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Ben Mee brilliantly persuasive advocacy here on #BlackLivesMatter 
. He uses the power of football’s collectivist culture. My thread breaking his statement down. 1/ https://twitter.com/okwonga/status/1275329175155548161
. He uses the power of football’s collectivist culture. My thread breaking his statement down. 1/ https://twitter.com/okwonga/status/1275329175155548161
Mee starts with “we can talk about football, but there’s something I want to speak about first”.
He lets you know it might be more important than football. It’s certainly urgent and spontaneous. 2/
He lets you know it might be more important than football. It’s certainly urgent and spontaneous. 2/
First, Mee says he is “ashamed & embarrassed”.
He emotes and he owns that emotion.
Shame & embarrassment mean that while he’s going to put the blame on the racists, it’s still a *shared* problem, *his* problem, the *club’s* problem. 3/
He emotes and he owns that emotion.
Shame & embarrassment mean that while he’s going to put the blame on the racists, it’s still a *shared* problem, *his* problem, the *club’s* problem. 3/
Then Mee calls the people behind the WhiteLivesMatter banner “a small number of our fans”.
He *owns* that the racists are part of Burnley, that racism is *Burnley’s problem*. Not someone else’s. 4/
He *owns* that the racists are part of Burnley, that racism is *Burnley’s problem*. Not someone else’s. 4/
“These people need to come into the 21st century & educate themselves . . . as a lot of us do”
Mee owns that he & others have been “educating themselves” on racism.
Crucially NOT establishment narrative that British people are naturally “not racist”, but that it takes work. 5/
Mee owns that he & others have been “educating themselves” on racism.
Crucially NOT establishment narrative that British people are naturally “not racist”, but that it takes work. 5/
Mee “missed the point of what we’re *trying* to achieve, does not represent what we’re about, what the clubs about, what the players are about, what the *majority* of fans are about”
Transl: this work is *unfinished*; we haven’t persuaded *all* the fans. 6/
Transl: this work is *unfinished*; we haven’t persuaded *all* the fans. 6/
Mee 1.52. “Hopefully these people can learn and be taught what we’re trying to do and what the whole Black Lives Matter movement is trying to achieve.”
Again, leaving the door open for racists to change their minds through (self)education and join the majority. 7/
Again, leaving the door open for racists to change their minds through (self)education and join the majority. 7/
Mee: *sighs* “the players have pulled together and this is what we want. This is what the majority of fans want. We want equality in society, in football, in everything. Whether it be race, religion, gender, LGBTQ.”
Transl: This is agreed. Get with the program. 8/
Transl: This is agreed. Get with the program. 8/
Mee signs off on his repeated refrain “they’ve completely missed the point”.
An open invitation to “get the point” - educate yourselves, change your mind, change your behaviour - and join the majority of the fans. 9/
An open invitation to “get the point” - educate yourselves, change your mind, change your behaviour - and join the majority of the fans. 9/
Mee’s “educate yourself” recognises that:
- anti-racism takes work
- people may be racist *until* they think properly about it
Mee never:
- blames outsiders
- uses exaggerations
- seems embarrassed or cautious about saying “Black Lives Matter” 10/10
- anti-racism takes work
- people may be racist *until* they think properly about it
Mee never:
- blames outsiders
- uses exaggerations
- seems embarrassed or cautious about saying “Black Lives Matter” 10/10
