Lewes Forum thread

> Having a dad who's widely regarded as a complete dick is far more of a handicap then being black in a predominantly white town.

Well said.

Hear, hear!

Some of my best friends aren't racsist.

Ah, Times is subscription only now. Oh well, doubt if I'll miss much.

Continued from previous thread:
Claiming his son has a bullseye on his chest is an absolutely appalling illusion for a father to create for his son. The fact that this writer mindlessly reels off facts about underacvheivement amongst young black men must be having a horribly negative affect on his son; installing a sense that he is doomed to failure which nonsense and 'cancerous (to quote mr Smith) to his son's self confidence) Every example of racism this writer has given has taken place at a party or at a friends house or with friends in the school playground, these are not the normal locales for bullying are they? My best friend went to my school in which he was one of four mixed race students out of over eight hundered pupils, he was never treated differently or made to feel targetted, this is probably due to the fact that he didn't have a father scanning through evey single conversation he had to see whether or not he was the victim of predjudice. Of course there will always be children from bigotted families who judge others on race, on sexuality, on weight or on anything they see as different, just as there will always be scum like this writers neighbour, supporting racist parties like the bnp. But to imply that this towns school is made up of them is absolute bile, my town is very similar to Lewes and believe me those children made up 1% of our school if that. I would like to know why mr smith hasn't asked for asian culture to be taught at school. I would also like to know why in an article examining Racism in britain, the black cultural figures being listed are Beyonce (American) and Nelson Mandella (South African) is mr Smith so unaware of his own apparent plight that he can't see that if discussing black culture in this country figures such as dame Kelly Holmes, Dianne Abbot or Beverly knight probably be more relevant. The poor teacher accused of insensitivity for commenting on the growth of mr Smiths daughters' hair when wet; must have been furious. One of my friends has a massive mop of curly hair that people always want to touch, as does my best friend (as he has an incredible afro) neither of them enjoy people always wanting to touch it, but both know that it is because people want to feel a texture of hair that they don't have, why should it be a racist issue if the head of hair people are interested in belongs to the latter? He does not view it as racism or people treating him as though he has 'an exotic plume' because he is not an idiot. At the heart of this article lies a man trying to prove isolation where there is none, a man trying to read in to comments made by young children to find bigotry where there is none. Racism boils down to intent, the intent of the the child nicknaming his daughter 'chocolate brown bear' was not to mock but to find a friendly name for her using something about her that made her special in that friendship, just as one of my friends called me 'red', the intent of Petals friend when telling her she was part of a town free of racism, was not to make her feel like an outsider; quite the opposite. Mr smith I hope you read this post and realise that any isolation you face has been machinated by you alone. You deserve isolation, but your children do not, from the sounds of it they have lost friends due to you filling their heads with the idea that they are victims of predjudice when they clearly are not.

Brixtonbelle's post in the preceding thread about the sensationalist article in the Sunday Times Magazine this weekend is one of the very best responses I've ever read in this forum. All Hail Brixtonbelle (we are not worthy etc).

With an ounce of know how. Wouldn't you have interviewed John Agard and Grace Nichols????

I have a daughter with long blonde hair which when plaited and then undone has the effect of christelle tipps and alistair - people often touch it i have no pangs that she is the centre of a race issue.
when in lewes people often smile at us - they are a friendly bunch on the whole and probabaly recoginise us from some walk in life - my husband is german and my ex was black we have carried on life in lewes without issues.
my other child was recently called a nazi by an ill informed - we talked about it and he is able to carry on without me going to the school. sometimes these comments are provoking and they seek reaction - when nothing comes they find another child. when this or if this occurs again my son has the strength to deal with it himself.

Exactly right FieldFairy - I'd like to see John and Grace's response.

If Brixton is so great then f__k off back to it. Lewes is not racist, it's devisive offensive articles such as the drivel in the Sunday Rag that stirs the pot. What a tw_t! If you dont like it here, why move here, it's nothing to do with colour he's just obviously a berk. I don't want to live in Brixton otherwise i'd move there and vice versa.

