George Floyd’s death on May 25 at the hands of a white police officer sparked outrage in the USA and brought to the forefront the issue of racial discrimination. People all over the world stood in solidarity and called out the blatant disregard for black lives. It brought to light not just the discrimination faced by black people, but also the issues faced by people of color all over the world. Now, Jemima Goldsmith shared a video showing a Pakistani-British driver handling racist and Islamophobic insults hurled at him with utmost patience. She lauded him for keeping his cool despite the racial abuse.
The video shows a Pakistani-British cab driver being racially abused by the passenger, who can be seen saying, “Who do you think you are? You think you’re something special? Pakistan! But I’ll tell you what? No wonder the Indians are bombing you!” The driver tried his best at staying calm and instead said, “I don’t think about who I am. Have fun.” The passenger, however, went on further hurling abuses at him, and said, “By the way, this is England! And you’re in a f**king job in England! So you should respect this country.”
The driver warned him that he would share the video on social media, however, the British passenger kept abusing him. Sharing the video, Jemima Goldsmith wrote, “Shabash and respect to this Pakistani-British cab driver keeping his cool in the face of unspeakable racist abuse from a grotesque thug.”
Shabash & respect to this Pakistani-British cab driver keeping his cool in the face of unspeakable racist abuse from a grotesque thug. https://t.co/kwvQPCYIai
— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) June 4, 2020
The video went viral on social media, and a user replied by sharing an update that the abusive man has been arrested by the West Midlands Police after the video emerged on social media. Another reply on Jemima Goldsmith’s tweet shows a user sharing a screenshot of the driver’s reply wherein he said that he has requested the Police to not take further action as he forgives him.
This from the said Taxi driver. Bless him. pic.twitter.com/aCTgJzM2pX
— Habib Hussain (@habibtangdeo) June 4, 2020
https://t.co/X4fDp7vCtD https://t.co/KsbS93Ccie
— Hafiz Tauseef (@HMTauseef) June 4, 2020
Image Source: Twitter/Jemima_Khan/theJeremyVine, Instagram/khanjemima