NCJ Number
208840
Date Published
2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
In introducing a book on "rural racism" in Great Britain, this chapter notes that there is a prevalent wishful assumption that rural areas and towns are peaceful, relaxed, small communities where like-minded neighbors share a utopian existence free of strife; however, studies presented in this book reveal a diversified, pluralistic population permeated by racist attitudes toward minority rural residents.
Abstract
Recent studies have focused on the experiences of a range of minority rural British residents who do not fit the mold of the idealized White, native rural dweller who has found a comfortable life far removed from urban problems. These studies have shown how the portrayal of rural locations as typically affluent, middle-class environments is being promoted by those who wish it to be so. Dominant representations of rural life envision a predominantly "White landscape" that minimizes the presence of ethnic minorities and perceives them as disruptions of the preferred homogeneous rural culture. Manifestations of aggressive reactions to the presence of minorities in rural areas occurred in the outrage expressed by rural community groups regarding government plans to build asylum-seeker accommodation centers in rural areas, the violence against refugees in Wrexham in June 2003, and the burning of a mock "Gypsy" caravan in a Sussex village in November 2003. Minority ethnic communities' concerns about their treatment by many majority residents are rarely featured in discussions of rural life, as is the case for manifestations of discrimination according to gender, income, and sexual orientation. These circumstances and attitudes must be acknowledged and then addressed in a constructive framework of policies and practices. 44 references