It ill behoves a man who works for the proprietor of Fox News to bleat about racism in a town like Lewes.
The comments about Brian Davies and Martyn Ofield are outrageous. Ofsted say that both schools are 'excellent', but because they don't put all their efforts into meeting one fool's personal agenda, he thinks he can slander them in the national press.
Most of all, it's the kid I feel sorry for, and I'm sure that publishing the article in the middle of the school holidays was quite deliberate. What Wallands parent would now willingly invite him back to their son or daughter's house, knowing that the father would seize on the slightest comment and write it up in a national newspaper, purely in the name of self-publicity and lining his pocket.
Aren't parents supposed to support their children, rather than turn them into victims?

Well done to Mr. Smith for writing his targeted article. It most probably found it's centre right under those correct skins in lovely Lewes: from teachers to parents. Those skins who are causing the young family members bother ought to consider their cognitive and spiritual options. Peace and Happines to those lovely people in Lewes. ["probably? the best place in Sussex for people (which people?) to live")

letter sent to the Time this morning to 'letters@thetimes.co.uk'
Dear Sir,
Re: David James Smith's article in yesterday's Sunday Times - England's Green and Prejudiced Land
As a resident of Lewes, East Sussex where Mr Smith's article was based, I feel I must object in the strongest possible terms to the tone, bias and thread of his article. In my opinion it misrepresented this town and the folk who live here; painting us all as racists yokels simply to raise his own profile for his new book at our expense.
While it is true that this is a predominantly white community with few ethnic minorities anybody who does come here, from whatever part of the ethnic mix, has always received a welcome and the vast majority of us really do want to hear more about their cultures, backgrounds etc as a way of better understanding their cultures over a pint of Harveys (the local brew). Mr Smith seems to have found a BNP member living next door but only found out from the web, this is simply bad luck on both their parts but hardly enough to tarnish the entire town, he probably lived near several in London too, we don't know.
Lewes is not without it's faults of course; but on the whole it is a lovely place to live. The national crime statistics and our own local government data backs this up and there is a real sense of community here which I for one am jolly proud of. Many writers, singers and artists live here together with many lecturers from Sussex and Brighton Universities; it's a vibrant, busy County market town.
It seems that Mr Smith has gone out of his way to find examples of racism where there is probably unfamiliarity with his wife and children's more cosmopolitan expectations but I feel confident any cultural "banana-skins" that have been slips on are simply the result the locals trying to work out what is appropriate behaviour in unfamiliar territory. It may even be that his presumption towards being racially abused all the time gets reflected back to him in a form which reinforces his views and for this he may need specialist counselling. In any event, we seem to have no right of reply on the matter and are victims of this man's blind prejudices.
I therefore demand a retraction in next week's copy and I'm sure that I'm not alone in cancelling my subscription to your paper together with all Murdock publications in the future. This was a shocking piece of journalism which should never have been published.

Re: describing the Times as 'daft'; I would suggest that it is slightly daft to charge for a commodity when no-one else does - particularly when you are owned by a chap who is percieved by many to be a money-grabbing charlatan. Thus I thought it might be nice if we didn't all rush out and give him our precious pounds, and instead shared the er, interesting article.

The article is on the thread below. If you want to see the layout though, google David James Smith, he has the whole article with photos on his own website.

He complains about the possibility of his children being demonised in Lewes and yet happily names a BNP supporter and adds his address. I am not a supporter of BNP in anyway shape or form but hasn't he just lowered himself to the same level? Absolutely appalled that this man has Lewes bonfire so wrong. You may not love it but we should be so proud of it and the community spirit it brings to Lewes. Get your facts right. I am a Catholic and very very proud of Bonfire. It is not anti-Catholic.

We live in the most tolerant country their is! If youre looking for real racial tension, might i suggest Guyana where Petals family arrived here from. The hostility between those of of Indian origin the majority, and those of African heritage is intense.

Just read the full article on the 'mans' website. What a load of offensive rubbish. By portraying normal Lewesians as racist he has shown himself to be the one distinguishing between people and thereby stiring up anger. A right of reply in the Sunday Times would be good. What a despicable man, it shows the lengths people will go to to sell their wares, I hope his book flops

The Smith was right. The truth hurts. Now why don't you oiks get a life and start behaving like human beings for a change.

hehehehehehe...

