Trump said: “On immigration you better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore.”

I think people need to reflect on where such vociferous dislike of certain groups of people can lead us. There have been comments about the cities being "taken over" by Muslims and of the dangers of Sharia law being introduced. While it is legitimate for people to express concerns about inward migration, to make these sorts of comments is, in my opinion, openly racist.

Cities invariably have diverse populations, which tend to live within certain areas. In Germany, before WWII, Jewish people were much more likely to live in a city than in villages - and, as usual, as a very visible minority, they were blamed for being the source of all the economic and social problems that existed in Germany at that time. They too were accused of being a threat to German culture. There are obvious similarities between this sort of narrative and what is happening today in Britain - and other countries. Let us call it what it is - racism.

Using derisive terms like "lefties" to describe people who hold different views from your own is intended to cause offence.

woodenspoon

Lower Beeding, West Sussex. The Cisswood House Hotel. For those who want to google, just in case the Daily Telegraph is lying. As if!

Can't be this one if it's supposed to be 4 star.

Using terms like far right for ordinary people who have nothing whatsoever to do with the real far right is totally offensive. Much worse than the wry comment lefties. I think labelling people far right is actually a real thought crime.

Eloethan

I think people need to reflect on where such vociferous dislike of certain groups of people can lead us. There have been comments about the cities being "taken over" by Muslims and of the dangers of Sharia law being introduced. While it is legitimate for people to express concerns about inward migration, to make these sorts of comments is, in my opinion, openly racist.

Cities invariably have diverse populations, which tend to live within certain areas. In Germany, before WWII, Jewish people were much more likely to live in a city than in villages - and, as usual, as a very visible minority, they were blamed for being the source of all the economic and social problems that existed in Germany at that time. They too were accused of being a threat to German culture. There are obvious similarities between this sort of narrative and what is happening today in Britain - and other countries. Let us call it what it is - racism.

Using derisive terms like "lefties" to describe people who hold different views from your own is intended to cause offence.

Yes

Let us call it what it is - racism

<yawn>

It’s as certain as the sun rising in the morning - people who have concerns about immigration / asylum seekers / migrants, are of course, racist.
Always the lefts tactic to shut down debate, a debate they clearly can’t have - or handle - without throwing the words ‘far right’ & racist’ around.
So predictable- and boring.

The borough in London where I live is being dominated by Asian communities.
The changes in my lifetime have been marked.
Travel on a bus and you will be the only Caucasian.
Think it works it the balance is stable but when its ever increasing, people become alarmed.
It's not just race it's also religion and attitudes.

Let’s imagine that Keir Starmer took a week off to visit a golf course he privately owned in another part of the world for a leisure break and expected the taxpayers of that country to to pay for security and mouthed off about conditions and other politicians of that country whilst doing so. I’m sure the press would have a field day in criticising him for accepting a freebie on a private jolly.

loopyloo
Well exactly.
Problem is, many of those shouting ‘racist’ whenever anyone voices concerns probably live in some little ( predominantly white ) village in the Cotswolds.

loopyloo

The borough in London where I live is being dominated by Asian communities.
The changes in my lifetime have been marked.
Travel on a bus and you will be the only Caucasian.
Think it works it the balance is stable but when its ever increasing, people become alarmed.
It's not just race it's also religion and attitudes.

Sounds like my Redbridge where only 34.85% of the population is White British, while
16.2% is Indian, 11.13% is Pakistani and 7.48% are Other Asian. 25% of people moving to Redbridge come from
outside of the UK.

It's certainly multiculticutural in the extreme, and I used to have exactly the same thoughts and concerns as you as I looked round the carriages of my central line tube every day. I'll admit, I didn't like it. The strange thing was, that once inside the school gates, to me every child was indeed a child, just that. I didn't even notice their colour, race or religion.

I think what I'm trying to say, is that once we get to know people properly, we tend to forget where they come from. It is not racism to state that otherwise we feel uneasy.

Kandinsky

loopyloo
Well exactly.
Problem is, many of those shouting ‘racist’ whenever anyone voices concerns probably live in some little ( predominantly white ) village in the Cotswolds.

