Is Galliano judged on his actions or on who he was?

I was very surprised when the whole world seemed to be in shock after Galliano’s racist slurs, because everyday I see so many racist acts that don’t seem to upset anyone. Most of these racist acts are more harmful to people than what Galliano said.

I guess most people will defend themselves by saying that Galliano had a celebrity status and that with it comes responsibility. But people don’t become celebrities because they are so responsible. They become celebrities because they made themselves celebrities or because they are made one.

And Galliano was made one. He would hardly ever give interviews. The parties he would attend were obligatory ones. And he certainly wouldn’t walk in front of the paparazzo. Yes, the outfits he would wear during his runway shows did certainly make him one of the most known faces of the fashion world. But the person behind his face would remain a complete mystery to most of us and he never really tried to change that.

You can be mad at Galliano for not being the role-model people assumed he was, but he didn’t call himself a role-model. He was called a role-model. So even though his actions were definitely wrong, he shouldn't be judged in any other way than a constructions worker very good at his job, because he never claimed to be anything else than a fashion designer very good at his job.

But if a construction worker would shout filthy Jew at a passenger-by, you wouldn't find a lot of witnesses that would spontaneously come testify in court. If you would call the police for something like that, I seriously doubt if they would take you serious. So why would the constructions worker’s deed go unpunished, while Galliano’s acts are severely punished.

If there were any justice in this world it wouldn’t be the notoriety that would determine whether someone will get punished for his/her racist actions, it would be how much the racist action affects the life of the victim. Calling someone Jewish during a fight is less harmful to someone than not hiring someone for being Jewish.

And when I ask my Moroccan friend I met while studying in France, it is quite hard to be hired as a salesperson in France if you’re coloured, even when you have more than the right qualifications. And this racist act goes unpunished and unnoticed, even though it impacts more people and more severely.


I think this whole trial will do nothing against anti-semitism. It will only increase anti-semitism among Arabs even more, because they feel like when Arabs are treated unfairly nothing happens and when a Jew gets insulted the whole world responds.