Everyone wants to get to the bottom of the Welsh Governments proposal for ‘dog free spaces in local green spaces’, a suggestion made by Climate Cymru BAME, in support of the governments Anti-Racist Action Plan.
What does it mean? Is it to provide dog free spaces because dogs upset black and ethnic minority citizens? If the dogs themselves are not racist, are we saying that their owners are? You would think not, but this does appear to be the underlying logic!
The North Wales Africa Society said a study found Black African females were concerned over a “general lack of safety” in some parks and it is this which dissuades black and ethnic minority citizens from taking advantage of such recreational facilities.
At a time when everything can be regarded as WOKE and the important issues around racism are easily ignored and deflected this sort of silliness has a far greater impact on the public mind than we give it credit for.
Again, there seems to be no mechanism within the Welsh Government to navigate policy and practice in challenging racism and sieving out stupidity.