Dr Bagguely quoted in Guardian article on the reported rise in racist abuse since Brexit

Will the “celebratory racism” cause lasting damage? Dr Paul Bagguley featured in the Guardian discussing the rise in reporting racist abuse.

Has the hatred always been there under the surface – and will this ‘celebratory racism’ cause lasting damage?

Brexit was a political earthquake and shock was felt even before the polls closed with fears the referendum has unleashed “a frenzy of hatred”.

True Vision, a police-funded hate-crime-reporting website, has seen a 57% increase in reporting between Thursday and Sunday, compared with the same period last month. Although this is not definitive national figure, other charities have reported an increase and unsurprisingly people are worried.

Dr Paul Bagguley is featured in an article by the Guardian discussing the rise in reporting of racist abuse since the exit vote. Bagguley explained:

“There is a kind of celebration going on; it’s a celebratory racism.” With immigration cited in polls as the second most common reason in voting for Brexit, “people are expressing a sense of power and success, that they have won.”

 Bagguley stresses that it wasn’t racist to vote leave, and that many people were voting about “political control”, yet the Brexit campaign’s relentless rhetoric about “controlling our borders” has led people who might previously have kept their intolerant views to themselves to feel legitimised.

 Bagguley is confident that after a spike in incidents, things will calm down. Yet he also warns that if these attacks go unchallenged, the damage to our social fabric could be lasting, making attacks more frequent in the future. “It is the residue that is the problem. If people get away with [racist attacks], then the next time there is a reason to have a go, they will.”

 To find out more, read the full article in the Guardian.