Driving isn't the only thing I learnt on my Driving Test

Today I passed my driving test. But what ought have have been a quotidien occurance transpired for me as something more unexpected.

Our country's populous presents itself as liberal and open-minded. A senior police officer discovered as a member of the BNP. Shock, horror! Middle-England is in uproar. Yet behind closed doors lies sinister xenophopbia, and lying beneath the surface lurks an unspoken racism which only becomes spoken in the company of other white people.

My driving examiner is paradigmatic of masked prejudice, in my mind he is microcosmic of our country's gilded attitude towards ethnic minorities. His abrasive polemic began 5 minutes after setting off. He tested the water for broadcast of his two cent's worth during a reverse parking manouevre. He critiques the female driver waiting behind to elicit my response. I acquiesce his sentiments. I'm a little busy making sure I don't tot up 15 minor faults to do otherwise.

A sweeping right-hand reverse later and he inquires as to my subject of matriculation at University. Chinese. Approvingly he posits that they are good businessmen, so good in fact the Malaysian government has implemented rules preventing them from bossing out businesses, and forcing them to take on native Malay staff. He meditates aloud upon whether such a practice would be legit in this country. He visions a situation where an Indian run business is forced to take on white staff and the ensuing outrage.

His attritional animus is all the more shocking as he juxtaposes his quasi-aggressive bombast with mundane directional instructions. "I think we need to get over this stupid issue of political correctness. I mean if I'm Tamil then I consider myself that when it suits me and British when that suits me. Turn left here." Such contextualisation makes his feelings appear almost normal.

I play devil's advocate. If I engage him enough he may not notice I have just taken a right-hand turn in third gear. "Isn't the problem that parties like the BNP take too hardline a stance for their views to be met with credibility?" I enquire teasingly. I proceed to recall a time when the Conservatives placed emphasis on Britishness, and repudiated the Euro based upon an anti-European manifesto. He suggests that he's "not too fond of Europe either". Well, at least subcontinental indians need not get up on their high-horse too much. They're not alone. The diatribe extends to continental Europeans...

Finally I contemplate that the Tories have become more moderate as they begin to have a real chance of reclaiming power. Wistfully he accepts such veracity, and suggests that this conversation is a little intense. Don't forget I am on a driving test...

I don't want to impugn too much. After all, this could just be the singular, albeit slightly disturbing,  quiddity of my instructor. But my Indian friend received a major fault for not looking over his shoulder whilst reverse parking. I received a minor. Res ipsa loquitur?