There are some who would argue that police brutality in the United States is not relevant to issues in Britain. Douglas Murray, the conservative commentator, described British protests in support of Black Lives Matter as ‘the globalization of a specific American racial issue’.
Even those who would not deny that racism is an issue may revert to ‘well at least it is not as bad in Britain, the situation in the US is worse’. Aside from the inference that being slightly less racist should be perceived as a good thing, such a stance displays a lack of understanding about the nature of the relationship between policing, institutionalized racism, and black and minority ethnic communities within Britain.
