Moving on from the Y-word is a welcome step in a never-ending process

Change, real change, generally doesn’t happen overnight.

It needs discussion, thought, reflection, assessment, reassessment, more discussion, bravery, openness, compassion and many other things.

Back in 2011, after an antisemitic incident at a football match, my brother David and I released The Y Word, a short film addressing the use of the word, Yid, at football matches.

Until that point, to the best of our knowledge, this was something that had gone unchallenged and our aim was to raise awareness and to ask people to think about the word’s use. In that respect we were pretty successful, the issue was even commented on by then Prime Minster David Cameron.

We never for one minute expected people to watch the film and go, ‘oh, I see, thanks for raising the issue, I’ve taken your points on board and on balance, I think I’ll stop using the word.’

Indeed, often the very opposite happened and there was a lot of resistance to what we were saying. Which was fine.

We wanted to start a debate and whilst it may have got heated on occasion, for the most part it was respectful and thought-provoking.

Over the ensuing decade the issue raised its head from time to time and in 2018 we released another film , this one more hard-hitting.

Then, this week. Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club, the club for whom the issue is most relevant, announced that after a consultation with their fans, they believe, ‘it is time to move on from associating this term with our club.’

Given that many of their fans still chant the word at matches, this is a brave thing for Tottenham to do and we applaud it.

There is no sense, however, of this being a victory for us.

It is part of the process, a process that is still ongoing, in which we, as human beings, make decisions about what is and isn’t appropriate in life.

There are many, many things that we all said and did in the past that were deemed acceptable, but now, after a similar process to the one we’ve been through with The Y Word, they no longer are. And there will be many, many things that we still say and do that require reflection and rethinking.

The point is that this is a step, a very welcome step, in a never-ending process.

The debate will continue, it will be refined and then another step will be taken, and so it goes on.

So for now, yes, it is time for a moment’s satisfaction, but ultimately the fight against all forms of discrimination will go on and hopefully, move forward, step by step.

Watch the Y Word here:

You can watch the Kick It Out film here: