EDITORIAL Warren Draper
As an all too average cissexual, cisgender male (Google it if you’re unsure - I did) I was initially dubious as to whether I was qualified to write the editorial for this issue of the Doncopolitan. Created with Pride 2014 in mind this #IAmWhatIAm edition celebrates diversity, love and tolerance; and while I love tolerance I’ve never felt as if I was particularly diverse. But then I remembered the old Yorkshire truism, ‘there’s nowt as queer as folk’. Each and every one of us is a bit queer in our own way, aren’t we? With a taste for short, strong, red-headed women with excellent left-hooks and thick Barnsley accents I know I certainly am. And stick me on a tube train in London where I can’t help smiling and saying “Hey Up!” to people who usually offer nothing but silent, fear-filled stares by way of a response and I am suddenly part of a highly visible minority (honestly London, you need to relax... if you acted so serious and self-centred around Donny you’d be laughed out of Asda). The truth is that the world has become far too small for bigotry and intolerance. The people who complain about the amount of ‘foreigners’ on our streets need to get out more. You can’t go to any sizeable town on the planet without seeing a similar mix of locals, visitors, immigrants and migrant workers. The people chasing the dream aren’t the problem, it’s the fact that the dream has become a nightmare for all but the super-rich and their lackeys. That’s why the English Defence League (EDL) response - beautifully observed in Josie Bowerman’s The Watcher (p16) - is so wrong-headed. Instead of attacking each other we need to find strength (and indeed solidarity) in diversity, so that we can make our ever shrinking world a better place for us all. As local chef, Michael Price, shows in his piece The Spice of Life (p8), few things illustrate the positive effects of immigration better than food. Indeed
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no traditional British dish – from Fish & Chips to Chicken Tikka Masala – would exist without the free movement of people, ingredients and techniques. And isn’t culture itself just a recipe for life? Some things might work well – and may even be a necessity... – at a given time and place, but that doesn’t mean they’re right for everyone and every-when, or that that one culture (dish) is better than another. Likewise just because you’ve only ever known egg and chips that doesn’t mean that you should turn your nose up at cuitlacoche and offal. Variety, my friend, truly is the spice of life.
ABOUT This magazine will big up anything which has the potential to add to Doncaster’s metropolitan appeal. We’ll celebrate Doncaster’s culture, arts, style, music, people, fashion, lifestyle, architecture and even, its coal-black underbelly.
Doncaster doesn’t like snobs and we hate it when people look down on other people for what they eat, so why should we put up with those who condemn others for their ethnicity, culture, tastes, beliefs, gender or sexuality? As the amazing piece by Jenny Dewsnap reminds us (p6) Doncaster Pride was the very first Pride event in South Yorkshire and remains one of the most significant. Now that’s something Donny can be proud of.
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And talking of pride, we’re incredibly proud to have the very talented SPZero76 illustrating this #IamWhatIAm edition. SPZero76 is part of the amazing Bristol based Lost Souls street art crew. He might be Bristol at the moment, but he’s 100% Donny born and bred. You can find him on Facebook and check out his work at spzero76.com
If you’re a local artist, musician, writer, photographer, fashionista, socialite or social commentator, and have something to contribute to this magazine, please get in touch. Online:
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