I’m Not Racist, Just Concerned
From Epping to Facebook Groups, How Fear is Being Repackaged and Pointed Downwards and Never Up
Words Matter.
I’ve started numerous posts off with that two word sentence because it remains true. And currently, there’s a phrase that’s been doing a helluva lot of heavy lifting lately:
“Concerned Locals/Citizens/Communities/Residents.”
It’s varying combinations of these two words I’ve seen pop up everywhere - in reports about hotel protests, in Facebook groups called “Protect Our Communities,” in interviews with people who’ve just spent the afternoon egging police vans and shouting at asylum seekers, but want you to know they’re definitely not racists. Just worried about their neighbourhood.
It’s become the respectable face of the same, tired old bigotry. A linguistic get-out-of-jail-free card. Prejudice pretending to be civic duty, hoping no one notices the smell.
I wrote on Saturday about how slogans like “nobody voted for mass migration” weaponise real grievances while dodging the policies that caused them. But if that’s the strategy, then “concerned local” is the street-level operations - how individual bigotry gets rebranded as community spirit.
I’m thinking again about what we’ve seen in Epping over the past week.
A group of so-called “concerned locals” protesting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers. Launching fireworks. Attacking staff. Sharing conspiracy leaflets from groups like “White Vanguard” about “preserving the white race.” And still, many pushed back indignantly: We’re not racists! We’re just concerned citizens!
Riiiiight. And I’m not gay - I just really appreciate good lighting and arm day.
Because here’s what’s happening: we’re watching an attempt to strip words like “far-right,” “racist,” and “Islamophobic” of any real meaning - turning them into slurs, not descriptors. The logic goes: If I don’t feel like a racist, then I’m not one - no matter what I say or do.
It’s grievance politics with the safety catch on - all accusation, no accountability.
And “concerned citizen” is the perfect costume. It sounds reasonable. Responsible. Like something we should praise, not challenge. And, this of course goes without saying - being genuinely worried about crime or cohesion isn’t racism.
We’re allowed to want safety. We should talk about housing, healthcare, schools, fairness. But the moment that concern turns into blanket blame - against migrants, Muslims, foreigners - instead of the policies and systems that actually failed you?
That's when it stops being concern. And starts being something much uglier. The difference isn't how you feel. It's what you do with those feelings.
The Laundry Cycle: How the Far-Right Washes Its Words
Modern far-right movements rarely march down the street in jackboots anymore - not at first, anyway. They start with language. Softer, plausible-sounding, even common-sense-adjacent language. "We just want answers." "We're being silenced." "It's not racist to want to feel safe." "They're not sending their best." The point isn't to win a debate - it's to shift the boundaries of what's acceptable to say, to nudge the window just a little further toward intolerance, resentment, and division.
And if you call that out, the playbook is ready: they'll accuse you of being intolerant. "How dare you call me racist for asking a question?" But the questions are never neutral. They come preloaded with assumptions: that migrants are inherently dangerous, that Muslims don't integrate, that diversity is something to be endured rather than celebrated.
It's the same tactic that turns "political correctness" into a slur. That makes "woke" the villain instead of, say, child poverty. That wraps bigotry up in a flag and calls it "justified concern."
We've seen it with Trump. We've seen it with Farage. We're seeing it now with Reform UK - a party that claims to be sticking up for "ordinary Brits," but whose loudest voices keep nodding to the online far right like it's a family reunion, now including the anti-vaccine nutters (because Farage has never seen a band-wagon that he doesn't want to instantly clamber aboard).
And it works, because the language is slippery. Because people don't want to feel like the bad guys. Because it's easier to believe you're a brave truth-teller than to reckon with the possibility that you've been radicalised by Facebook reels and Mail Online headlines.
"Concerned [insert appropriate party]" is just the latest phrase to get the full laundry treatment - scrubbed clean of historical baggage, packaged as civic virtue, ready to be worn by anyone who wants to sound respectable while doing very unrespectable things.
But there’s a glaring issue with this.
Concern Is Human. What You Do With It Is Political.
I’ve already said that it's not racist to care about crime, community, or your children's future. That's living in society. You're supposed to care.
But where exactly is that fear coming from? Crime statistics and NHS data? Or a blurry TikTok that cuts before the white guy starts swinging? Is it your tripled rent and council housing shortages? Or viral headlines about refugee families getting "free" £400k homes - without mentioning they're leased, temporary, and run for profit?
Concern doesn't equal insight. Feeling something deeply doesn't make it true. So what do you do with that concern?
