I swear I don’t get political in this blog post.
I’m not a racist but…
Anyone about to say something super racist.
I remember being asked “what sort I was” when I was a waiter at a cafe. When I moved to Devon in England, there weren’t a lot of mixed-race people.
It was a big eye opener for me moving down here when I was younger. I was from Lewisham in London. No one batted an eyelid at me.
When I went to school here, I was called all kinds of names. 99% of which didn’t make sense. I wasn’t from Pakistan, or Africa (although my Mum is). I wasn’t from the Middle-East or Europe.
Of course it still upset me. It was hurtful being called names just because I was different. Looking back I don’t think I look any darker than anyone else.
My Mum told me “it’s because you’re different”. Which is partly true.
It’s fear. Fear and ignorance drives racism. Of course the kids calling me names weren’t “racists” or xenophobic. Not really. They just knew that if they made fun of me, they were on the winning team.
If someone thinks they’re safer by hurting others, most people will do it. Sounds crazy but it’s been shown to be true over and over. In fact, it’s a great way to unite people.
Show people an “other” and they’ll rally against it. Especially if they’re taking your jobs, or increasing your healthcare costs.
Sneaky – I’ve slowly made this a political post.
In truth though, your customers NEED an “other”. An enemy. Probably not the new mixed-race kid at school. Maybe greedy software companies? Or rising insurance costs? Idiot politicians?
Rally against something WITH your customers and you’ll position yourself as a leader. It sounds obvious but it works. It’s not cheating, it’s finding a common cause.
I did a short video on how Trump used those exact tactics with Facebook ads to become President of the USA here.
No political shit, just examples of his campaigns, his adverts and what he, JFK and Obama have in common.
Check it out and comment below. Let me know what you think.
