Do some reform voters not realise what the definition of racism is?

[Workingclasslass]

Is anybody else listening to LBC right now? On a particular show? I have just heard a lady say I’m going to vote reform I am not racist but on a recent visit to my friend in hospital in London there was too many brown faces about I didn’t see any white people that’s why I am voting reform but I am not racist.
Seriously, are these people absolutely deluded because I’d have more respect for them if they actually openly admitted they were racist

Even by her own standards Farage and friends have done more to increase levels of brown immigration over white by brexit. If she's against that then Reform is her enemy. But these people are hard of thinking and that's how populism works!

I completely agree. I am just finding it very depressing right now and also actually I would have more sympathy for these people if they openly admitted they were racist then at least we know where we all stand. It’s just hiding behind it when we all know what you are you just haven’t got the bollocks to say what you are.

The thing is these brown and black faces do the crappy jobs that the white faces Like that racist twit on the radio can't be arsed to do. So she either has to accept the brown/black faces or shut up and clean up the shit herself. Which of course the thick racist won't do but would prefer to moan about the people who do clean up her shit.

I’m not sure. I was wondering about ‘far right’ recently.

Does wanting to keep a sense of ‘English’ alive make you racist? I have no concerns about individuals. As a country we’ve generally been welcoming and diverse. We’re a mongrel nation of various celts, Anglos Saxons, Nords, Romans and various other Europeans.

I would be sad if the culture of the country shifted dramatically.

I really don't understand what's wrong with seeing black and brown faces. Just people who have more melanin in their skin. And these people she was referring to were working hard in a hospital, doing vital work that needs to be done. What's the problem? She should appreciate them.

How does 'wanting to keep a sense of English alive' relate to brown people?

Are you inferring that brown people are somehow a threat to the existence of 'Englishness'?

Many brown people have been here for generations. I know a lot of Asian people here in Yorkshire who are far more Yorkshire than me.
And as for newly arrived brown people, they certainly don't threaten my sense of Englishness.

Please define what to be „”English” is?

But the Nords, Saxons etc changed the culture of the country anyway - change and evolution is the way of the world.

Not sure what ‘English culture’ is - maypole dancing? Wetherspoons?

I had a big operation in a London hospital almost 10 years ago now and had a brilliant surgeon who happened to have a brown face and I will be forever grateful for his care.

The idiot who rang in probably missed the fact that the NHS could not function without non-white healthcare professionals...

Not to mention the beaker folk!

Edit: I was mean to quote @Enterthedragonqueen’s post about jobs people don’t want to do here!

This reminds me of that Kelly Osborne clip.

“If you kick out every Latino, who is going to be cleaning your toilets, Donald Trump!”

Awkward…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a8INEYLFWwcFjr

What did the host of LBC say when she said that? Did he/she comment on the remark?

So you’ve acknowledged that “English” is just a combination of various other cultural groups, whilst also worrying about it dramatically shifting. Sorry, I’m confused. Has “Englishness” always dramatically shifted or not? Or do you just mean you’re worried about people’s skin being darker than the previous shifts over the last however many thousands of years?

Maypoles and Wetherspoons!

I don’t agree that brown faces threaten Englishness. Not at all. And I enjoy the variety of voices that we hear.

I don’t think I can define Englishness. I heartily approve of multicultural primary schools. My (white) dc went to a majority black primary school.

I do wonder whether we can express concern about specific issues without being racist. I’m extremely unhappy about halal meat. I want us moving away from cruelty, to higher welfare meat, and less meat, not moving backwards.

Do none of you think England has culture?

I would say, it’s what makes a country distinctive from another.

Probably warm beer, football, pubs… Tudor buildings, castles, queuing.

Do you mean that because the previous Viking/Nordic immigrants to England were white they were the right sort of immigrants who didn't interfere with your sense of Englishness? Then you had the Normans invading, who were French, but I suppose they were white so again the right sort? Is this what you mean @SensibleSigma

Not sure how brown people change that though? They aren’t demolishing old castles and quite a few actually play football for English teams!

None of that is unique to England. There are buildings in the same style as you call Tudor all over Europe. They just don't call them Tudor because they didn't have the Tudors.

Why do countries need to be distinctive from one another? Most of what we consider distinctive is quite superficial when it comes down to it and doesn't make lot of difference to people's daily lives.

I agree her comment is racist. But you cannot tar all reform voters with the same brush. Pretty ignorant.

What culture were you thinking of...in which era?

I suspect the ship that you're harking after sailed a long time ago.

It shouldn't be difficult to separate individuals who are immigrants to the UK, each one deserving of respect and most deserving of compassion, from the issue of immigration and the negative impact it may be having on housing, schools and the employment rate of citizens born in Britain.

Nigel Farage has a lot to answer for as he has quite deliberately dialled up his anti-immigrant rhetoric over a period of years, knowing he is a great communicator and choosing language that will resonate with the people whose vote he is now attracting in increasing numbers.

Interestingly as a politician with her roots firmly in the right , Giorgia Meloni in Italy is managing to tackle difficult immigration-related subjects forcefully but without disrespecting individual immigrants. For example, she has said that Sharia is incompatible with Western values, and is proactive within the EU in proposing Europe-wide solutions to managing the level of immigration.

I have to teach 'British Values' as part of pshe. There are numerous students with varied backgrounds who share the same values, so it always feels a bit odd to claim them as solely British. And actually, some our values are really based on Roman ideas. And others on the words of some bloke born in Bethlehem.

„”Does wanting to keep a sense of ‘English’ alive make you racist?”, from your first comment. But now you say you can’t define Englishness, so what are trying to keep alive if you don’t know what that is?

Not really no he’s convinced that Nigel isn’t racist and really didn’t push back on it but it was Ali miraj whose Muslim himself which I thought should have done. I feel he doesn’t push back enough