Multiculturalism

[mungbeanz]

Isn't this just a failed social experiment that we have to endure? Only a small percentage really claim there is benefits and outside Europe and USA it isn't even considered. Why aren't Japan or Nigeria being forced to see the benefits of living in harmony with people of all races and creeds? Anyone who speaks out about it is labelled racially intolerant. If it was such a success why do we have Asian areas, Jewish areas and China Town? Other races aren't interested in this, so why should the Europeans who have it forced on them be? I am confuse.

[Answerprancer]

"Other races aren't interested in this" ...b*llocks, I am.
I love the fact that there are little pockets of cutures from different countries in London - it's like having a little bit of China, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Jamaica on your own doorstep. I have enjoyed Indian cuisine in Southall, African drumming lessons in Brixton, Chinese culture in Gerrard St etc.
You can "endure" it if that's the way you choose to see it, it's not a case of "we" - speak for yourself.
Yes you are "confuse" IMO.

[Quizmonster]

One wonders how America became the only world super-power. The influx of cultures and languages that flooded that country from the 18th century onwards dwarfs what has happened in Britain.

[New Judge]

You paint a very quaint picture, AP.

The reality is somewhat different. In many parts of London the only “little pockets of cultures from different countries” that one sees are white English ones, and there are not many of them. You can drive from Barking to Aldgate in East London and see scarcely anybody other than Bangladeshis. You can drive from Newington Green to WInchmore Hill along Green Lanes in North London and be lucky to see anybody other than those of Turkish extraction. You can drive from Elephant and Castle to Streatham and see scarcely anybody other than Afro-Caribbeans. There are similar areas in all the major English towns and cities – the Lozelles district of Birmingham, the Cowley area of Oxford, most of Blackburn, Oldham and Bradford – the list is extensive.

These are not “little pockets” but huge areas where English conversation is virtually unheard, where white faces are not seen, where on Friday afternoons the streets are flooded with Muslim males loitering about fresh out of “Friday Prayers”, where shops cater solely for those of a single ethnicity. These are “single race” areas where White English people are decidedly unwelcome and which have inevitably suffered “white flight”.

This is what “multiculturalism” means to many people in England. Different races or nationalities with their individual cultures confined to specific areas where “outsiders” are most definitely unwelcome. There is nothing multicultural about these areas. They are monocultural and integration is not encouraged either by the inhabitants or the State.

Melting Pots they most definitely ain’t.!

[sandyRoe]

Just over a hundred years ago there was a flood of Eastern European Jewish people into the UK. They must have seemed very alien, with their strange clothing and different food.
Would anybody say that they haven't integrated? Have they not added much to our society?
Same applies to the Irish who came in the mid 19th Century.
Give these modern immigrant communities time.

[notasyoungasiwas]

'This has been a disaster for the UK and has ruined what was a wonderful country to live in' Well said VHG. I am sick to death of asylum seekers living off the fat of our land and claiming benefits when they have contributed NOTHING !

[emmie]

NJ, you must know London pretty well, to describe it so accurately. Its often the case when you say this to people, they say no its not like that.
But if you visit for a day, a week maybe, how would you know, same goes for any area.

[hessian]

Quizmonster will recall that Pres. Kennedy said 'Do not ask what my country can do for me but what can I do for my country'. This has been the reality of America since its european settlement - rely on your own initiative, don't expect the state to keep you. The UK has gone the opposite direction and the Welfare State gives handouts and housing to anyone who is a EU citizen, or claims political asylum, isn't heterosexual and may even be a criminal. The US manages to deport Mexicans back across the border the moment they are caught - no months/years of legal wrangling. One state alone i.e. N. Carolina is about the same area as England yet has only one-sixth the number of England's population. There is a need for 1 million houses here after which there will be a need for 1 million more ad infinitum. I despair for the future of today's youngsters.

[New Judge]

Take a walk around Stamford Hill and Upper Clapton in London, Sandy (the area around Lordship Road, Lordship Park, Manor Road and Upper Clapton Road).

There you will see large numbers of Hasidic Jews, dressed in their strange clothes, the men with their long beards and sideburns, the women and children three paces behind them, and all of them driving large Volvo estate cars. These people live completely insular lives. They speak only to each other (in Yiddish), they trade only with each other, they have their own schools and even their own hospital.

These are no doubt descendants of those you mention who arrived one hundred years ago. They are no more integrated into the English way of life than they were then. The difference between them and some of the communities I mentioned in my earlier post is that they are far fewer in number and they have not overwhelmed the community that existed when they arrived.

The Jews that have assimilated into the UK have not established themselves in isolated communities but have spread themselves around. They have also spoken English from the outset.

[sandyRoe]

If I brought my flag with me would I be safe there?

[Answerprancer]

Alright NJ BIG pockets then if you like. I still have no problem with it and as I suggested, I also have no problem getting immersed in some of these cultures wherever possible and appropriate.
'The reality' (for me at least) is that I have made the effort to get to know people from some of these areas (eg. Indian, Turkish, Nepali, African, Sri Lankan, Polish) worked with them, learnt some of the lingo, music, cultural differences and feel enriched by the experience.
"...where “outsiders” are most definitely unwelcome"; well, I've never experienced this, having shown a little acceptance of them as people and a genuine interest in their culture
If you wish to perpetuate the highly dubious (IMO) notion that 'multi cultural Britain' is bad in some way, that's your look out.

[Answerprancer]

"There you will see large numbers of Hasidic Jews, dressed in their strange clothes".
Let's face fact here New Judge, you're just a tarted up bigot aren't you.
That officious looking avatar and name doesn't fool me.

[roxie_09]

I can't comment on London, but in Cardiff I can see the same as what NJ explains London is like, there are huge communities where immigrants gather together and have very few white people living there. Although I do not have a problem with people coming here etc, I do have a problem that they do not even try to learn the language over here and have no interest in integrating x

[Answerprancer]

"...in Cardiff [...] there are huge communities where immigrants gather together".
You mean the English ? ;-)

[roxie_09]

LOL AP, made me laugh :)

[Answerprancer]

Was it an insult Doc ? I thought bigotry was a way of life for some people ;-)

[DrFilth]

it is the old if you can't match their intelligence and they are telling the truth hit them with an insult

[Answerprancer]

That's a cop out DrFilth - you can see that I had already produced an intelligent response. Who is "they" btw ?

[DrFilth]

so is he telling the truth or is it a lie , can you answer with a yes or no

[Answerprancer]

New Judge ? I believe he 'thinks' he's telling the truth - I happen to disagree with aspects of it and furthermore I pick up more than just a hint of racial/cultural intolerance in 'my learned friend''s responses.