Socio-historical Divide, Have We Not Learnt Anything?

Earlier this year my hometown of Hull celebrated the 200^th anniversary of its most famous native William Wilberforce’s contribution to the abolition of the slave trade. As a radical of the time, living in a cultural, port city, one would assume that the era of enlightenment would transcend to the 21^st century; creating a racially, politically and socially liberated community… but apparently not!
Whilst trying to fill a steady Sunday, I decided to embark on a mindless meander through our local park. However, my peaceful jolly was sort lived as the following poorly pronounced statement, aimed at my good self, boomed through the winding willows. “Take a bath you sweaty mosher!”
Firstly, I would like to establish that I am not a “mosher” as I personally do not choose to keep my long hair grease slicked to my scalp nor do I choose to wear over sized hoodies and jeans brandishing my favourite death metal band, complete with satanic symbol.
This aside, the comment that really drew close to the bone was “sweaty”, not because I am a genetic mutant void of been physically capable of perspiring but simply because of the caliber of male from which the comment came. When I say this I mean a young man minus his front teeth, clutching a can of ASDA’s own cider in his grubby mitt, having possibly contributed to the extreme teenage pregnancy and STI statistic’s Hull is renowned for the previous night.
This little tale, however, was only brought to the forefront of my memory when I read a story about a young Goth girl, Sophie Lancaster, who was beaten to death, simply for her life choices. This teamed with the endlessly lagging Wilberforce memorabilia scattered about town got me thinking.
From where has this modern form of hatred developed? Wilberforce I’m sure believed that he had quite possibly ended the greatest form exploitation this world would ever see way back in the 18^th century … but maybe his achievements simply left an endless void which will never disappear for a new discrimination to fill! Wilberforce fought to free black slaves from their repression but now I pose the question, who is to save us from our social repression, simply divisible by a person’s attire?

Sophie Lancaster Story: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/article970063.ece