Get over it! People have been moving since the dawn of time!
Cal Thomas is whining in a piece called "Vanishing England" about all the foreigners moving to England and all the English moving away. He also complains about Britons having abortions and immigrants having lots of babies.
He neglects to note that the Angles and the Saxons came from somewhere else...specifically northern Europe a long time ago and were not always Britons. Not to mention the Normans of 1066. What is his take on the Celts? They didn't originally live on the British Isles either. They came from somewhere else, though no one is really sure from where.
Also, being a colonial power, (historically) trading in slaves and goods from all over the world kinda makes it ridiculous to try to want an insular England. If you tell them that they're British, they probably would feel that they have every right to go to England. Brown skinned people are nothing new. With all the white Britons spread all over the globe, it's only natural that other people would go to Britain.
Migrations of people are ongoing. Establishing borders and trying to keep people in or out is just unnatural. Get over it. The character of the country will change. I agree. That's life.
It's kinda like all the children and grandchildren of immigrants, who were essentially squatters on Native American land, bitching about the most recent waves of immigrants.
And don't even get me started on language policy as it relates to immigrants!
Just stop being so xenophobic and get to know "them" as individuals. You'll find that people are people, regardless of their skin color, religion or language!
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You guys just don't get it! Did you read the same article I did? Mr. Thomas just doesn't complain about people moving, that is the small story within the bigger one. He cites problems with the school system no longer teaching the history of England. Sounds very familiar to our schools.
He states, very accurately, that citizens are leaving because they "fear lawlessness and the threat of more terrorism from a growing Muslim population and the loss of a sense of Britishness, exacerbated by the growing refusal of public schools to teach the history and culture of the nation to the next generation. What it means to be British has been watered down in a plague of political correctness that has swept the country faster than hoof-and-mouth disease. Officials say they do not wish to "offend" others."
Sounds very familiar to me. If you see nothing wrong with this, you are part of the problem. Another familiar sounding statement: "Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers are about to be granted "amnesty" to stay in Britain. The government's approach is similar to that pursued by President Bush, who failed to win congressional approval for his amnesty plan. In Britain it appears likely to succeed. Migrants will be granted immediate access to many benefits, including top priority for council housing. Taxpayers will foot the bill." ... "This is yet another example of the Alice in Wonderland world of human rights. If you break British law for long enough, you acquire rights not penalties."
Ah yes! Taxpayers will foot the bill for tons of freeloaders entering the country. Yeah, this is fair. NOT.
He finishes with this: "Abraham Lincoln said no nation can exist half slave and half free. Neither can a nation be sustained if it allows conditions that result in mass emigration, while importing huge numbers of foreigners who come from backgrounds that do not practice assimilation or tolerance of other beliefs. ... The problem for Britain and the United States isn't just the change in demographics. It is the reluctance of both countries to inculcate the beliefs, history and, yes, religious ideals, which made our nations so successful that others wanted to come and be a part of them. The difference between many of the current immigrants and those of the past is that the previous ones wanted to become fully American or fully British. The current ones, in too many cases, would destroy what makes our countries unique. And the "leaders" of Britain and America refuse to stop it."
Hmmm - immigrants come from backgrounds that do not practice assimilation or tolerance of other beliefs - immigrants are not educated about the country and the government and its backgound and core pinnings or how it is run - many immigrants would destroy what makes the country unique.
We allow blatant lawlessness - nay, even encourage it because people want to "get along" and "not offend" others. If you don't see a problem with any of this then you are part of the problem. All of this in that article and all you can say is that "Migrations of people are ongoing. ... Get over it."
Wow - just - wow.
Again, population shift is normal. We might complain, but it's been happening forever. Sometimes the invaders assimilate, such as in when the Visigoths invaded what is now Spain. Sometimes they don't, such as when the Europeans invaded the Americas. I agree that things would be much smoother if everyone were to assimilate, but you can't be surprised if it doesn't happen.
Also, there is the question as to whether there is anything in any culture that is so valuable that it can't be lost.
(Don't get me wrong; I like history as much as the next guy, but I think that learning about history needs to be done critically and expand beyond just passing on the national myth.)
How can you be so flippant?!?
So you agree then, that it is an invasion. If I recall my history lessons, the American Indians didn't just stand by and let the invasion happen. They fought it with all they had! And the certainly didn't have a policy of helping the invaders win!
Maybe we should've just let Hitler's army just take over the entire European continent. I mean, after all, population shift happens - right? And there's certainly nothing in the whole history of European culter thats worth keeping - right?
I think that this is a distinction between the examples I cited and the current immigrant situation. The most important difference is that the current immigrants are not coming with the sword/guns. There is no violence involved. Just people mixing with people.
There should be give on both sides. The white Brits should acknowledge that not everyone thinks the same way that they do and should accomodate. At the same time, the new comers should learn the language and basic customs of their new country.
Setting up an "us" vs. "them" situation won't solve anything.
Also, I tend to believe that my birth here shouldn't entitle me to any more right to live here the way I want than anyone else. Although I acknowledge that for reasons of trade and social welfare, borders and regulation are necessary, I would prefer to be able to be a world citizen, living whereever I choose, and believe that everyone else should have the same right.
Karen,
Nativism isn't a rational position, you can't argue effectivly against it.
Believe me, I've done it all my life. eventually, they start arguing with tire-irons.
Nativism is also natural, just like ludditism and other such foot-dragging anti-movements (I call them such because they want things to stay the same).
I just got back from Boston, where I walked the Freedom trail and heard all the stories of the waves and waves of immigrants and how they all changed this country forever, creating new economies, new architectures, a new culture every couple of decades.
Every single wave had resistance and screaming and yelling about how the newcomers were ruining the country with their diseases, their dirtyness, their lazyness, their cheap labor, etc.
There's nothing new under the sun.
Don't get upset by it, it will be here your whole life and beyond.
Karen, good post! I liked it so much I forwarded it to Jan Kurtz, your former Spanish teacher.
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