KSI’s racial slur shows lack of understanding of South Asian hate

KSI’s recent use of a racial slur against South Asians and many responses shows a lack of education about its history, and many have even been forgotten.

In a parody of Countdown, KSI chose to say a derogatory slur aimed at South Asians from his selection of letters.

Although he knew the word was a slur, KSI still chose to say it for ‘points’, citing that he does not mean it ‘maliciously’, while the rest of the Sidemen, including guests Chunkz and Yung Filly, laughed.

While the video received backlash, many users online were confused with what the word meant, assuming it was just an abbreviation like ‘Aussie’ or ‘Scott’. While many were calling out the ‘snowflakes’ who were getting offended by something that wasn’t that ‘deep’.

Failing to acknowledge the severity of the word, making light of the situation by laughing, keeping it in the video, and the ignorance of netizens shows a lack of understanding of racism against South Asians and the offence it would cause and has caused to the South Asian community.

The slur traces back to the 1960s and 1970s in England, where anti-immigrant groups like the National Front, BNP and the White Power Skinheads used the slur to insult immigrants from South-Asian countries.

The slur is not limited to people of Pakistani origin but anyone with brown skin.

Like how slurs are used against people who are black or are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, South Asians would be called the slur to make them feel inferior.

The same groups would carry out attacks against South Asians and their businesses, calling it ‘p**i-bashing’. It was even used to try and justify the murder of textile worker Altab Ali when his murderers faced trial.

Despite such a rich history of the slur, it seems to have been forgotten and is now overlooked. So much so that an influencer from London thought that it was okay to say it as long as it wasn’t in a derogatory way for a laugh.

Altab Ali’s death mobilised the East End and led to widespread campaigning against racism. People took to the streets and organised anti-racism movements like The Asian Youth Movements.

But we haven’t had a movement since.

The death of George Floyd readdressed the topic of racism in society, while the murder of Sarah Everard sparked a conversation on women’s safety.

It seems like we need a tragic event for people to incite change.

Unlike the murder of Ali, there hasn’t been a reason for a conversation to start or for people to protest against discrimination against South Asians, despite a third of victims of hate crimes being Asian in England and Wales.

It shouldn’t take the death of someone or a slur to be said for a conversation to be had. It’s a conversation that should always be maintained, and we shouldn’t need a reminder. In a climate where members of parliament can openly discriminate against Pakistani men, it shows that it cannot be ignored.

I wanna apologise for saying a racial slur in a recent Sidemen video. There’s no excuse, no matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have said it and I’m sorry.

I’ve always said to my audience that they shouldn’t worship me or put me on a pedestal because I’m human. Im not…

— ksi (@KSI) April 3, 2023