Friday, 7 November 2008

Sights you don't see in the Senedd

Part 5:

The caption could vary.

Posted by Senedd Whip at 09:01  

Labels: , , , , ,

14 comments:

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 10:53  

What Obama? you wouldn't see him in most political institutions whats your point?

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 11:08  

Thinking outside the box I'm guessing that it could be a number of options given the labels on this post.

A) A black man
B) Someone with leadership skills
C) Someone that gives a great speech

You must be a nationalist not to think outside the box ;)

Unknown 7 November 2008 at 12:07  

no reason a black man/woman couldn't be in the Senedd, or even First Minister. I don't think we have the same ingrained intolerance that the US has. (I think whether they speak Welsh or not is more important than skin tone.)

but as for B and C, you have a point. We need more speakers and leaders like Obama in Welsh politics. No offence to any AMs/MPs/Councillors who are out there doing their bit, but there aren't many inspirational people around. It may be hype over realism, style over substance, but sometimes you need that to wake things up a bit.

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 14:19  
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 15:45  

Well don Wagstaff for removing that racist comment by a nationalist.

Unknown 7 November 2008 at 16:35  

Al Iguana wrote .....

"I think whether they speak Welsh or not is more important than skin tone."

What importance could you possibly put on a particular language used in the Assembly.

Unless it is your prejudice.

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 18:12  

In re "ingrained intolerance" ... I live in the USA - I moved into an apartment building in Chicago within a few days of arriving in Chicago. The apartment block housed a mixture of people from all over the world. I initially stayed with a guy who was a black American doctor, I never thought of him as black and I can't imagine he thought of me as being white - he was a great friend, he helped me settle in Chicago and drove me to my new apartment block (he lived on the south side just inside city limits, there were loads of police on his block - mixture of all sorts of races on the blocks nearby (in Chicago people talk of "blocks" because the city is literally made up of blocks of real estate).

My American buddy later moved to Boston on the east coast to take up a medical position. There are no barriers to where you live in the USA based on the colour of your skin; I know, I live in the USA. The building I currently live in has people from all over the world - the USA has a history of opening its arms to new citizens - "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Just two weeks ago my aged mother was made a US citizen.

Yes there is prejudice here much like there is prejudice in the UK – yes its bad bad, but America has made fantastic strides to stop it. There are many Black Americans in leadership positions. For example, the Mayor of the capital city of the USA is black, the past mayor was black, Clarence Thomas is a black American and a Chief Justice (i.e. judge on the U.S. Supreme Court), I have had black bosses, I have given quite a bit of work to black Americans - not because they are Black, but because they can turn around the work in a good time frame. Many of them have helped my business, and many of them are my friends, and they have many white, black, Hispanic, Middle East and Far East friends. My business partner was Vietnamese. I had a Vietnamese girl friend, and before her a Native Indian girlfriend (from a small town in Nebraska). This country is teeming with people from all sorts of backgrounds. A black woman runs the U.S. State Department – a position previously occupied by a black American. Is the Home Office back in the UK run by a black man/woman? Has it ever been run by a black person?

Is the Mayor of the UK capital black? Congress has many Black Congressmen and women. How many black people sit in Parliament or the House of Lords? For that matter how many British Lordships by right of birth are black?

I don't know where you get it that being black is not tolerated in the USA - honestly, if an employer based decisions on the basis of skin colour/color he would soon be out of business. No business can run employing whites only – and not because that would be expressly against the law, but also because black Americans have skills. There are many black lawyers, doctors, etc. here. Yes, they have been disadvantaged in the past – but today every school and college welcomes black Americans – many of my law school mates were black Americans – but I didn’t think of them as black. They spoke better American English than I did, I often asked them to explain words which had a different meaning and nuance back home in Wales.

Have you ever visited NYC? The city is run by people from countries ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Where do you get it that America is intolerant to blacks? Yes, America had slavery - but not today. Minority rights are enshrined in law.

You are stereotyping America – just go to NYC or DC and you will see many black Americans in top positions – in law firms, in government.

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 19:02  

anon said....

"You are stereotyping America –..."

Arthur says.....

Not really Nonny, it's Wales that's being stereotyped here.

The unlikely image shown sums it up really.

Non-white people in Wales have little to do with Welsh politics and even less to do with the Welsh language.

Having been brought up in a kaleidoscopic community, specific local issues were the only political matters that were of concern and the Welsh language only became apparent at St. David's Day.

We were safely corralled by the Bridge, the Raiway line, the Canal and the Sea.

Of course, we all used to get just as involved in Diwali, Eid al Fitr, Passover and even Christmas.

Anyone remember the Rainbow Club?

Readers will be aware that the "Welcome in the Hillsides" still has a long way to go before non-white folks are welcomed into in Welsh politics.

Miss Wagstaff's apt depiction speaks a thousand words.

Unless of course, you know different.

Anonymous 7 November 2008 at 20:23  

billy (19:02), agreed - and in the USA there are black Americans in Congress, heading up various government departments, mayorships (including Washington, DC - where incidently the police chief was a black American from Chicago). There are countless black Americans in leadership positions in every sphere of US government and business. There's still lots of space for improvement, but the "ingrained intolerance" of which Al Iguana spoke of has no place in modern day America - just take a trip to NYC or DC to see that is not true. Peoples from all nations live and work in NYC, NYC is alive and has a fantastic buzz because of its mix of fantastic backgrounds and people. God Bless America! As a Welsh American, I love America.

Damon Lord 7 November 2008 at 23:00  

Sights you don't see in the Senedd...

Someone actually doing some work? ;)

Dr. Christopher Wood 8 November 2008 at 14:46  

Also, how could I forget Harold Washington (I even borrowed books from the famous Harold Washington Library named in his honour)? Harold Washington was one of Chicago greatest ever Mayors, even the current Mayor of Chicago says so. Harold Washington was a black American - a man of such deep integrity that his death while in office is still missed today. I read about him when I moved to Chicago in the 90s. My local alderman (Chicago’s version of city councilor) spoke of her great respect for him.

Anonymous 14 November 2008 at 10:44  

There is an ethnic minority AM and ethnic minority MSP in Scotland. They represent Plaid and the SNP, which tends to contradict some of the comments on this blog.
There is still a long way to go though and no party is currently doing enough to have greater involvement and representation from our ethnic monority communities.

Anonymous 15 November 2008 at 17:51  

And just how many of the constituents of the ethnic minority Plaid AM speak Welsh?

Unknown 16 November 2008 at 06:38  

There is no ethnic minority in either Wales or Scotland, there are Political minorities who wish to bully their way into power.

Language is a diversion, China has dozens of languages yet only a single nationality.

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