ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 revisits the book’s overall themes of systemic racism and its white racial frame, especially as they have been illustrated during the coronavirus pandemic. The chapter begins with an examination of how the coronavirus pandemic highlights in dramatic ways the UK’s anti-Asian racism—one major type of the country’s anti-others racism. In the early months of the international pandemic, the UK and USA registered the greatest number of coronavirus deaths globally. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President Donald Trump had risen to political power on the promises to “Get Brexit Done” and “Make America Great Again.” When faced with the globalizing pandemic, both responded slowly and squandered the advantages of months of time, ample scientific data, and the instructive negative cases of China and Italy. Chapter 7 documents how Britons of color paid the heftiest price for this imprudent predatory capitalism, which is firmly rooted in weak government, predacious markets, privatization, and stamping out labor rights. Chapter 7 also documents the insensitivity and callousness shown by many in the white elite, including senior royals, toward those most vulnerable to the ravages of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The failure of senior white royals to acknowledge that some Britons are much more at-risk from the coronavirus than others, and to own their multiple racial, class, and gender privileges underscored by the pandemic, is examined. That World War II is germane to the pandemic given that for European monarchs the crisis resembles wartime, and in times of war royals are expected to perform admirably, is discussed. Also detailed is how Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been pilloried for purportedly being self-absorbed during the pandemic, while other royals have been inundated with praise for their public performances.
