Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

All of us were horrified and appalled at the death of George Floyd. It stopped us in our tracks and it was as if somebody gave us a kick in the stomach. I remember that awful feeling, as I rewatched that eight minutes and 43 seconds and all I wanted to do was shout: "Stop, please stop." In a way that is what we need to do today. We need to look inside ourselves and we need to tell ourselves to stop because while the actions of the police in the case of George Floyd were murder, plain and simple, they were just the endpoint of a scale that starts with casual racism. That is why we need to tell ourselves to stop.

Many of us carry prejudices that we do not even know about or recognise until we question ourselves. Some of our ideas are formed in a vacuum in that many of us do not see black people regularly and do not interact with them every day or week. Many people do not even interact with black people once a month. That does not make one racist but it can make one unthinking.

Our language is such that in so many instances, the colour white is associated with something that is good, pure or innocent, while the colour black often has a different connotation of something sinister, dark or wrong. Whether we like it or not, our thoughts are coloured by our language. It is difficult to look at oneself and examine those thoughts and they are often not verbally expressed but it is essential that we do so. That is what I mean when I say we sometimes need to stop and ask questions of ourselves.

We are not at the point of what happened in Minneapolis. We are not even close to that but racism is not black and white. It is a gradual move from white to grey and then to black. Minneapolis was black and the question we have to ask ourselves is what colour we are at on that scale. That is why the action we take now is crucial. If we look at so many countries across the world, we can see the divide and rule principle of them and us. It makes it so much easier for dictators to take power and add to that power by politicising the principle of them and us; the insiders and the outsiders; the good and the bad; the worthy and the unworthy; those who belong and those who are strangers; and those who are doing their best and those who are trying to take advantage. That is the direction of travel of an increasing number of rulers. We can call it a culture war or whatever we like but racism is at its core. Again, we are not at that position here and we have time to stop. I have read the programme for Government and the section on inclusion is a progressive and positive statement. If it is implemented, we will not move along that scale.

I want to comment briefly on two issues. We can do more in schools. I was a teacher and I know a lot of responsibility is placed on the shoulders of teachers.

I heard my colleague, Deputy Martin Kenny, speak about this earlier. Schools are a really important place where we ensure that we can stitch anti-racism into our curriculum and ensure that racism has no place.

As for the idea of integrating migrants into our community, I am pleased to see the commitment to end direct provision. The sooner this happens, the better. If we look to places such as Ballaghaderreen where voluntary groups and committees come together and make an effort, as neighbours, to integrate, that will stop us sliding to black on the scale to which I refer.

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