As bad as each other?

In the UK, the main political magazines are, on the left, the New Statesman, and on the right, the Spectator. On the websites of both in recent days, there have been illuminating posts that illustrate the different types of racism on left and right.

On the New Statesman's site, a request for suggestions as to what the NS should make the subject of a major investigation led, right from the get-go, that the power of 'the Jewish lobby' and 'Zionists' be investigated. And this wasn't just crazies, either. When the political editor commented that some suggestions weren't worthy of being taken seriously, several apparently sane and well-adjusted commenters made comments such as "Why shouldn't we discuss the power of the Jewish lobby in the media? They do seem to have disproportionate power in economic and social affairs as in the US." (@gcarth). 

Meanwhile, in the last day or so, on Stephen Pollard's Spectator blog, an entry about the ethics of selling golliwogs in the UK in 2008 has displayed flashes of raw racism under the knowing and oh-so sophisticated  'oh, what PC nonsense' comments, such as the delightful 'Hmmm - how about a golliwog equipped for housebreaking, carjacking or a mugging...." from one Bill Corr. 

It's easy for bloggers to bang on about the far Left and its slimy anti-Semitism, which is now deep in the DNA of the SWP, for example; it's important to remember the equally nasty casual racism on the right.