Yesterday morning, I walked out of my estate and saw some vile racist graffiti slogans and symbols painted on the bus stop and lampposts.
5 y.o. C. asked: “What does it spell?” What does it spell? It spells hate. It spells ignorance. It spells anger and division. It is the language of the very few but still too many. I told him it was just very mean stuff and things no one should ever say or write.
I have always thought, however, that talk is cheap. It is easy to shake my head or post a picture of the graffiti online with some appropriate outrage. But after last Thursday, I think more is required.
So, after discovering that I had no white spirits in our shed, I messaged neighbours and a couple of WhatsApp groups and I received one kind donation of some leftover white spirits from a mammy group and met a new-ish neighbour ( Thanks, Jack!!!) who came down to help.
Here’s what I learned:
1. White spirits or petrol help but won’t quite get it out.
2. Bring a scraper or something abrasive – and a bit of elbow grease.
3. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Our bus stop when we were done still looks a bit graffiti’d – but the message of hate is gone and that was the point.
4. It’s a great way to meet new neighbours. And neighbours who will come out in the rain on a Sunday afternoon to volunteer to scrape swastikas off bus stops are probably the ones you want to meet!
(And yes: I’m fully prepared that this may require repeating over coming days/weeks.)
If you immediately thought: “This is a doctor. She should stay in her lane and just stick to posting about health.” Well, this is my lane: Discrimination and injustice and hate and fear affect health. And our health service would collapse tomorrow without the expertise and dedication of our healthcare workers from so many diverse backgrounds.
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