'Racism' rubbish

Published on Wednesday 1 July 2009 21:16

There is no way of being polite about this – David Kellock's complaint about there being no directly elected ethnic minority candidate in Scotland being tantamount to "covert racism" (Letters, 1 July) will be lapped up by the usual suspects of our home-grown race relations industry, but to the vast majority of Scots of all races it will be seen for the offensive codswallop it is.

Scotland has seen over the past decade many British-born ethnic minorities fleeing north specifically to escape politicians and race relations "experts" ghettoising them for crackpot ideological and sinister political ends. It is no surprise that these internal immigrants have contributed so much to the incredible rise to power of the SNP and the eclipse of Scottish Labour to save themselves from further inverted racism from self-congratulatory white do-gooders.

So-called "positive discrimination" has proven counter-productive: patronising to ethnic minorities and a gift to the likes of the BNP, to the extent that they are now dragging their knuckles along so many English corridors of power.

Scots demand good politicians, not Uncle Toms parachuted into safe seats because of their creed, ethnic background or sexuality – they can be Lutheran lesbians from Libya for all we care.

MARK BOYLE

Linn Park Gardens

Johnstone, Renfrewshire