“The real n****r in the woodpile.” This phrase was used by Anne Marie Morris, the Conservative MP for Newton Abbot, when describing the unforeseen danger of Britain’s departure from the EU without a deal. I heard it when I was 12 years old, as a schoolteacher of mine admonished one of my (white) classmates for his bad behaviour. The words left his mouth just as casually as they rolled from Morris’s tongue – the sign of ease and maybe even frequency of use.
As so often with incidents like this, what’s most interesting are the surrounding circumstances. When Morris said this, no one around her recoiled in audible shock. Perhaps, if we are giving them the benefit of the doubt, they were quietly horrified. Even if we do – and there is no reason why we should – that does not explain why Morris felt comfortable enough to use them in such a setting. It is also worth noting that she has sailed very close to similar waters before.
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