Perfectly summed up by a Times reader
“But in this day and age, an accusation of racism is an incredibly serious charge, which can be ruinous to someone's career, relationships, and inclusion in polite society. Yet it is an accusation bandied about easily, without care for consequences. It is astonishing that - to my knowledge - the courts have not yet addressed the defamatory implications of such a claim.
If someone wishes to level an allegation of racism, they must be precise in the facts of their claim, state more than just a subjective feeling, and provide credible reasons why they are sure that an action/comment was made with racist intent. Otherwise, one risks doing incredible damage to another person for what might have been a simple misunderstanding. We must stop putting subjective feelings on a pedestal, and demand both sides of the story and the broader context.
In the case of Meghan Markle, she says that she was not a witness of the comments. She relies on Prince Harry's testimony. Moreover, the timing of both of their accounts seems to clash. However, most importantly, we do not know if what the unnamed member of the Royal Family said was benign/naive (speculating on the appearance of children is common in mixed race families) or malicious.
Yet by putting out a vague accusation against an unnamed member, with little details on the context or content of comments, Harry and Meghan have publicised an unanswerable charge. And from a unilateral yet shrouded assertion lacking in detail, many commentators and politicians rush forward to denounce problems of racism within the British monarchy, press and society. This will not do. The charge of racism is extremely serious, and should not be bandied about lightly. We must question and scrutinise subjective feelings, we must demand evidence, we must ask for names, and we must require credibility. Otherwise, we are left with a Kafkaesque world where vague charges and sentiments trump evidence and procedure”.
