Statues In This

Watching recent events with my sociology teacher head on I keep going back to Durkheim. Durkheim is inescapable in studying sociology at any level. His key concepts in the scientific study of society lie around social solidarity and the dangers of anomie. Anomie is a state of not belonging, being on the margins of society. Durkheim felt that it was this state that led to people committing deviant acts, these acts fly in the face of the norms and values of society, Anomie can harm value consensus. This consensus on what is right and what is wrong is taught through the various agents of socialisation. These agents are the family, religion, media, education and law. Basically anything that teaches us norms and values.

In the last week we have seen demonstrations and riots in the UK and in the USA. There have been some in Australia and in central Europe too. Black Lives Matter has extended as a movement in all of these countries. A statue of Edward Colston, a slave trader, was thrown into the sea in Bristol. This caused outrage amongst far right groups who paraded in London to protect other statues. Not only in the capital but people travelled to other parts of the UK to protect statues they either felt were under threat or had heard were targets. A black head was removed from above a pub in Derbyshire in case it was targeted. On line abuse on both sides has been dished out. Old television comedies have been removed from streaming platforms due to content which was perceived as racist. The country feels an uneasy place. And there is still a pandemic going on.

So what would sociologists make of this? Durkheim would view the statues as totems. Durkheim believed that societies need something which is sacred. Religion would play a huge role in this. But in a society which is increasingly secular, the national religion is declining in numbers and significance, there are many other faiths present and more secular disciplines too. In short we do not have a united church. Durkheim and other functionalist sociologists then believed that a surrogate religion would be sought out. But we live in a diverse society so these totems will be diverse too. Therefore nationalist Britons will see the removal of statues as an attack on their national identity at a time when that identity is in flux anyway. The Brexit vote was partially a vote to claw a certain identity in uncertain times for a section of our society which feels anomie. The far right plays on this anomie and exaggerates it. The media plays a role too, both traditional media and social media can help play of these fears. Anomie can blossom into violence and intolerance.

The Black community of the UK have always felt anomie. Black people have lived and worked in Britain for as long as society has been present. There have been numerous social tensions concerning BAME communities. They have often been demonised by the media and governments and far right movements. Usually, as stated in an earlier post, when governments have lost control of the economy. The recent unrest is different. It includes larger numbers and not all of them Black or BAME. So why? Durkheim believed that deviant behaviour can work as a warning device that society isn't functioning properly. It is how the criminal justice system reacts which is vital for the improvement of society. Consider recent events, Grenfell, Windrush, Mr Floyd's murder in Minneapolis, President Trump's flirtation with racist organisations and language, the high numbers of Bame deaths by the virus and the history of racist language used by our current Prime Minister. All of these events combine to create the notion that certain people are being victimised through not fault of their own. Surveys have shown that more people are watching television news because of lock down. They are visiting news sites more often too. They are seeing all the unrest and reacting.  The two sides are reacting to anomie, both wanting different Britains, one group looking to the future, the other to the past.  The totems represent both in different ways. As I mentioned in a previous post Gilroy sees Black deviant acts as a retribution for colonial struggles. In Bristol we saw that in actuality.

Durkheim believed that education played a role in social solidarity. Subjects such as history, English and religious education were vital for value consensus. However sociologists such as Strand have long found that certain BAME groups struggle in our schools. The historian and writer David Olusoga has recently argued that Black history must be taught in our schools. Durkheim would approve, as he realised that societies change (he just didn't like it happening quickly) as ours becomes more diverse that diversity must be catered for. It would also give an understanding of different communities. He would insist that this history should be taught in conjunction with traditional British history as well. But that's the thing every person alive in the UK today shares  a history. But the focus is on one community only. Black, Asian and Chinese soldiers fought in both world wars for example.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/15/britain-can-no-longer-ignore-its-darkest-chapters-we-must-teach-black-history

In a diverse society it is difficult to achieve the value consensus that Durkheim felt vital for a society to survive. The virus is still with us but we are fighting each other. The totems that we defend or attack should become part of our national narrative, in schools we should teach that narrative. No one is truely a hero or a villain. Education should be about understanding that. The media should be about informing us about this. Government should be about driving this shared narrative. Reports over the week are suggesting that BAME people are dying more because of the virus because of historic racism and inequalities. This is something that sociologists have stressed for years. Inequality leads to death. A pandemic highlights this in extreme.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53035054
This is the fourth anniversary of Jo Cox's murder. Durkheim would echo her famous words. There is still more that we have in common than that which divides us. The agents of socialisation must be adapted to prevent further anomie for all of our communities.