I think Eloethan lives in E17, nowhere near the Cotswolds. Her opinions are valid, as are mine. It's just that we probably feel very differently about our immediate environment. I have never used the term lefty, and I would hope people could accord me the same respect and not use the term racist about me and others. It's wrong to say racist every time.

loopyloo

The borough in London where I live is being dominated by Asian communities.
The changes in my lifetime have been marked.
Travel on a bus and you will be the only Caucasian.
Think it works it the balance is stable but when its ever increasing, people become alarmed.
It's not just race it's also religion and attitudes.

London has always been a melting pot and magnet for newly arrived immigrants. Just look back at the history, especially places in East London.

Good post Eloethan. I agree with you - some of the anti-immigrant posts are racist.

growstuff

Good post Eloethan. I agree with you - some of the anti-immigrant posts are racist.

Yes, another good contribution from Eloethan.

Norah

Iam64

Whitewave, thanks for posting the amounts asylum seekers receive each week. I’m familiar with those and have never understood how these nonsense reports of them “getting everything” persist, interesting thst no one has challenged you

I agree.

How do reports of "getting everything" go without challenge?

Because people believe what they want, if it supports their argument.

growstuff

Good post Eloethan. I agree with you - some of the anti-immigrant posts are racist.

You would say that. Fine. I would say that only very few comments are. Exactly what I meant, and I know all about the history of East London too from when my Jewish ancestors were stockbrokers.

But I notice you didn't pick up onanyzny of the more genuine positive parts of those posts! It works both ways.

*on any

Yes, speed up the assessment process. Stopping the boats isn't easy either, or it would have been achieved well before now.
Personally, I don't think there is at the moment a legal way to do this.
A solution doesn't have to be 'easy' to be tried. Train and employ and create a useful career structure for our talented young, who will be losing white coller jobs to AI. Reverse the cutbacks to Border Control made by previous goverments. Simplify the process.
Actually, and possibly some GNs could confirm this, but hasn't there been quite an increase in the removal from our domain of failed asylum seekers?

I'm a bit confused.
If these are Muslim men then who are the children playing in the car park? ...and what are they doing with (unclean) dogs?

I know this chain was used to house homeless (local) families a somewhere in Wales - Cardiff maybe?

Are these actually also local families?

Yes - removal of failed asylum seekers.

I’ll have a look for the numbers, but I do know that plane loads have been shipped out, and there is been at least a doubling in numbers.

I can’t understand why this government doesn’t publicise this more widely.

I’ll have a look for the figures.

NotSpaghetti

I'm a bit confused.
If these are Muslim men then who are the children playing in the car park? ...and what are they doing with (unclean) dogs?

I know this chain was used to house homeless (local) families a somewhere in Wales - Cardiff maybe?

Are these actually also local families?

Yes, those were my initial responses as well

Interesting about dogs - I believe it is the same for Judaism.

Those two religions are so closely intertwined.

Whitewavemark2

Interesting about dogs - I believe it is the same for Judaism.

Those two religions are so closely intertwined.

I know I keep making this point, but it never seems to sink in, Jews aren’t all religious, they may be agnostic or atheist.
Muslims aren’t all religious either ( hence Rotherham and other sex grooming gangs) and many only pay the most basic lip service.I believe this is the same for those who call themselves Christian.
Therefore many keep dogs.

escaped

growstuff

Good post Eloethan. I agree with you - some of the anti-immigrant posts are racist.

You would say that. Fine. I would say that only very few comments are. Exactly what I meant, and I know all about the history of East London too from when my Jewish ancestors were stockbrokers.

But I notice you didn't pick up onanyzny of the more genuine positive parts of those posts! It works both ways.

And I know quite a bit about East London too, having grown up there.
It’s the pace of immigration and the huge numbers that have changed areas out of all recognition that upsets locals.

growstuff

Good post Eloethan. I agree with you - some of the anti-immigrant posts are racist.

But most aren't.

And calling the discussion anti-immigrant is just plain wrong.

It's not anti-immigrant, most of us welcome legal immigrants. The problem is that Governments (not just ours) are overwhelmed with how to deal with the massive problem of people arriving illegally and then claiming asylum.

And yet this has always happened. The Celts were not happy about the arrival of the Romans, and the Anglo-Saxons (themselves Dutch/German in today's terms) were not happy about the arrival of the Normans. Remember the DaneLaw- I lived right on the border, and driving around you would recognise place names which belonged to both sides. And yes, they were the same 'colour' but their religion, customs, culture were vastly different. Do you remember the racism shown to Irish and Italians in the 50s. And the Windrush people (same arrival year as my DH's parents), and on and on.