the ideology behind some of the beliefs of the far-right. It potentially makes 87.1% of the population of my country a potential risk to my safety.

I know that in reality, I’m not at risk from 87.1% of the population, just like how minorities get persecuted by a fringe few, the same is true of the majority and my fears. It’s just that I’ve suffered so much at the hands of the majority my entire life, it’s hard not to be concerned about returning to the times when it was at its worse.

The abuse I suffered at the hands of my peers, teachers, adult chaperones, “friends” who do nothing to help, a parent who isn’t interested in supporting you emotionally (Awkward Phone Call With My Mum About My Childhood), and racist abuse and harassment from the police, it’s hard not to worry about being a victim. Especially when that is all coupled with the irrational nature of having not one, but two anxiety disorders, leaving you with a fear that’s hard to manage.

The world has always felt like a dangerous place for me as a minority, and when my partner talks about going on holiday somewhere, I always have to consider the risks of being a victim of a hate crime if I went there. There’s a resurgence in far-right populism at the moment, and countries like Russia and Poland I wouldn’t feel safe visiting at the moment. This is a shame because I’m fascinated by other cultures and other countries histories.

Recently, I’ve often sat at home and had my thoughts diverted to if I’ll be a victim of a hate crime if I leave my place. Something that’s never happened to me before Brexit.

What makes all of this worse is the fact that the cuts were done by the Tory government that’s the real cause of our countries’ woes, not the EU, not refugees, not minorities, and not immigration. These cuts have also led to a rise in knife crime. That, coupled with Brexit, fear of being targeted in a random knife attack or a hate crime, really isn’t good for my mental health.

The reality of the statistics might, however, show a different story from what my irrational fears show me. But the media is making sure to sow fear, regardless of the reality, with help from politicians who get the most media coverage, and are allowed to make questionable comments.

Politicians need to be held accountable to a code of conduct that is enforced by an independent judicial body, rather than their own political party and are often too willing to turn a blind eye.

Whatever the outcome of Brexit is, the harm has already been done. It’s a never-ending story that’ll most likely still be an issue being dealt with by the next generation when they’re all grown up. Leaving or staying won’t resolve this situation.

As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, feel free to discuss if Brexit makes you feel safe or not, and about how safe you feel in the world we currently find ourselves in at the moment in the comments section below as well. If you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, then sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, get push notifications for new articles by clicking the red bell icon in the bottom right corner.

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