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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not care about immigration?

485 replies

StuckinTheMiddlewithYou · 15/05/2011 10:17

So many people seem to have a huge problem with it and I really don't understand why.

The crazy thing is, I live in a hugely multicultural area and most of the people I know who have a problem with this, live in predominantly white suburbs.

We have a problem here with alcoholic homeless people fighting and screaming in the streets - none of them are immigrants.

OP posts:
RobF · 15/05/2011 13:42

"You are worried about the sacrifices that people "less fortunate" are having to make as a result of immigration to the UK, but you do not seem to have the same concern for the sacrifices forced on the peoples of the countries that we colonised. Why is that? "
Because they are not in this country? It is up to them to fight their own battles, not to expect those in other countries to sort things out for them.

I do not agree that immigration has generated wealth for the UK btw. Not the kind of mass immigration of unskilled or semi-skilled people that we have had over the last 14 years. Limited immigration of highly skilled people might produce wealth. But we always had that, even before people were free to work anywhere within the EU.

As it is, immigration is damaging to normal working people, even if it does benefit the wealthy.

HumanBehaviour · 15/05/2011 13:42

A banker, a Daily Mail reader and an asylum seeker are sitting at a table sharing 12 biscuits. The banker takes 11 and says to the Daily Mail reader: "Watch out for that asylum seeker, he's going to try and take your biscuit"

Birdsgottafly · 15/05/2011 13:43

We can do nothing to change past colonisation. We should be concentrating on raising standards of living where we can if immigration isn't doing that then it deserves debate. We need to concentrate on the here and now.

Birdsgottafly · 15/05/2011 13:47

We should be asking why wealth isn't being generated across the EU (which is easier than globally, i take the point about fairtrade etc). The concept would have worked if economic growth had of happened all over the EU. Those that control business in the UK are the same people that are exploiting the poorer countries. We are being played off against each other and its about timer people woke up to that.

magicmummy1 · 15/05/2011 13:51

Birdsgottafly - actually, I agree with you about focusing on the here and now. But I don't think RobF's ignorant assumptions about how we got to where we are now should be allowed to pass unchallenged.

RobF - what you're basically saying is that it's acceptable for one group of people to exploit another group of people as long as they are strong enough to get away with it. I have no answer for that kind of logic because it seems devoid of any moral values.

jasminetom · 15/05/2011 13:53

I think you are just asking for a pat on the back for being so right on and for living in an area that has lots of immigrants and alcoholics. Happy to give you a pat on the back as long as I never have to visit you.

Original poster
StuckinTheMiddlewithYou · 15/05/2011 13:54

Fine, you're not welcome anyway! (pillock)

OP posts:
Jaquelinehyde · 15/05/2011 13:55

I love how everyone thinks it is so easy to come over here and steal our benefits, jobs, houses etc

Can any of you please explain where these opinions have come from. Are they informed by the media or through experience, not well I know someone who I am sure is an immigrant, I mean proper experience or shock horror has anyone actually bothered to do some independent research on the area (I know with you all being so passionate and informed about the subject this is sure to be the answer for you all)

I agree that immigration needs a shake up. However, I feel it needs to be shaken up not only to address the immigration figures but also to make the system fairer and more open to all who allpy.

In this country we treat all immigrants regardless of origin, profession etc as second class citizens and that is appalling.

Straight2Extremes · 15/05/2011 13:55

Problems with unemployment in manual labour areas is because industries moved from this country to another country.

usualsuspect · 15/05/2011 13:57

jasminetom ...Would you not visit a multicultural area then?

MisterDarsey · 15/05/2011 13:58

jasminetom

... as long as I never have to visit you.

Is that because of the immigrants who live there or the alcoholics?

Original poster
StuckinTheMiddlewithYou · 15/05/2011 13:58

That's my point exactly jaquelinehyde!

So many seem to have a problem with immigration yet have sod all personal experience of it. It's all so media driven.

I'm working poor, living in social housing, in a multicultural area which supposedly makes me the exact sort of person who would be somehow harmed/disadvantaged by immigration. However, I cannot see this in real life. I just can't.