I don't live in Lewes - or even in Sussex. I'm actually a man of Lancashire. But I felt I had write and offer some solidarity to the good folk of your most excellent town. When I read this ludicrous article, the only conclusion I could reasonably reach is that the author of this fantasy (Mr David James Smith) is clearly several chips short of a butty. (but is the butty made from white or brown bread?)
Mr Smith, you're like the Torquemada character in the Monty Python sketch who sees heretical skuldugery in absolutely everyone and everything (Nobody can escape the Spanish Inquisition!)...... You see racism everywhere.... 'Blackboard' - that sounds a bit dodgy - 'Blackmail'? definitely racist... and 'Black Pudding'? don't even go there..
The article is as poor a piece of work as I have ever read in the Sunday Times - and I have been taking the 'paper for well over 30 years. Editorial standards certainly seem to have fallen through the floor - and I am currently considering whether to buy the publication ever again. If I want to read utter drivel, I'll buy 'The Sun' or even one of Mr Smith's books. One thing is for sure, ex-editors Harry Evans and Andrew Neil would never have allowed this ill-written rubbish to get past the editorial desk. It would have been screwed up and chucked straight in the waste paper bin (via the office basketball hoop) where it belongs.
The whole article is full to the brim with faux outrage and nonsensical conclusions. If there is anyone in Lewes who is intolerant of others it is you Mr Smith. You're a narrow minded little man who sees evil in everything... To analyse the whole article would take forever - and I just don't feel such ignorant waffle is deserving of so much of my time - but accusing your son's 8 year old friend of racism for telling your son he had 'big nostrils' is scraping the very bottom of your barrel of self righteous indignation. It's so wrong that I really do think you should reconsider and withdraw that statement immediately.
If anything, the kid could be accused of 'differentism' - but then, so can every kid who has ever lived be accused of that! Tell me Mr Smith, when you were an 8 year old at school, did you ever tell the big boned kid that he was fat, or ask the tall kid what the weather was like up there? Or maybe the kid with the lazy eye got a bit of the old David James Smith brand of quick wit and ready repartee? (Ahhhh, Jim Lad!). But maybe as a kid you never made fun of anyone - but SURELY you were inquisitive enough about people who were not the same as you? Never asked your mum why that man was so small (as a dwarf waked past) or why that woman was still in a pram (as a lady in a wheel chair glided by)...
If you did not then you are one in 6 billion.
And your assertion that you are 'white yourself and can blend in as much as you like' is errant rubbish. Mr Smith, you stand out like a sore thumb Sir! I can see the monumental chip on your shoulder right now from over 200 miles away!!!
The article is pathetic - and you as a person should feel utterly ashamed of yourself for so exposing your wife and kids just so you can court a bit of controversy - and sell a few more of your cruddy books. You know the price of a crummy book - but not the value of a stable and contented family life, Mr Smith.

I am fuming,indeed spitting feathers! How dare this man try stirring up racial hatred where non exists! There are several families in Lewes of different races,many of which I am aquainted with. Some of these I mention had children at the school I worked at. Indeed one of the mums worked with me in the playground. I can say hand on heart, I never came across anything that could be put down to racism. What is racism,a hatred of anothers colour? Children do not think like that . I object to this man and his suggestions of hatred. In my opinion the problem is in his own head. He should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for drawing attention to his children and wife. A great deal of harm has been done to Lewes by this outragous suggestion of racism. There will always be the moron element anywhere,and this will certainly bring them out!I beg the parents of children attending his childrens schools,please for the childrens sake, stand up to this ridiculous man and do not let it affect his poor children.

Please let call quits to the debate now, it is fuelling the man's enormous ego. Let get back to talking about Bill's tables...

pitchforks to the ready, burn him he's evil

I've lived in Lewes for over 3 years. I have lived in many parts of the UK and in Asia during my 50 years of life. Prior to the recent elections, some acquaintances of mine who live in Lewes, openly discussed voting BNP and thought that a right and proper option given that (naturally) all this countries problems were as a result of the immigrants. I can sincerely say that many who live in and around Lewes are racist. That should come as no surprise as most people are racist - or rather prefer members of their own "tribe" over another. Even the writer of the article for the Sunday Times is racist - why move his children from a perfectly good school in Brixton, to a (supposed) middle-class white Sussex town unless he was hoping that so-called white-privilege's would rub-off on his children and make them better people? It is a sad reflection that most people who comment on this thread do not see that they are being racist all the time. For instance have you used the term pikey? or Chav? What is the definition as I have never heard anyone describe themselves as a pikey or chav - its always someone else. Being a racist bigot is not about calling non-whites names, it is a lot more subtle than that. And Lewes needs to grow-up and take stock.

