When I read Sumaya Jirde Ali’s Facebook post and understood what she had been subjected to, I was completely numb. Not now again, I thought. “Racism is racism!” was the rallying cry I felt shake the ground during one of the biggest demonstrations of the decade: George Floyd – Black Lives Matter outside the Storting in 2020. I was the appellant and the response from the demonstrators was overwhelming. We roared with anger, sorrow and fighting power. And hoped that the voice carried far. Racism travels from place to place, from people to people, between apartments, houses, classrooms, restaurants and bars. It can be obvious and it can be hidden. It can be expressed in words, actions and attitudes. It can be packaged and explained as humor, silliness or a joke. That in no way makes it less offensive or less dangerous. Racism dehumanizes man. Racism means that one person’s traits are reduced to something second-rate, which is not as good. And suddenly one individual becomes “more human” than the other. Often it is about skin colour, and that dark skin makes a person less valuable. Now one of Norway’s most famous comedians has expressed such abhorrent thoughts loudly and clearly in a bar in Oslo, without many protesting. “You’re too dark-skinned to be here,” the comedian told 24-year-old Sumaya. This is racism! Then he tried to get support from the other bar guests by asking: “Don’t you agree that she is too dark-skinned to be here?”. Nobody said anything. The comedian is an older, large, high-status white man. He appeared aggressive and told her to “shut up” several times. The whole thing must have been very frightening for Sumaya, limiting her options to respond, flee or act in other ways. The incident clearly shows power and powerlessness. The silence in the room while this was going on, and afterwards, is one reason why racism and hate speech are allowed to grow. The comment fields that are now being closed are proof that the hate exists in great abundance. Racism grows every time it is ignored or pushed away. This is a societal problem. We can’t have it like this. There is a marked difference between a non-racist and an anti-racist, the author believes. Photo: Ellen Johanne Jarli It is not enough to call yourself non-racist or to claim that you “don’t see skin colour”. We must see what it is that drives racism forward, what it is that creates division and hatred, and point it out. We must dare to speak up. Dare to be anti-racist. Only then can we create change. Anti-racism and the fight against racism is one of the cornerstones of a representative and participatory democracy. How we treat each other shapes us. It affects our psyche and our social structures. Sumaya has been thrust upon an enormous responsibility. She has shown courage, courage, and spoken up, time and time again. It is a struggle that costs more than one can measure or see. The declarations of support for Sumaya show that there are many of us in this fight. At the same time, there is also a deafening silence. This silence must be broken. The silent majority must be on the field! An anti-racist is aware of his role, has acquired knowledge, cares, has made a choice and acts – as, for example, when a comedian shouts racist statements at a young woman in a bar in Oslo, and asks her to shut up.
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The silent majority must be on the field – Speech
