Here at Ideas, Not Identity, I am a writer who believes that unfortunately, ideas are no longer separate from the individual saying them. This leaves many people fearful of raising questions or even mentioning topics deemed controversial.

I firmly believe that a writer or speaker should be judged based on the points they raise, and not on who they are as a person.

I have therefore set up this page to discuss topics that many feel too afraid to talk about. I hope by reading and responding to me, barriers can be broken down, discussions can begin, and progress can be made towards removing the taboo certain modern day issues possess.

Black Lives Matter.

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Black Lives Matter.

This blog supports [insert current topical issue here].


On June 2nd 2020, like anyone else who happened to open any form of social media, I was met with a sea of black squares. Much to my confusion, I quickly became aware that a modernistic, peaceful protest had erupted across popular sites such as Facebook and Instagram. #BlackOutTuesday had begun. And this got me thinking. For as long as I can remember, I have always felt somewhat uneasy about large-scale mass showings of support for popular social movements that seem to come and go as the months pass by. There is always a feint feeling of falseness that taints them all, which I slowly grew wary of.

Every year when June rolls around, and I look forwards to seeing anyone affiliated with the LGBTQ+ community parading their freedom to be who they truly are, matched with a celebration of how far society has come in finally accepting the fact that love is love. Again however, something never quite feels right. Everywhere I look, I am bombarded with a company brandishing their newly-customised rainbow-covered product of advertisement. And it is exactly that. Advertising. It is these token gestures that are released to ensure that customers understand that Costa Coffee is 100% pro-LGBT, or that Deliveroo loves how same-sex marriage is now legalised. But who do these gestures actually help? These feeble acts are nothing more than vain attempts at seeming woke and up to date, while bowing to consumerism, albeit with a tad more colour. Politicising products in this way does nothing to help the actual causes the LGBT community fights for.

Which brings me to the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Large brands and popular companies will always seek the approval of their customer base, and align their views in whichever way will earn them the most money. But this is tricky business, meaning they have to second guess and predict which views their customers will have and which movements to back. Pride month? Let’s stick a rainbow on whatever we can. Current BLM protests? Make all our platforms black. What else can we suck up to in order to stay current? All this does is create a set of spineless companies doing whatever they think they should be doing, in order to not lose money. And this reduces vital activism to nothing but a money-making ploy.

And the same token gestures spread further, into the realm of the media stars and influencers. J.K. Rowling recently has been criticised for her ‘anti-LGBT’ comments, by her former Harry Potter stars. What else were they meant to say? If Daniel Radcliffe ever wants to be hired for any film ever again, he has to put whatever true feelings he has to one side, and veer towards an aggressive neutrality. If he doesn’t, both he and any employer that hires him will be deemed not-anti-LGBT, and probably branded a fascist. How ridiculous. Furthermore, any TV channel to display reruns of Little Britain or Come Fly with Me will now be deemed not-anti-racist, and therefore racist. Calls of ‘blackfacing’ in this case are simply just untrue. If you call such acts ‘blackface’, then you truly have not grasped its history in the media. Which physical characteristics is an actor or actress not allowed to alter? Can David Walliams play a lady? Can he brandish a blond wig? Pretend to be fat? Is Matt Lucas the only one of the pair allowed to joke about baldness? Similar pointless outrages have surfaced recently with communities being disgusted at straight actors playing gay characters. Where is the line to be drawn?

What has driven me to this article, is that our society is still inherently racist towards anyone who is not white. Around the world, there are some amazing fights to realign the world we live in to remove this problem. What infuriates me is that so many people only ever chose to support these movements when it is popular and fashionable to do so. So many are lucky enough to know a life with very few struggles that affect every perceivable aspect of life. And this occurs in ignorance. For those who struggle daily to be accepted for who they are, purely because of a different skin colour, they do not possess that luxury. And that is white privilege.

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