Holding Hands Brings Out The Racists

Much of it had plausible deniability, but the intent was all too clear: even before Haz and Megs announced their engagement, the racism was in full flow, an early example being the Mail’s headline “Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed”, which also revealed a poor grasp of grammar: you don’t capitalise after a colon.

One hes nigh shuffled orf

There was rather a lot more: the Mail also told readers “the Windsors will thicken their watery, thin blue blood and Spencer pale skin and ginger hair with some rich and exotic DNA”. Straight-up racism, from Rachel Johnson, yes, SisterBozza herself. Then we got Sarah “Vain” Vine who had a NIGG-ling worry about the relationship. Camilla Tominey at the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph even linked Megs to ISIS.

But, we were told in sombre and supposedly authoritative tones, and by rather a lot of those in and around our free and fearless press who should have known better, there wasn’t any racism, honestly. All the time, though, the coded bigotry was seeping into enough of the population to convince them that Megs was, somehow, A Very Bad Person Indeed.

And that helps to drive the irrational hatred which feeds on every last wacko conspiracy theory - such as the idea that the Duchess of Sussex was somehow wired up, recording, filming. One Tweet claiming she was so doing was Retweeted by moaning and bitter Royal “biographer” Angela Levin, whose prejudice fell on deaf ears when Vanessa Feltz, of all people, called out the potential difference between her opinion and verifiable reality.

So by the time the late Queen’s casket went in procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall yesterday afternoon, it was not going to take much to set the bigots off, and so it came to pass. As the Royals filed out, having variously bowed, curtsied or saluted Brenda’s coffin, Haz and Megs could be seen holding hands. Bigots gonna bigot, so the frothing began.

“The Sussex frauds holding hands again! Have they no sense of common decency? … And H&M have walked out holding hands. Is it just me or is that disrespectful? … I am furious they couldn’t show some decorum for 5 mins … The smirk. She couldn't care less. Even holding hands again walking out. No class. Even now disrespecting #QueenElizabeth, traditions and protocol”.

And what protocol would that be? It did not take long for this drivel to be called out, because not far behind the Sussexes as the Royals filed out of Westminster Hall were Zara and Mike Tindall, who were also, er, holding hands. This was even recorded by the Mail. What were the frothers and haters to do? Could they argue in their spare time? Sadly, they could.

It was, and as Theresa May once said, I am not making this up (OK in her case, she was making it up), OK for the Tindalls because they were not titled! Er, WHAT? That’s right, the excuse was that they didn’t have a Royal title. But Princess Beatrice has a Royal title, and she and her partner held hands at Prince Philip’s funeral last year. Which disposes of that lame excuse.

Time and again, those displaying an irrational hatred of the Sussexes tell the world that it’s not racism. And every time, it is racism. Two white couples are allowed to hold hands without righteous condemnation raining down on them; one couple where one partner is not white is not. It’s as racist as the “Exotic DNA”, “(Almost) Straight outta Compton”, and that NIGG-ling worry.

It’s time for the mighty white hacks, pundits and broadcast hosts to lay off whipping up the mob. And it’s equally time for those forming that mob to give their collective heads a shake. You’re being played. And it’s embarrassing.

Don’t be the dog that obeys the racist whistle. That is all.

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