The nationality of the murderers

It was a basic precept, one that was never discussed because it was so obvious: the nationality of a criminal should only be indicated in an article if it provides relevant information that helps understand the incident. But, just as we retreat from the recognition of diversity (and in so many other matters relating to individual dignity), codes of ethics are also being overtaken by the right, the far right, and the far right. I was thinking, reviewing two news stories adjacent to Ok Diary: "A Moroccan arrested for the murder of the historian from Almería" and "An attack on a synagogue in Manchester leaves at least two dead."

In the first case, what does nationality contribute? The piece doesn't explain at all the motive for the crime or the relationship between the killer and the victim, so a nationality sheds no light: it only serves to fuel the perverse link between North African immigration and violence. A North African. You don't need to know anything else: you and I already understand each other, right? (A conspiratorial elbow bump from a brother-in-law in the ribs.) In the second news story, however, nothing is said about the killer, when everything suggests that religious hatred may be the motive for the attack. The English police say they have identified the attacker, but they haven't said anything about his identity. And neither the British media are playing that card nor have the police leaked it to advance their agenda. It's the difference in the quality of democracy in one place and another, measured both by the forces of law and order and by their media. As individual and collective freedoms are stripped away, the level of journalism—or pseudo-journalism—also deteriorates, as it is used to consolidate stereotypes and criminalize groups. Highlighting a criminal's nationality only when it suits you, even when you don't explain why it's relevant, is one of the strategies of the Spanish far-right media, and increasingly, of the Catalan media as well.