In response to
Tez's last there ("
I'm Liberal in the British sense"), a hearty "Me too!"
.
I don't think we can dismiss
YL's experiences tho'.
Altho' I generally find that you get back what you give with people of all faiths and nations, because of the polarisation that is occurring I have myself gotten some very cold and hostile reactions until I've had chance to interact as a human being (rather than A.N. Other Whiteman).
Now I would also be less than human if that didn't irk me. I'm an Englishman in his own city in his own country being treated as if I didn't belong. I've seen this especially from Pakistani's in traditional garb (in Longton for crying out loud!) but given that Longton has BNP councillor's that might not be too much of a surprise. However, I think the troubles roots are deeper than that.
The refusal of a very visible segment of the immigrant population to integrate is going to be a powder keg issue at some point in the not too distant future. It is something that is a very easy handle for the fascist inclined to seize upon.
It also is a very real problem. I know that doesn't knit very well with what
Tez said above but that's because it's regional in it's intensity e.g. there are more Polish living in Crewe than there are British or there are several quarters of Stoke-on-Trent where you'll be lucky to see another white face.
Whilst Liberal values are of common sense and reasonable consensus, there does come a point where a problem has to be recognised for what it is and also to what malevoloent political purposes it can be put.
The solution to the problem is an easy one and it was a process that was in motion when I was younger - I'm at a loss to know why it stopped. That solution is assimilation and integration. When I was in my 'teens and twenties, the Indians living in the area around the university I attended were Stokies first and British next. They weren't quite "Browner than usual for Englishmen" but, particularly the second generation children, weren't far off that level of cultural 'comfort'.
What went wrong? The obvious answer is religious radicalisation and racism that targeted the 'indig's'. Those combined drove a nasty wedge between the racial/religious groups and I don't see how to undo the damage at this stage.
. I too had always thought him to be an urbane and well educated man (which he is). But he was also deemed to be an inveterate racist and got kicked off the BBC because of it. He landed in the arms of UKIP (a 'flavour' of the BNP to be simplistic about it) but then went Independant and is now an MEP.
