Perhaps the creepiest and most repulsive part of l'affaire Marlon King, "the thug with a gold card" as his victim Emily Carr aptly described him, is the attempted playing of the "race card"( she is white and he is black) Let's see hulking footballer smashes girl a full foot shorter than himself in the face, permanently disfiguring her, all because she has the bad manners to politely ask him not to paw her and to leave her alone- and voila, it's a case of"institutionalized racism". Personally had I been that judge I would given him a sentence a lot longer than 18 months!
Next week, God willing , I will be flying to Philadelphia to spend three weeks there for Thanksgiving. To my mind, the most irritating part of preparing is trying to abide by the "no liquids in hand luggage" rule- do you REALIZE how many items are liquid-from shoe polish to shaving cream???

To spend most of Thursday, looking for a friend's grave may not seem such , but when you're a black man and the deceased is a white woman, is arguably the best way of repudiating the worldview of bloated BNP boss Nick Griffin, whose debut on BBC1 Question Time occasioned much commentary( not to mention whining from Griffin that he was being"demonized"), and showing that  people of different races CAN live together in friendship, respect and mutual affection; I don't know what take Hippolyte(the dear departed) would have had towards the bilious BNP, but as she must have been old enough to recall Mosley's Blackshirts, WWII and the subequent exposure of the "Holocaust"(even if she was a Catholic- albeit of the pre-Conciliar( ie  pre-Vatican II Council) era), it would be reasonable to guess that she regarded Girffin and his lik with repugnance. Back to Nick Griffin on "Question Time"- I cannot bear hypocrisy, cant or double standards- I noted that many of those calling for a ban on BNP appearances on TV( irrespective of  station) had nonetheless opposed the broadcast ban on Sinn Fein back in the 1980s. Speaking of hypocrisy, has anybody read the article in The Sun about the Muslim woman who was refused admittance to a college because she refused to take off her veil for an official ID photograph? I hope the University stands its ground-painful though it may be, there are times when public policy-not to mention secuirty concerns takes priority over an admittedly extreme interpretation of Islam- and refuses to kow tow to the usual politically motivated cries of"Islamophobia". Passport regulations state quite clearly that the submitted  photograph must show the face in its entirety- not even sunglasses are permitted, and as several Islamic scholars note, all the references to female garb in the Koran do is advise women to dress"modestly"( it makes no explicit references to burkas, hijabs or niqabs)-and they apply to applicants of all religious (and none) beliefs. The young lady in question might be advised to note that her obstinate and extreme position is in fact an islamophobe's dream come true!

Did anybody read the story about the white(well sort of)homecoming Queen at Hampton University in Southern Virginia who protested "reverse racism" by some of her African American students(Hampton University is apparently historically black and her critics felt that a "sister"-ie a black woman- should have got the position). Miss Nikole Churchill(whose father is Caucasian and mother Asian- American) , the queen in question reprtedly wrote an "open letter" to President Obama (who of course was born and grew up in Hawaii) asking him to speak at the University and "spread some aloha spirit". I agree that Miss Churchill's critics who heckled and harassed her (simply for not being black) were small-minded and ungenerous, but I cannot in good conscience agree with the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Bill O[Reilly who use her plight  to claim that "white is now the new black" in present day America. I was going to slag off X-Factor judge and former Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole in this blog but I'm glad I didn't in retrospect- did anybody read that article where she patiently waited at a band's dressing to explain that there was nothing personal in her decision to vote against them? What does that prove, you may ask?- I think it shows that she's a sensitive person , concerned with other people's feelings.

Today's a grey overcast and dreary day in London- paradoxically I'm delighted with the weather. I put on a sweater instead of a T-shirt because it was chilly. The trees are shedding their leaves, Halloween gifts and gewgaws are in the shops and all I can do is count the weeks until my flight to Philadelphia on Nov.9 for Thanksgiving. I'm not certain when to turn on the central heating( after they set the clocks back-or forward- to mark the official end of British Summer Time probably). Halloween has an itneresting provenance by the way. First introduced to the US by Irish immigrants and based on the ancient Hibernian feast of Samhain( the Celtic god of death), it was then transplanted to Merrie Old England by US servicemen and due to the popularity of so-called "slasher" movies such as "Friday the 13th "and "Halloween", it has now become as much of a British institution as say, the Monarchy. My own Church (Roman Catholic) tends to frown on the whole business, regarding it as an"exaltation of the powers of darkness"(much as some evangelical Protestants do) and preferring that we focus on All Saints/All Souls Days (Nov 1/2).

 
Just as he was turning the corner to his Aunt May's home in Queens, Peter Parker(bettter known as The Amazing Spider-Man) saw a cab pulling  away from it with a lone woman, her face hidden by a broad brimmed hat and large sunglasses, in the back.  Much to his surprise, his "Spider-Sense" began buzzing- not loudly enough to imply danger, but enough to suggest that she was more than she seemed to be.
 
After a routine hug and kiss, he said to his aunt. "Have you had company in?", noting the two teacups(one with a shade of lip gloss he knew his aunt never used) and the still warm kettle.
"Yes, Sarah."
"Who's Sarah?"
"A very nice lady who not only picked up my purse after I dropped it, but helped me carry these groceries home.." Aunt May replied nonchalantly.
"Aunt May, this is New York, you don't just let total strangers into your home- no matter how they may seem. Doesn't "Sarah " have a last name?"
I suppose so, dear, but she said it wouldn't matter to me as she was from out of town?"
"Where?"
"Philadelphia, I think she said>"
"Describe her to me!"
Aunt May stonewalled. " My eyes aren't what they once were, but I'll try to so. Tall, kind of like one of those fashion models you see in Vogue, Marie Claire or Cosmopoiltan, slim, but she must be really strong though- though not as strong as you are of course, stylishly dressed but not in a flashy way. She carried my groceries all the way from the supermarket and did'n't even seem winded. I asked her if she was one of those female bodybuilders and she just laughed. I invited her in for a cup of tea when we got home,as a reward for her good deed. You just missed her-"
 
Peter thought quickly- this mysterious "Sarah" sounded like none of his foes, but why else would she cause his "spider-sense" to react. "it's all right, Aunt May, but next time you need someone to carry your groceries home just bang on my door- I have a feeling that this lady is NOT what she seems to be!"