I know who's effigy will be going up in smoke this 5th Nov....but of course that would be racist

What utter, self pitying, racist (I have no doubt of this having read the article several times) drivel from a sensationlist hack. Here is another generation being groomed to feel disadvantaged and sorry for themselves because of the colour of their skin. The kids don't stand a chance with this Father's "victim" mentality.

Letter sent to Letters@thetimes.co.uk:
Dear Sir,
I am writing with regard to the article "England's Green and Prejudiced Land", by David James Smith, published in the Sunday Times Magazine yesterday. As a long term resident of Lewes - my family moved here 20 years ago when I was just 10yrs old - I was dismayed to find that the article painted a completely false and unrecognisable picture of the town. Far from being the hotbed of racist activity that Mr Smith portrays, Lewes is a welcoming, highly liberal, and very culturally diverse town considering its provinciality. At the All Saints Centre - the local arts centre - multicultural performance pieces fit comfortably into the calendar alongside egyptian belly dance classes, art workshops and the local childrens toy library. We also have a number of local festivals including the guitar festival and the live literature festival. John Agard (born in what was then British Guyana), whose poem "half caste" has featured in the AQA English GCSE anthology since 2002, is a much loved resident of Lewes, and we have a number of asian families who are respected members of the community, and whose children seem to have very little problem with making friends in the town. Indeed, Mr Smith admits that he wishes to stay in Lewes because his whole family, children included, have made good friends here.
Mr Smith's main worry seems to centre around a percieved inherant racism within the educational sector. But I would argue that Mr Smith is teaching his children to be super-sensitive to their race by blaming every slight or failure on it; surely that is, in itself, racism? Why does his wife feel that she must seek out the company of other black people in order to feel secure? Surely if we are all equal and race is not an issue, she ought to mix just as happily with the white residents of a provincial British town (where the population is of course predominantly white, that being the colour of the native residents of this country). If she seeks the company of others from a mixed background in order to discuss shared experiences, why limit herself to black-only residents? My mother is an immigrant to Britain (from the former USSR), does she suppose that, as a white woman, my mother will have no shared experiences as an immigrant, nor I with my mixed race heritage? Likewise, why must the school focus on teaching the children about black cultural heritage? What about Asian heritage? I was not taught about Ukraine at school (being in a minority of one in that respect), but my mother taught me about it at home instead. If Mr Smith wishes his children to embrace all elements of their heritage, why not introduce them to it at home?
Mr Smith seems to perceive Brixton as some sort of multicultural utopia, in which people of all races live happily side by side. I suspect he lives in Lewes and not Brixton because the crime rate in Lewes - including racially motivated crime - is significantly lower here. This article is sensationalist at best, guilty of racism in itself at worst. Four BNP members in a town of nearly 20,000 people does not a racist town make, and if Mr Smith could live next door to one of them for a whole year before discovering that he was racist, at least one of them is clearly not very vocal in his opinions.

Where is the best place in Lewes? I'm gagging for a decent 99

Its not the colour of your families skin that draws attention to you Mr Smith, its something altogether different! Which you fail to see, its right in front of your ( and now all of our) eyes.
Your families biggest downfall is certainly not their skin, but the person they live with.
The words people speak can only be hailed as racism when used with that intent, you have now made it very obvious why Petal is feeling isolated, your a ticking time bomb that no one wants to get involved in.

oo-er - I don't know what to think. We are a family with a mixed-race son who are thinking of moving to lewes. I must admit the S Times article jolted me and put me off - probably wrongly. I'd like to hear from more non-white lewes residents, especially those with kids in school. What do you think?

@ majetic - why not visit the town, visit the schools and see how you feel about it before you commit yourself. Come and stay here for a weekend. You will find it's a very liberal minded town and proud of its progressive heritage. It's not multicultural Brixton or poncey Fulham wah wahs, but then you don't move to a small market town for that.
Is there anywhere in the UK that doesn't have some idiots who are racist ? I think you would find that of all Lewes' drawbacks, being a hotbed of the BNP is not one of them.

