Chronicles of ordinary racism 2011 - Cronache di ordinario razzismo

Like in the previous edition, the inventory conserves chronological order, with the aim
of stressing the almost daily incidence of these episodes. Unfortunately we were able to
present only a limited and incomplete selection (255 entries) compared to the large
number of cases collected (861 over the period considered) and made available on our
database at www.cronachediordinariorazzismo.org. 323 The daily monitoring of “hate
crimes” became more thorough and attentive: we studied different media outlets,
national and local press and the internet, focusing as well on the methods they employ
to construct the image the other. 324 The result is the compilation of a greater number of
instances of racism compared to the period previously considered (2007‐2009), 325 some
of which stand out as being particularly serious. The greater visibility given to racist
speeches and statements, to the discrimination and violence suffered by immigrants in
the Cie (Identification and Deportation Centres) to the spread of racist propaganda
online, no doubt offered a helpful contribution. We also asked ourselves whether the
larger number of cases collected should be considered as reflecting an increase in racist
behaviour or is instead the result of better, more thorough media coverage. Experience
leads us to assume that both are true: migrants grow ever more aware of their rights
and, at the same time, the media have become more attentive than in the past. But the
incidence and analysis of the cases under scrutiny seem to suggest that the social and
institutional validation of racism, already covered in the first White Paper, has by no
means come to a halt. Moreover, the figures put together by international reports and
unofficial surveys (the only ones available) confirm that racist violence in all its forms is
an everyday occurrence. Now more than ever, xenophobic attacks go hand in hand
with the discriminatory rulings of mayors or the racist statements of politicians.
The most widespread racist acts of violence are probably those carried out by
individuals or impromptu groups. This does not exclude the existence of crimes
committed by purpose‐formed groups or movements, often belonging to the extreme
right. However the most worrying trend is, in our opinion, the increasing incidence of
various forms of institutional racism.
In an effort to illustrate the different varieties of present‐day racism, we have studied
the cases according to a simple pattern of classification (reviewed and extended
compared to the one used in the first White Paper), based on the important distinction
between physical and verbal acts of violence. The instances of verbal violence include
both written and spoken forms: hate‐fuelled speeches, xenophobic rhetoric and racist
statements on the part of politicians as well as insulting slogans, graffiti, posters 326 ,
publications, web pages and xenophobic groups operating on social networks. The acts
of physical violence fall under two main headings: assault and murder. The category of
discrimination includes not only discriminatory acts carried out by individuals or
323 A website for information and in-depth analysis devoted specifically to racism, set up by Lunaria in 2011 with the aim of
contributing to the creation of a collective memory for racism in our country and fighting it tby means of information and
exposure. The online database puts together 1.311 episodes of racism recorded between 1 January 2007 and 31 August 2011.
324 Cf chapter 3 “The media and racism”.
325 Between 1 January and 31 August 2011 alone we recorded 364 cases, more than a third of those collected in the previous four
years.
326 To this end, the website www.cronachediordinariorazzismo.org proposes a vast gallery of racist “horrors”.
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