We Don’t Like Your Country

An accusation that the Daily Mail is ‘anti-Polish’ has been backed up by a defamation suit against the newspaper. But does this mean this is the end of the line for casual racisim or just that there is trouble to be found for critisizing it?

As a student of journalism, McNae’s Law for Journalists has become a personal bible. Through its’ guidance of do’s and don’ts there one clear message that can be understood from it: don’t screw up. Our words can sometimes be harsh and demeaning, and on these occassions we get punished for using such phrases. One good thing that comes through the course of ’screwing-up’ is reporting on the publications that do such a thing. Now light has been shed on the defamation suit filed against The Daily Mail by the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, it is hard to see why they were so reluctant not to do this sooner. Between 2006 and 2007, headlines printed by the Daily Mail such as; “Britain Is Country of Choice for Many ‘Feckless’ Poles” and “Polish Homosexuals Facing Persecution in Exodus to UK” helped to paint Poland in a “negative light” says the chairman of the FPGB Jan Mokrzycki. He continued by stating that: “Poles seem to be unable to please the Daily Mail, whatever they do. One day you get a headline Poles Flood into England, implying the country is drowing in immigrants, and the next day you get Poles Desert England, as if we are abandoning them.”

In retalliation, a spokesman for the Daily Mail said: “If you take the balance of articles published by us, the Polish migrant has not been identified as a hate figure and we have often and continuously drawn attentio to the benefits Britain has and does derive from the skils that immigrants bring us.” However, if we take into account that the Daily Mail (like all other manifesto-seeking British daily newspapers) that it is a voice for the people, that voice would tell you there is an anger which is growing constantly against immigrants in Britain. This opinion has recently provoked the documentary series entitled “White Britain” broadcast by the BBC which chronicles the hardships faced by the down-sizing of British culture. However, this complacency for casual racisim is not new in Britain, but what does strike deep is that it is now being argued. The actions taken by the FPGB prove our words do have consequences. But if we are being watched, what is to say we are not looking for something similar? Should we start worrying yet?