to think Rotherham council have lost the plot over UKIP foster-carers?

[londonone]

bbc

I really really hope there is more to this than is being reported, otherwise I am utterly speechless.

[PumpkinPositive]

"End the active promotion of the doctrine of multiculturalism by local and national government and all publicly funded bodies"

And there you have it.

[MurderOfGoths]

"How does it benefit the children to be brought up in the culture of another country from the one they live in?"

It's not either or. You can be brought up in the predominant culture and still have elements of the culture you come from.

[bradywasmyfavouriteking]

cozy are you asking how does it benefit a child to grow up knowing and acknowledging all parts of their background?
Really?

How does it benefit children to pretend their past didn't happen and make them only acknowledge being 'british'.

[TandB]

It benefits them to be brought up in the culture of the country they live in - but with a strong awareness of, and pride in, the culture they come from.

No two cultures need to be mutually exclusive. Meshing them together might take some negotiation and some decisions as to the most important features of each, but neither culture needs to smother the other.

My family are basically white British. However we have immigrant ancestry in recent generations. This is reflected in part of my name and survives in the colouring and skin tone of myself and several other memers of the family. There was no "need" for me to know about the culture of that part of my family, but my life is richer for having learned about it.

Identity is complex and incredibly important.

[Cozy9]

Do you think "immigrant" is a negative to all UKIP members? You can be anti-immigration without being anti-immigrant. I don't blame immigrants for coming here, but I do blame the government for allowing it to happen.

If the couple didn't like immigrants, why would they want to foster immigrant children?

[Cozy9]

"How does it benefit children to pretend their past didn't happen and make them only acknowledge being 'british'. "
I am not advocating pretending their past didn't happen. But I am advocating making the childrens future a priority over their past.

[TandB]

A child is unable to make that distinction.

There is a real risk that if a child picked up on the fact that their carers believed that their parents should not have been allowed into the UK, this would translate into their minds as there being something fundamentally wrong with their background and therefore themselves.

A child's sense of self-worth is easily damaged. The local authority chose not to take the risk. If they had the choice of placing children with a family who they believed to support multi-culturalism rather than a family who they thought might not, why would they make any other choice?

[Cozy9]

Apparently removing the children from this couple on the grounds of political allegiance is in breach of ECHR legislation. So the lefties will be hoist by their own petard, and rightfully so. This is the most fucking insane thing I have ever heard, and nothing social services do in this country surprises me anymore, it's an absolute mess, especially in Rotherham. They are far more concerned with political ideology than they are about doing the right thing for the children they are supposed to care for.

[Cozy9]

Apart from anything else, do lefties really believe that cases like that reflect them well and put people off the UKIP? It won't affect anything in Rotherham because the people there are a lost cause, they'd vote for a pig with a red rosette on it, but it really makes Labour look bad on a national basis to have crazy situations like this happening under their watch.

[MurderOfGoths]

Here's another advantage to bringing children up in an environment that promotes multiculturalism, one that focuses on their future. Knowing more than one language opens up extra possibilities for them when they are older. Knowing about different cultures and being used to them co-existing not only opens up more possibilities for them, it also makes them a more tolerant person.

With so much being done online nowadays you are only ever a few clicks away from interacting with people from cultures totally different to your own. Many many jobs nowadays are global rather than national. There are huge advantages to promoting multiculturalism in children.

Wrt language at least being bilingual at a young age actually makes it easier to learn new languages when you are older.

[Cozy9]

You don't have to be brought up multicultural to learn foreign languages or learn about foreign cultures.

I think lefties are a LOT more intolerant than righties nowadays, and this thread is evidence of that.

[Narked]

'You can be anti-immigration without being anti-immigrant. I don't blame immigrants for coming here, but I do blame the government for allowing it to happen.'

I think that I think that that's a distinction that a pre-school child might struggle with. I also think that if you see immigration as a negative but not the immigrants 'fault', some of that negativity does attach to them. They are something to be viewed as a problem. Totally fine and your right to hold that opinion, but when you are caring for the children of immigrants it becomes an issue.

When children have to be removed from their family, it's best not to be negative about that family. For the children's sake. I think that these children have an extended family - and remember that foster care does not = cutting all ties with family - who may well be immigrants.

[Narked]

It's not a 'foreign' language to them! It's a language their parents speak, their grandparents, their cousins, aunts and uncles.

[Narked]

It's funny how you seem to see issues and not children.

[Cozy9]

I do see children. I don't think you do.

[MurderOfGoths]

But if someone is from another culture and you bring them up to not have any acknowledgement of that culture or a rejection of that culture, how can you then encourage them to take others culture into account?

Same with language, if you are encouraging them not to speak a language which they would have heard as a young child, then how will you encourage them to learn other languages as they get older?

[bradywasmyfavouriteking]

I don't blame immigrants for coming here, but I do blame the government for allowing it to happen

So what you are essentially saying is ' I can see why you would come to our fab country. However if I had it my way you wouldn't be here.'

That's so much better

[FlaminNoraImPregnantPanda]

Personally I think there is something inherently racist in assuming a person's native culture is of no value when compared to the opportunity to grow up with a British culture.

Maintaining your cultural identity and connections when you are an immigrant is far more important than some people (who've never lived in a different country) can imagine. I'm an EU immigrant. If my children or I were denied our cultural heritage by our host country I would be devastated. It would feel like losing part of you soul.

[FlaminNoraImPregnantPanda]

• like losing part of MY soul.

[MainlyMaynie]

Cozy, I am very interested to know what you would think if my British DS was, in an emergency, placed with foster carers in our current country of residence who believed he didn't need any respect for his British cultural heritage. Would that be ok?

[LoopsInHoops]

I am finding cozy's claims that UKIP aren't racist, next to her patronising and, well, racist posts very odd.

As Mrs DV said very eloquently, they broke their contract. They are not suitable to care for these children. End of story.

But it isn't end of story, is it? The right wing crazies are turning a very simple case of inappropriate placement rectified into a political battle.

[Cozy9]

What have I posted that is patronising or racist?