Ryan Lochte, white privilege and racism

The gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte is not the first white person to cover his wrongdoings by blaming a fictional stereotype – usually Black - thereby further exacerbating that stereotype.

Before the Olympic Games in Rio began there were two big fears for the world’s competitors: The Zika virus and gang related violence. So when early this week the swimming superstar Lochte told the world's media that he and his friends were held up at gun point by robbers masquerading as police officers, no one disbelieved him. In fact there was just relief that they were all okay, and nothing more than valuables were lost.

For the Games organisers, and in particularly the people of Brazil, it was devastating news. The image of Rio bandits holding up white western hostages, threatening to shoot them in head, could not have been worse.

Thanks to CCTV and stories not quite matching up, the lie was exposed. The truth was a tawdry night out ending up with drunken young men trashing a petrol station toilet and only paying for damages when a security guard, demanded they pay- 50 dollars- before they leave.

In truth, Lochte and his fellow lying accomplices should be returned to Brazil and faces charges of vandalism and making false claims. But it seems lifelong shame will be the punishment meted out to the group.

As I said Lochte and his team mates are not the first, and probably won’t be the last to make up these types of stories. Perhaps the most infamous in recent history was the police officer Michael Slager who shot Walther Scott in the back killing him, and then radioed for help arguing that he was in a gun battle with Scott, placing a gun at his side. Luckily for justice the whole sham was being filmed.

Before that other cases of Bonnie Sweeton, in 2009 who stole a million dollars then rang in to say that two Black men had kidnapped her and her daughter demanding a ransom.

In another horror story, Susan Smith in 2014 rang police stating that her car had been carjacked with her two children inside by two Black men.

However, when the truth came out it was revealed she'd let her car and the children roll into a lake killing them both.

White privilege means that a white person is more likely to be believed over a Black person, then when the nastier side of racism comes into play coupled with the general bias, awful and unjust things occur.

More than being stripped of his Olympic titles, which may occur, I hope Lochte and his fellow liars feel the great shame and injustice they have put on the Brazilian people.

Simon Woolley