....And lets face it, there was only really one straightforward way that this whole episode could have publicly exonerated itself, and that was to have Shetty surface as the winner. But for me, nicely glossing over the entire incident and rewarding Shetty for her enduring patience, is not enough to bury the issues this race row provoked.

Watching the whole controversy unfold struck a deep chord with me, I have personally witnessed and undergone similar, if not worse and more abusive, behaviour than anything that was broadcast on this years Celebrity Big Brother. So I was initially pleasantly satisfied with the amount of fuss that was caused over Shetty’s treatment. However, let’s not pretend that the fuss was progressive in actually tackling the root causes of such hateful ignorance. Instead, the majority of the publicised debates surrounding the affair seemed to concentrate on whether it was fitting, or indeed legal, to show such behaviour on television. If I’m honest, although I was outraged by what I was seeing, and bitter at the thought of the show’s producers rapidly reaping the material benefits of the race row, at the same time, I was deeply grateful that such behaviour was shown in order for it to be swiftly, and very publicly, condemned.

I felt calls to ban the CBB show came at a crucial point where the attitudes inside the house became symbolic of what is already in existence outside. Racism is the ugly face of today’s UK society, so why mask reality? The damage had already been done and was, realistically speaking, only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the issues that are currently troubling UK citizens. Issues to do with integration could clearly be seen in the CBB house, divisions were blamed on a ‘culture clash’ by both sides, yet assimilation was clearly the key driving force. Hence, if anything, CBB highlighted that it is the younger generation of British society that needs to expand their mental horizons and be more accepting of difference.

Take, for example, the recent incident at the Knowsley Hey comprehensive in Liverpool, which is the former school of murdered black teenager Anthony Walker. School children made a mobile phone video of themselves hurling racist abuse at an Asian teacher, whilst he was taking a class. The children then went on to post the video on to the well-known youtube.com website, causing shock and embarrassment to the school. So what action was taken? A borough wide policy was put in place, which banned the use of mobile phones in schools. Once again, an attempt to hide the reality of racist ignorance is seen as a quick fix answer.

I recently attended the free conference “A world civilisation, or a clash of Civilisations”, held by the Greater London Authority. I was seriously shocked at the lack of attendance by people under the age of 20 at this event, which sought to promote dialogue on issues surrounding multiculturalism in Britain. Perhaps the event had not marketed itself well to younger audiences, or perhaps they were all too busy recovering on that Saturday morning from the night before. Who knows? But what I know is this; it is hardly surprising that young people use physical difference as a tool to insult someone, when their hateful attitudes are the product of a culture of intolerance, often encouraged by recent and longstanding sensationalism in the UK media.

For example, the only two month old ‘issue’ about Islamic veils and the right to religious dress. Here religious physical difference became problematic as it was seen as a barrier to integration. Once again the word on everyone’s lips was integration, but what was really alluded to was assimilation, which affects everyone’s right to difference. These constant outbursts by ministers who put down minority groups, (take Blair’s infamous speech on Multiculturalism Dec 2006), receive huge media coverage and wide scale publicity, fostering an environment of prejudgment and a growing sense of unease and suspicion towards those who are different.