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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be sat open mouthed at the Idiocy of Dave Camerons latest headline grabber

755 replies

penelopestitsdropped · 05/02/2011 11:59

Multiculturalism has failed

Now whilst i believe the debate itself has merit ( though think that DC has put a rather disturbing anti islamic slant on it)
I do not think it the wisest day to do so given that there is a planned march by the English Defence League (think BNP with more hair) today

march in Luton

OP posts:
softglowsandmaybes · 05/02/2011 23:22

Durham, yes there has to be discussion, but the slant of his speech was overtly racist. Does he want war on our doorsteps? He is going the right way about inviting it.

I am niave, but what is wrong with saying to people, ok - what can WE do to make this better, how can WE help you to feel more integrated? What do you feel you need to keep sacred and us keep our noses out of? This is what we would like............

Extremism must not be tolerated, but until we start to work with the muslim community to overcome it, we are going to get nowhere fast :(

BeerTricksPotter · 05/02/2011 23:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gordyslovesheep · 05/02/2011 23:23

and no DC was trying to DIVERT attention from his governments failings by waving a Daily Mail reading middle England 'They are taking our jobs and our women' flag

Like fireworks and zombies it seems to have worked for some of us ;)

reelingintheyears · 05/02/2011 23:23

If your cultural beliefs and practices are incompatible with those of the 'host' nation then what do you think the answer is?

Assimilate or go some where accommodating of your beliefs.?

Yes, there are people in Britain who behave badly and spit at immigrants and chant racist shite.

There are racists in every society.

cantspel · 05/02/2011 23:23

softglowsandmaybes who said anything about sending anyone anywhere?

See the country has gone pc mad and you cannot comment now on a bloke freezing his rocks off in our cold wet winter weather without someone reading something completly different to what has been written.

Oh and you are making a lot of asumptions about my cultural heritage along the way.

StarlightPrincess · 05/02/2011 23:24

Yep, believe it or not, not only white people can be racist!

newwave · 05/02/2011 23:24

bringnbuy, I used to live in the East End of London and still visit for work and pleasure. It can be an amazing area with Brick Lane and Shoredich/Hoxton having some great restaurants and pubs.

That said I have had a problem when parking near a Mosque. I pulled up in a parking bay and had someone come out of the Mosque entrance and tell me the space was for "someone important" who was visiting the Mosque. After telling him I wasnt going to move politly and then being told I was a disrespectful white bitch who should learn my place I told him to fuck off.

When I mentioned the incident to the owner of the business (a Muslim)I was visiting he said I was to ignore people like those who bring shame on his religion.

Point is there are bad apples in all sections of society.

softglowsandmaybes · 05/02/2011 23:25

cantspel, i was joking!! I presumed you were too Grin

gordyslovesheep · 05/02/2011 23:25

If your cultural beliefs and practices are incompatible with those of the 'host' nation then what do you think the answer is? who's beliefs are? please explain

and cantspel stop trying to join some one elses row it's sad x

bringnbuy · 05/02/2011 23:26

gordy - i didn't use the word 'bad'. my earlier posts i had said that i had tried in vein to befriend muslim mothers etc but they were totally closed off. the fact that you have lots of muslim friends, aren't you the lucky one and i am not being sarcastic either. try as i did they couldn't care two figs to talk to anyone outside of their clique. i am outwardly a very friendly open type of person, i get on with loads of people and yet it is odd that other than one close friend who is muslim i have no other muslim friends which i think is a real shame although i have loads of friends who are black and a few hindu friends etc. it is very ghetto ish where i live although not as much as where i lived before. people like me want to get to know other people from other cultures, i am not one of those people who dislike someone because they are from another culture and if you have read my other posts i have also said that i do not think that people from other cultures should have to water down their culture either. i am not the enemy here. alot of the women around where i am have made it know that they look down on the white mothers, i know this for a fact. i think this is awful and you cannot blame me for not being happy about it. my friend who is muslim has been rejected by the clique of these women, there is a 'gang' of about 8 of them, as she married a white english man and they think, they have told her this, that she has insulted them by doing this. i think this is awful

cantspel · 05/02/2011 23:28

softglowsandmaybes Blush

gordyslovesheep · 05/02/2011 23:29

sorry Bringnbuy - seriously not being arsey but I find your posts hard to read due to no paragraphs x

I haven't said you are the enemy either :)

softglowsandmaybes · 05/02/2011 23:29

sorry cantspel i just thought it was really funny and was wondering, maybe he just had really bad atheletes foot

giveitago · 05/02/2011 23:31

Starlight - by making the speech at this time it can distract attention from the fact the Tories are cutting benefits, services and we're all going to feel it soon if (if you haven't already).

It's funny how mid boom the majority of people don't care and everything is 'cool' and then mid recession everyone wants someone to blame.

The multiculturalism debate is a bit late in the day. I find continental europe properly racist and what they are doing is looking at the UK and saying 'no ta - how do we avoid this'.

There needs to be a debate about what is British and what is common ground but I'd say that it's so mulitcultural now, not just in terms of race, religion etc but also in terms of class, aspirations etc that what on earth is there to unite all us peoples?