A real concerned local notices their GP surgery is overwhelmed and demands funding, not fewer migrants. They see teenagers with nothing to do and ask about youth services. They worry about housing and channel that into planning reform, social housing, landlord licensing. They show up to local meetings, write to MPs, hold power to account.
The most impactful citizens aim their fury upward.
Because being concerned is good. But if your concern always targets those with less power - and never those who actually broke the system you're angry about? That's not concern. That's prejudice that feels polite enough to say out loud.
The situation in Epping reveals this perfectly. Behind the slogans, it's not spontaneous awakening - it's a funnel, redirecting anger from billionaires and policymakers toward strangers with brown skin and nowhere else to go.
It's not an accident. It's a political project.
And if you're shouting "I'm just concerned" while holding a sign that says "send them back," you don't need a dictionary definition of racism. You need a mirror.
And if that mirror shows you something uncomfortable - if you realise your concerns may have been redirected, repackaged, or repurposed - there’s still time to course-correct. That starts with knowing the signs.
How to Spot the Con (Before You Join It)
The truth is that none of us is immune to manipulation. We all have emotional buttons, and some people have built entire careers around knowing exactly how to press them. The “concerned [insert appropriate party]” label works so well because it appeals to our better instincts - the urge to care, to act, to protect.
But there are ways to defend yourself - to recognise when your genuine concern is being hijacked.
Check your sources. That viral video of “migrants getting free cars” - where did it come from? Who filmed it? What happened before the camera started rolling? If it’s only on accounts called “PatriotDefender1488” or supplement-selling news pages, that’s a clue.
Follow the money. Who gains when you blame asylum seekers instead of landlords? When you target foreign patients over NHS underfunding? If your anger’s aimed down, ask who’s being shielded from scrutiny.
Notice the pattern. If every issue somehow traces back to migrants, Muslims, or “the woke mob,” that’s not insight - it’s targeting. Real problems are complex. Simple villains are usually made up.
Ask better questions. Swap “why are there so many migrants?” for “why do we need so much imported labour?” or “what’s stopping integration?” Shift the focus from people to policy.
Diversify your media diet. If you only consume sources that confirm what you already think, you’re not staying informed - you’re being groomed. Read widely. Seek discomfort. That’s how you grow.
Remember who’s in charge. The asylum seeker didn’t defund your library. The Muslim family didn’t scrap your bus route. The Polish shop owner didn’t cut your benefits. Power flows up. Blame flows down.
And most importantly: pause before you share.
That story that’s got you seething - is it true? Is it full? Is it useful? Because every time you share a half-truth or outrage bait, you’re doing their work for them.
Being genuinely concerned means being careful with the truth.
When Fear Comes Knocking
This post isn't about catching people out. It's about calling them in - before the drift from doubt to dog-whistle turns into something none of us can take back. Because yes, the politics of fear are loud. The propaganda is relentless. The algorithms are rigged to reward outrage. But none of that means we're powerless.
We have a choice about what to do with our legitimate fears, frustrations and worries. We can let them be harvested by people who profit from division, repackaged as "concern" and aimed at the most vulnerable. Or we can use them as fuel for something better.
If concern is truly what drives you, let it be the kind that asks real questions. The kind that looks up the chain, not down the street. The kind that demands better, not just louder. Let it lead you toward justice, not scapegoats. Toward solidarity, not suspicion. Toward truth - not the first TikTok that tells you who to hate.
Because the test of our values isn't whether we feel good about ourselves. It's what we do when fear comes knocking. Do we open the door and invite it in for tea and conspiracy theories? Or do we acknowledge it, understand what it's really telling us, and channel it into something constructive?
The "concerned [insert appropriate party]" costume is always available. It's easy to wear, comfortable to hide behind, and comes with built-in moral authority. But real civic responsibility - the kind that actually builds stronger communities - requires something harder: the courage to look in the mirror, check our assumptions, and aim our anger where it might actually make a difference.
And in moments like this, that's not just an individual choice. It's a collective one. Because concern can either build a better country - or burn it down.
Absolutely spot on, thank you. I try to be very careful when reading newspaper headlines and watching and listening to the media. In fact I don’t trust newspapers or the media. I try to follow people who tell the truth no matter how difficult it is to hear. What we see here is a mirror of what is happening in America and it’s frightening! In my 77 years I have not witnessed so much lying and obfuscation as we see today. Thank goodness for yourself and the likes of Carole Cadwalladr!
The old adage of don’t believe everything you read in the newspapers is so true still. Also don’t believe everything you see on tv or online. Especially if the source is GB News, Daily Mail and Express, The Sun, Telegraph,Times and all the others.
Of course by far the biggest outlet for lies and misinformation is Reform Uk and Farage along with Tice and their lemmings