Tony Sewell – Between Jamie Oliver’s Jamaican jerk rice and knife crime among young black men
People more angry about Jamie’s rice than black men being stabbed
People more angry about Jamie’s rice than black men being stabbed
A brutal crime wave is gripping Britain, with young black men the prime targets.The nature of this crisis was epitomised by an appalling incident in South London last week.
Some politicians have strange priorities. A brutal crime wave is gripping Britain, with young black men the prime targets.
The horrific nature of this crisis was epitomised by an appalling incident in South London last week, when a teenager was disembowelled by a machete-wielding gang.
Yet, in the face of this deepening emergency, what is Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, most worried about? Microwaveable food.
Yes, that’s right. Instead of focusing on real problems faced by black communities, she used her position to launch a bizarre attack on the chef Jamie Oliver over his new product called ‘punchy jerk rice’, which is inspired by Jamaican cuisine.
Brimming with outrage, Ms Butler — who, like me, is the child of Jamaican immigrants — asked Oliver on Twitter: ‘I’m just wondering do you know what Jamaican jerk actually is?’
The MP then adopted the pose of global guardian of Caribbean culture, telling Oliver: ‘Your jerk rice is not OK. This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop.’
The term ‘cultural appropriation’ has become increasingly fashionable among professional grievance-mongers and self-appointed social justice warriors eager to find offence.