Monday 1 June 2009

Racist ?.

I see that Mid Devon District Council have threatened one of those who objected to the proposed travellers site at Oak Meadow withreferral to the police on the grounds that his letter of objection to the site proposal was 'racist'. The letter from Bryan Lee contained objections to the site proposal based on events he had experienced in relation to a similar site near property that he used to own.

As someone who has been actively involed with anti racist work in the past I could not see anything in the letter which constituted racism and in any case the definitions of what makes travellers a specific 'race'nare drawn so widely as to make the term almost irrevelant. By bringing the real, and ever present problems regarding real racism in our society into disrepute the planning department of Mid Devon district council are undermining the very thing which they say they are trying to uphold.

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