OP posts:
Original poster
StuckinTheMiddlewithYou · 15/05/2011 14:01

And again I repeat, we have exported many jobs.

We should be directing our anger at the elite - not at immigrants.

OP posts:
CurrySpice · 15/05/2011 14:03

human :o

As someone with a "bloody foreigner" for DP I have been shocked and horrified by the ignorance, spite and vileness some people (admittedly only some have said anything and onnly a group of seven once decided he needed a punch in the head but it leaves me worried by how many people are thinking things!!)

and I agree with jaquelinehyde that it is very often based on very little more fact than "a mate down the pub told me..."

usualsuspect · 15/05/2011 14:03

StuckinTheMiddlewithYou ..me too ,its never caused me any problems at all and I live in very similar circumstances to you

I blame the lack of manual jobs on there being no industry here any more ,not because of them coming over here and stealing all our jobs

Francagoestohollywood · 15/05/2011 14:04

Well I lived 8 yrs in the UK, but I came from a EU country, and it was extremely simple to set up my life there (in terms of bureaucracy. In terms of personal relations it was a totally different story). I took it as a sign of the UK being a very civilized country.

It is naive to deny that mass immigration doen't bring many socio economic issues. But it is anachronistic to fight people's freedom to move around the world, imo.

Unemployment is several areas of the UK has been a problem for decades, you can't blame immigrants from Eastern Europe!

magicmummy1 · 15/05/2011 14:09

Quite. I used to live in one of the most deprived parts of the UK. There were immigrants there, but they were predominantly asylum seekers who had been moved out of London and had no right to work. There was huge unemployment among the white working class, not because of these immigrants, but because the predominant industry in the area had collapsed and nothing had replaced it. Of course, it didn't stop people moaning about all the dirty foreigners who had come over to the UK to steal our jobs...

southeastastra · 15/05/2011 14:14

our schools has had to be re-built to accomodate more people settling here - our secondary is already at capacity so don't know what will happen there - more people mean more schools and hospitals - we already wait months to get seen at london hospitals.

we need to get building. but will we? or will we just oversubscribe what we have currently (which is probably what will happen)

alemci · 15/05/2011 14:14

well the area that you live in changes beyond recognition. There is white flight. You go to the local shopping centre and feel that you are in another country.

The clientel in the local school becomes more multicultural. It is a matter of opinion wether this is good or bad but this is what has happened where I live.

MisterDarsey · 15/05/2011 14:16

Part of the problem is that politicians who should know better are too cowardly to make the case for immigration. They know this 'stealing our jobs' stuff is a myth but think we're too stupid to be able to handle real evidence and rational arguments.

As a result the 'anti' case wins by default.

The spat between Gordon Brown & Mrs Duffy was a classic case. As soon as she mentioned the word 'immigration' he went into his prepared speech about how 'tough' Labour were being. Why didn't he ask her why she was worried about the issue? That could have led to a real debate and even - heaven help us - somebody actually changing their opinions.

anotheracademic · 15/05/2011 14:16

Is this about racism or immigration?

Jaquelinehyde · 15/05/2011 14:18

Alemci - I may have read your post wrong so I apologise if I have but to me it sounds as though in your first sentence you are judging whether someone is foreign or not by the colour of their skin!

anotheracademic · 15/05/2011 14:21

This reminds me of when I was in tesco and an old lady was holding court at the magazine section, goimg on about "these immigrants". I stopped and said "actually Im an immigrant". She looked up and said "Oh I dont mean people like you dear".

usualsuspect · 15/05/2011 14:25

exactly anotheracademic ..

RobF · 15/05/2011 14:28

"Part of the problem is that politicians who should know better are too cowardly to make the case for immigration. They know this 'stealing our jobs' stuff is a myth but think we're too stupid to be able to handle real evidence and rational arguments.

As a result the 'anti' case wins by default."
If that was the case, we wouldn't have mass immigration in the first place.

Why do you think people shouldn't be opposed to immigration? An employer has already posted in this thread to say that he prefers employing immigrants because they will work harder for less money than British people would expect.