But a debate with the current administration makes me suspicious. To date they have made it even harder for non eu citizens to enter - but the vast majority of newcomers are from the EU so how does that cut down on immigration numbers then? There is definately another agenda here.

I can't imagine a meaningful debate with DC's lot any more than you than you could debate with LOTM.

cantspel · 05/02/2011 23:32

The daft thing is that the cradle of islam is the middle east and arab lands. They pray to mecca in saudi and you couldn't find a more racist bunch than the arabs.Asians are just a souce of cheap labour to them.

bringnbuy · 05/02/2011 23:32

gordy - i agree with you in part, but noone else is willing to blow themselves up to make a point? adding this factor into the mix has obviously created fear in people

cantspel · 05/02/2011 23:34

softglow wandering around in all the cold and rain today he wont have to worry about atheletes foot as i think his toes probably dropped off within an hour of our meeting

chummymummy · 05/02/2011 23:34

I am a muslim woman and proud of it.. i am also british and just as proud of that.. i dont know why but it seems that everywhere i go i have to declare my undying allegiance to both nowadays.

There are a lot of people who genuinely take the piss out of this country. However, there are many of us who are proud to live in a country in which you can wear a miniskirt if you want to...or a headscarf (usually school runs and bad hair days for me!)

Like a lot of muslims, i am sick and tired of people being so hateful both in the name of and against my religion.

DC does have a point. However like the OP said the timing could have been better. I am sure he knows what he is doing though. Nothing gets you through an economic recession like a good old fashioned scapegoat.

We had an EDL march in our town recently, and for the first time in ages i was genuinely afraid for my children. I could not explain to them why they had to stay in, because a load of grown ups who hated them were in town.

On that day, many muslims turned out to protect the very British homes and streets that they live in from the very 'un british EDL' who decided to attack them. It was very conveniently forgotten in the press.

I am also fed up with all this generalisation about muslims as a whole. Some people just wear what they wear because they feel comfortable in it. Case in point, my 60+ MIL wears the full burkha and hijab, because she always has and feels safe in it. The situation is now that for the first time, she feels afraid to come on our annual Centerparcs trip, because of all of the hostility that her burkha now attracts. So Grandma has to miss out on a rare trip out because people think she's packing explosives.

I get that there are a lot of people who are in this country and look down on the people here...but dont blame it all on 'the muslims', we are not as scary as we look.
There are some nutters and spiteful gits amongst us, but which community doesn't?

Finally, i live in a 'asian ghetto', but this is where i feel is safest for my kids, especially in the present time.

gordyslovesheep · 05/02/2011 23:35

I am first generation British with Irish Imigrant family - I grew up in the 1970's and 80's when 'we' where the enemy and I DID want to bring down that government but NOT with a bomb in the Grand Hotel - you CAN be mulsim and not like some bit of the UK and not be a terrorist!

StarlightPrincess · 05/02/2011 23:36

giveitago- Oh no, I agree with you on that. It's a sort of a panacea to the proles attitude IMO. But the problem IS there and it IS real. It's not just a figment of DC's imagination. He could have chosen a better time to do it though, you are right.

bringnbuy · 05/02/2011 23:42

i just wish there was a way that everyone could come together and not be so untrusting of each other it is really sad and i have no idea as to how it can ever be any different. i just want to feel safe and get along with everyone (blimey, i sound like a right hippie)

StarlightPrincess · 05/02/2011 23:45

No, just hopelessly idealistic, I mean that in a nice way though, honestly! Grin I'm just a miserable old realist, I'm afraid!

NotECM · 05/02/2011 23:46

Why focus exclusively on the Muslim population?

How can Muslims be singled out when they do not belong to any one particular culture? Muslims ARE multicultural as they are not united by country but by faith. They do not belong to any one culture.

Muslims can be born elsewhere but live here or be born and bred here. Is it so difficult to recognise that people have a longing and sense of loyalty towards their homeland, regardless of their faith/culture? Is that not the way of life for most of us? Do we not want to travel home to family at Christmas or be patriotic about our national sports even as Ex Pats?

bringnbuy · 05/02/2011 23:48

gordy - you are mistaken, i can only speak for myself but i don't look at all muslim people and think they are capable of being a terrorist, that is ridiculous, anyone who thought that would be a fool. but you can't blame english people of being fearful that there just might be one sitting ie next to them on a bus. my (muslim) friend feels the same. she was telling me how her brother gets odd looks from people when he is on the tube. this is terrible for him and it makes me feel really bad on his part but he understands why they feel like that. i remember the day after 9/11 i was on a train out of liverpool street. there was a muslim chap on the train with his prayer book, he was always on the train at that time. people were looking at him and i remember feeling oddly protective of him. had anyone of said anything i think i would have jumped to his defence but my point is, people are/were fearful

gordyslovesheep · 05/02/2011 23:57

and my point would be chuck, that the fear etc is bred not from fact but from the same right wing views DC is spouting - in their view people NEED a common enemy and they don't want it to be THEM so they deflect onto the easiest target - Hitler chose the Jewish people - we seem to have fixated on Muslims and it makes me sad - like you I wish we could live peacefully but I see the biggest barrier to that being white Brits x