As a teacher of the supposedly poor secondary school, I am incensed at this article and fear for his children when the fall out from it inevitably gets referred to by other children.
I have spent hours SUPPORTING HIS children. Has he not contemplated the negative impact that this article will have on Lewes, his family and friends? And who will be expected to pick up the pieces in school? Yes, I am personally offended. If he doesn't appeciate all the good that this Lewes Secondary School has to offer ALL pupils then he should remove his children immediately. We are a comprehensive school that reflects the local community - that is: we reflect those intellects who go on to great things...those who need extra help...those who are perfectly behaved...those who are anti-social...and I ALWAYS try to treat pupils equally, with care and professionalism that is required in this day and age of teaching. (A difficult task right now!)
I have respect for all the pupils & their families in our school and yes, although we all can do better, I personally feel that this article has driven a wedge between this family and the school now. An issue that I certainly have NEVER considered to be an obstacle in my lessons has now been raised as a potential minefield.
Along with other staff, I teach the pupils about the negative impact of racism; the impact of low aspirations; the emotional stress from unkindness.....but with society openly damning young people and allowing truly judgemental articles such as these, it only serves to undermine anything we do. The biggest problem I have ever had (in many years of teaching) is that of the PARENTS! It is ALWAYS someone elses fault - not theirs!
What your local schools need is SUPPORT from you - not this attitude of blame and complain!
By the way - before you judge the local schools - go and teach there! See how fab the kids are, see what they can achieve, see how animated most of the staff are, see how hard the job is....and above all - think how lucky we are, as a community, to have the opportunities in Lewes that others rarely see. PRIORY SCHOOL & WALLANDS SCHOOL are fantastic institutions that always strive to do better. They allow our children to grow & learn in a safe environment. If you don't like it, then LEAVE!

Many people on this blog have criticised Mr smith for singling out Lewes. Although I don't agree with some of the things in his article, I think he isn't pointing the finger only at this town (remarks about bonfire parades aside) but putting across the sorts of things that his family allegedly experience. Some of the bile directed at him therfore has a bit of a 'lady doth protest too much' flavour. Don't accuse him of being a whinging victim, Lewesians, if you're doing the same!!!! Accept that some of what he says is probably true, as it would be anywhere, and some not.

Email sent to Letters@thetimes.co.uk:
I am writing with regard to the article "England's Green and Prejudiced Land" by David James Smith, published in the Sunday Times Magazine yesterday (8.8.2010).
In it, Mr Smith writes how he "thought of him [a neighbour he alleges is a BNP member] on the other side of the paper-thin walls that separated our semi-detached home, spewing out bile on his computer in the small hours..."
In fact, this is incorrect and might be considered actionable. I am (still) the neighbour living on the other side of the semi-detached house Mr Smith rented. The man he writes about lived in the next house along, separated by a garage and two drives.
Artistic license or an artfully-worded attempt at influencing readers' perceptions? Whatever it is, it does make one wonder how many other distortions are contained in this article.

majestic - I think allegedly is the key word here. I don't doubt that his wife and children are likely to have experienced some form of racism during their lives, but the reason why so many people here are livid is because the inference is that there is an inherent racist quality to Lewes as a town. Do you imagine that his family did not experience racism in Fulham, or would not elsewhere? Please consider that many on here know the schools and the staff very well, and I would imagine that just about everyone who has posted knows mixed race or black Lewesians. We do not recognise this ugly portrayal of our community; that's the bottom line. It would be fine for Mr Smith to write about his experiences of racism. Not so for him to quite clearly suggest that 'twee', 'provincial' Lewes has a particular issue as a community. And some of the bile, as you will have read, is directed towards the ideas that he is professionally exploiting his children, and that he works for Murdoch - is there a more institutionally racist media organisation than Fox News?

Quite so Down and Out. Absolute rubbish. We who work, and have worked in Lewes, know this to be absolutely untrue. This man is making trouble to fill his own pockets. He is an absolute disgrace. If anyone has read my posts,they will have seen that I have for many years, worked in a local school. This is totally wrong and I hope to see a retraction. This man has his own agenda, and it is not for the good of his wife and children.

BrixtonBelle: As an exiled scouser, I can confirm that the 'Sun boycott' in Liverpool has been a great success. Even now, fully 21 years after the event, the Sun in Liverpool is still as welcome as a dose of clap.
Cheap journalism has consequences.... it lasts years and can cost millions. The Murdoch's really should remember that.