bluetonium
Well-Known Member
Having read the transcript of the Hussey interaction, at the very least it shows a lack of awareness and / or a desire to make a supposed guest uncomfortable. The content, asking repeatedly where someone is from because they are not white, clearly shows that Hussey was, at least on this occasion and that is all we can judge, being racist.
She didn't just enquire about her heritage. She asked repeatedly, batting away replies that didn't satisfy, to the point where even from the written word you can easily see how uncomfortable the guest was being made. Even if we accept that Hussey was clumsily just trying get to the bottom of where her ancestors came from (and she'd already been told re Africa: they didn't exactly leave records), why? Why does Hussey need to know? I mean, we all probably came from Africa at one point so what's the relevance or necessity of needing to know her origins? The answer is power, supremacy, the old 'i'm better than you because I'm money/educated/good stock, and I can show it'. She was lording it over a black person, precisely because she was black, and got called out for it.
Hussey's comment "Well you must know where you're from..I spent some time in France" would be laughable if it wasn't so belittling. She was also given a very good hint right at the very start when asking where she was from, with the reply being the charity's name, that the focus of the night is charity and should have been positivity.
That's not to say Hussey hates non whites, but clearly she denotes skin colour as a differentiating factor between who is truly British and who is not.
Is the whole palace racist? Who can say. Clearly there is a culture there where the above attitudes are or have been unchallenged and left to fester. Only Buckingham Palace could answer that, and there is not a chance they'd admit it is a bigger problem regardless, so the actual size of the issue will remain hidden.
She didn't just enquire about her heritage. She asked repeatedly, batting away replies that didn't satisfy, to the point where even from the written word you can easily see how uncomfortable the guest was being made. Even if we accept that Hussey was clumsily just trying get to the bottom of where her ancestors came from (and she'd already been told re Africa: they didn't exactly leave records), why? Why does Hussey need to know? I mean, we all probably came from Africa at one point so what's the relevance or necessity of needing to know her origins? The answer is power, supremacy, the old 'i'm better than you because I'm money/educated/good stock, and I can show it'. She was lording it over a black person, precisely because she was black, and got called out for it.
Hussey's comment "Well you must know where you're from..I spent some time in France" would be laughable if it wasn't so belittling. She was also given a very good hint right at the very start when asking where she was from, with the reply being the charity's name, that the focus of the night is charity and should have been positivity.
That's not to say Hussey hates non whites, but clearly she denotes skin colour as a differentiating factor between who is truly British and who is not.
Is the whole palace racist? Who can say. Clearly there is a culture there where the above attitudes are or have been unchallenged and left to fester. Only Buckingham Palace could answer that, and there is not a chance they'd admit it is a bigger problem regardless, so the actual size of the issue will remain hidden.