The Brendan O'Neill Show The West’s war on ‘whiteness’, with Marie Kawthar Daouda
Feb 5, 2026
Marie Kawthar Daouda, author and Oxford lecturer known for Not Your Victim, critiques decolonisation and identity politics. She discusses 2020’s online activism surge and the Colston statue controversy. She examines performative guilt, campus iconoclasm, the rise of victimhood culture, and risks of a reactive ethno-nationalist backlash.
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2020 Revealed Misconceptions About Heritage
- Marie Kawthar Daouda felt the 2020 BLM wave revealed a misconception that Western heritage is inherently offensive to non-white people.
- She argues immigrants can appreciate a country's good and bad without rejecting its cultural legacy.
Statues As Historical Anchors
- Statues are powerful visual reminders that make history concrete and teach civic memory.
- Removing statues often scapegoats inanimate objects instead of engaging with complex historical facts.
Performative Guilt Distorts History
- A dominant narrative that 'all white actions are bad' erases historical complexity and positive contributions.
- Public displays of guilt become performative, breaking the link between present individuals and their ancestors.
