I am a self-confessed racist. If you think that means I should not be writing in a Catholic magazine, I would remind you that you are a racist too.
I discovered this descending some narrow stairs on the Tube. Coming up was a West Indian, so I stepped aside to let him pass. And I felt good about it. Why? Because it confirmed my self-image as a liberal, high-minded person who was tolerant towards those of a different race. And you can’t get more slimily racist than that.
Of course we know that there are provocative areas such as anti-Semitism; we avoid those with great care. Yet that extra degree of care is in itself racist. When those who wish to be critical take pains to emphasise that their remarks are anti-Zionist and not anti-Semitic, they may be being sincere or they may have convinced themselves about the purity of their motivation despite their latent feelings.
