I personally belong to the latter group, but am not so naïve as to ignore this matter altogether. The Harry/Meghan issue raises the problem of several elephants in the room when it comes to wider British society. At first, I thought there was just one (racism), but reflection on Meghan's words ( yes, I watched some of the interview) pointed to two more. I shall look at these three elephants in turn. It's a mistake to ignore elephants without seeking to control them...
The first is the issue of social media. The evidence of direct racism against Meghan is disputed. Piers Morgan, the now ex-presenter on Good Morning Britain, said he could find none, as has the Society of Editors. This is challenged, of course, by many journalists. As The Independent says:
"Even before the wedding, Harry had complained in 2017 about the “racial undertones” in British media coverage of his then-girlfriend. One tabloid columnist referred to Meghan’s “exotic” DNA. A Daily Mail headline described her Los Angeles roots as ”(almost) straight outta Compton” and claimed she came from a “gang-scarred” neighbourhood. A TV host described Meghan as “uppity.”
What was not noticed by Oprah, or anyone else, was the fact that Meghan spoke of horrendous racist abuse and death threats on social media. As this type of harassment and trolling is a worldwide problem, we should remember how distressing it can be for the victim. If Meghan was stuck in a palace all day, feeling isolated, it could well have affected her mental well-being. As such, she illustrates a problem that we must deal with. Online persecution is bad for anyone's mental health.
Which leads me to the second elephant in the room; the fact that Meghan spoke of feeling suicidal. Piers Morgan, among others, said that he did not believe her claim. I find it unlikely that she would invent something as traumatic as this, but I don't have any evidence either way. Whatever we believe , this is a serious matter, which impacts upon every society, not just the UK. If a member of the Royal Family can admit to mental health problems - and suicidal feelings are just such a problem - we need to recognise that mental illness is a fact of our lives that we must stop trying to hide. It is far more common that we care to admit, and this must change. Mentalhealth.org.uk points out:
"Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with 7.8% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis.4-10% of people in England will experience depression in their lifetime.
Common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are distributed according to a gradient of economic disadvantage across society. The poorer and more disadvantaged are disproportionately affected by common mental health problems and their adverse consequences.
Mixed anxiety and depression has been estimated to cause one fifth of days lost from work in Britain.
One adult in six had a common mental disorder."
There was a chilling contribution from a black East ender, Jason:
"I also met Jason, a black man born and raised in east London. He remembers his mum being chased by the National Front and shot with a pellet gun in her leg. He says she still has a scar. He tells me that the racism he experiences today is different, not as overt or blatant, but more under the surface, and no better. "There's no way you can feel or live my life unless you have that shade of skin."
There seems to be a feeling that people in the public eye are fair game for any level of scrutiny, speculation or criticism concerning their private lives and, particularly in the case of attractive young women, their appearance. I would imagine that most famous people accept with varying degrees of enthusiasm that there will be interest in their personal lives, but there is a point beyond which media interest becomes downright intrusive. It's as though famous people are considered immune to anything and everything that can be thrown at them.
ReplyDeleteFor all the good it has done in the long term, the Leveson Inquiry of a decade ago into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal might as well never have taken place. Unfortunately, or perhaps scandalously, the Conservative government decided not to proceed with the second part of that enquiry.
The usual media defence for extreme intrusion is that it's in 'the public interest', when in reality they really mean it caters to public curiosity, not the same thing at all. Worse than that, they are more often than not responsible for actively promoting this prurient Peeping Tom mindset among the public.
Britney Spears has suffered from prolonged mental ill-health as a consequence of relentless media attention that she could never escape, and Charlotte Church's mother attempted suicide because of intrusion into her husband's affair, which made the news only because of his daughter's fame as a child star. Just two examples out of far too many.
The press has consistently reported Kate and Meghan in entirely different ways. I have several examples to hand but will give just one: during the two women's respective pregnancies, the Daily Mail reported that Kate caressed her bump 'tenderly' while demanding to know: “Why can't Meghan Markle keep her hands off her bump… Is it pride, vanity, acting, or a New Age bonding technique?” In my view, there can be no reason for the entirely different treatment of the two women other than closet racism.
I find Meghan's suggestions that the consistent and deliberately negative coverage she has been subjected to made her seriously depressed quite plausible. Fame does not make you invulnerable.
I'm not an apologist for the royal family (if it were up to me, the monarchy would be abolished tomorrow) but that's beside the point, which is how much damage the media can do to people, not always famous, with their intrusions, distortions, character assassinations and downright lies.
If you don't believe me, just ask the family and friends of Caroline Flack.