Which is the worst form of oppression?

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Last week, Nation.Cymru published an opinion piece discussing the need for the Welsh Independence Movement to understand and reflect the realities of historical racism in its words and actions. There is much in the article with which I agree, particularly the implicit idea that it is difficult for those of us who have not experienced – either personally or in our own family histories – direct discrimination and oppression based on the colour of our skin. And although the people and resources of Wales have historically been exploited for the benefit of others, and the native language has been subjected to a sustained attempt at cultural genocide, we have not been enslaved or traded; the Welsh experience of colonialism has not been the same as that of non-Europeans. It’s far too easy for us when discussing Welsh history to concentrate on what was done to us, and ignore the role that some Welsh people played in the imperial project – and, yes, in the slave trade as well. I think that I can understand how people from different perspectives and histories can look at the same events and attitudes and interpret them differently, and, of course, I accept that drawing an equivalence between the oppression of a language and the enslavement of people is a very poor one; the two things are of a different nature and on a different scale.

And yet… after reading the article, I was unconvinced about some of the assumptions and conclusions.

The idea that the ‘independence movement’ is somehow a single entity which needs as a whole to accept the criticism and change before being acceptable struck me as a strange one. The reality is more complex than that. Whilst I might wish that every independentista agreed with my view on everything, I know it isn’t going to happen any time soon. There are people who are part of the broad ‘movement’ who are members of different organisations and parties with some very divergent views – is the whole really invalidated by the very existence of some of the parts? I think not. There is – and should be – a debate between different perspectives, and that debate (which I hope will bring people around to a healthier consensus over time) is an inherent and essential part of the process of seeking independence and building a different kind of nation. It cannot and should not be a precondition for moving the process forward.

To refer to a specific example discussed in the article, whilst I can understand how the fact that a member of the royal family has married a woman of mixed race can be interpreted as an acceptance, at the highest levels of British society, of people of different races (and therefore something to celebrate), is it really somehow racist for a republican independentista to oppose yet another royal wedding, and all the associated union jackery? It felt like a demand to rank two different principles which are in no meaningful sense opposed to each other at all. And that, in a way, brings me to my most fundamental concern about the piece. There are different forms and degrees of oppression and discrimination, but placing them into contention and trying to establish some sort of pecking order is unnecessarily divisive. Ultimately that plays into the hands of those who seek neither racial equality nor Welsh independence. Those of us independentistas who come from a particular racial background have much to learn and understand from those of other backgrounds. However great they may feel, our own injustices aren’t the only ones in the world, or even here in Wales. Incorporating that understanding into our own view of the world will take longer for some than for others, but doing so will strengthen us and help to build a better Wales in the end. No-one should expect that process to stall because not everyone is yet in the same position.