This was a huge story that was notable for the speed with which it broke and the flew around the world. On Monday night, November 21, 2011 and again the following morning, Darren Scully, the then Mayor of Naas went on two radio stations and volunteered the fact, without much persuasion, that as a result of negative experiences with what he called 'black Africans' he was no longer willing to deal with them. Despite saying this, he believed in his heart and soul that he wasn't a racist.
I felt on the one hand that he lacked a true understanding or insight into the whole issue of racism, direct and casual. On the other hand I was surprised that he didn't see why pub talk should be kept separate from his comments in public.
Hence the title of the story.
Throughout this entire affair Cllr Darren Scully exhibited a remarkable ability to miss the bigger picture.
Based on what he has described as a negative, although presumably limited experience of those whom he called ‘black Africans’, he came to the conclusion that he would probably have a similar experience with all members of that category of people.
By latest estimates there are a billion ‘black Africans’ in the world. The possibility that he might have a more pleasant experience dealing with at least a handful of those billion apparently didn’t occur to Cllr Scully.
Whatever about his views, the manner in which he advertised them also showed great political naivete.
Speaking on 4FM and then on KFM, he forgot that as a councillor, and especially as Mayor, he was effectively speaking on behalf of the people of Naas.
It presumably shocked him to learn that by Wednesday morning, thanks to the viral nature of the internet, countless news organisations across the globe, including the Guardian and the Mirror in Britain, Der Speigal in Germany, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC South America and the Sydney Morning Herald had informed millions of readers that the Mayor of a town in Ireland called ‘Naas’ won’t speak to black Africans.
It took less than 48 hours for a new word, ‘Naasist’, a mixture of ‘Naas’ and ‘racist’ to enter the popular vocabulary.
Reaction to his comments was immediate and polarised. While many have condemned him, it is the considered view of the Leinster Leader that in Naas at least more people are willing to support, if not the comments, then certainly the sentiments at the root of what he said.
Some of that is as a result of a feeling of personal sympathy for Cllr Scully who, let’s not forget, has been a consistent poll-topper for Fine Gael. Whether that’s a good thing or not, we’ll leave it to the reader, but one thing is certain, a lack of willingness to have a public debate on the orderly integration of immigrants has left a vacuum for these kinds of comments to flourish.
And Cllr Scully may well have finally, either prompted that debate or opened a can of worms, or both.
In an email he sent to 4FM, the former Mayor said “…it pains me to see people born and reared in my town unable to get a council house who are well entitled to it but....many Africans (are) now housed because the system states that larger families get jumped up the list”.
Did he think it wasn’t right that Africans with large families be treated the same as Irish people with large families? And did he think that people who are not from Naas were somehow less entitled to their right to housing?
Later he referred to a lady from Sierra Leone who was given a house in Sallins and who asked for adjustments to be made to it to create more room for her large family. “A council colleague quickly asked her how big was her house in Sierra Leone. She lived in a hut.”
What is it about living in a hut that should make a person less entitled to appropriate accommodation? If they had lived in a hut in Ireland would they be less, or more entitled to appropriate accommodation? It appears he seemed to think that because of having lived in a hut, she should be grateful for the crumbs from the white man’s table.
Cllr Scully may be absolutely convinced that he is not a racist, and has attacked what he calls the “PC brigade” for suggesting that he is, but it’s hard to avoid the reality that he has certainly left himself wide open to that interpretation.
He may object to political correctness all he likes but that is to once again miss the bigger picture.
While there are those who see this as an uncomfortable encroachment on free speech, others will view it as a way of improving the lives of the kinds of minorities that have traditionally suffered at the hands of the majority.
“Political correctness gone mad” is a common refrain in society now – an often missed salient point is that political correctness is and has been a worthwhile influence on society.
Most people now understand hat terms such as 'nigger', 'paki', 'faggot', 'bastard' and 'cripple' are no longer acceptable ways of describing people – and our emmigrants no longer encounter the 'No blacks, no Dogs, no Irish' sign either.
Presumbably even Cllr. Scully couldn't disagree with that.
14 years ago
