To not like this Idea of a new multicultural Britain

[monkeyfarm]

I suspect this probably won't go down too well but I'm just being honest as I'm interested to see if I'm the only one who feels this way?
I hate how things are changing, how I can be in a store feel like I'm in eastern europe, why are we one of the only countries that do this? why can't we take a leaf out of the book of Australia and open our doors to people who have something to contribute and not just all and sundry?
Am I on my own in feeling this way?

"I havent lived in any other country... the sense of not being accepted as British... constantly being told this is my "host" country rather then my home where I was born and bred etc"

What does that tell you, if not that your way of life is alien to UK of the 21st century?

What angle are you going for here Cote?

Do you mean those 'British' wo say they are concerned about many different cultures increasingly playing a larger part in the UK and changing what was the status quo? Or those from other cultures who come here, move to an area where they are surrounded by those who are similar to themselves and keep within that group to a large extent without really getting the chance to integrate?

No, you didn't answer my question. You said "unreasonable in part", then went on to talk about how your "lifestyle" is being a SAHM, which means you didn't get my question at all.

ok i will answer it now after considering it more yes i believe it is unreasonable to want to live around those who have only similar values and lifestyles to me, although I believe lifestyles and values needs to be defined and made clearer in your question, as for people I can identify with, I find myself able to identify with people from all backgrounds, religions, cultures so I dont get that part of the question which is why I said "in part".

How does covering make my lifestyle Alien and nullify all the other things that I do which are not "alien to the UK of the 21st century"? and why am I seen as not part of the UK of the 21st century as I consider myself to be part of the UK of the 21st century, it is only others that tell me I am not?

Tell me what is my lifestyle? I get up in the morning take my kids to school, get involved in PTA am on the governors, organise charity events, fund raise, have coffee with my friends, go shopping, study, do community stuff, do some mumsnetting, do some facebooking, write on my blog, etc how is any of that alien just coz i cover? how is my whole lifestyle defined by what i wear?

My lifestyle is being a SAHM, so I dont see how that is irrelevant to your question, if it is not what you meant you need to define the concept of values and lifestyle which you are talking about, since my lifestyle is not different to sahms of other religions...

Begonia - I am trying to point out that people want to live with others who share their mentality and broad values.

Yes, this is also where immigrants from a certain country tend to group together in the same neighbourhood. But what I am trying to say is that this is not racism. It is people wanting to associate with people like themselves, and when the worldviews are so different that they are incompatible, not wanting to have the others in their community. Again, this has nothing to do with racism, imho.

the way my broad values manifest themselves in my every day life are not different from how the values of my christian or hindu or sikh families values manifest themselves in their every day life, my broad values are to be good to others, to do charity, to be patient and kind, to educate myself and my kids, work hard, be honest and faithful, be kind to parents, be considerate, work to better myself, etc

i forgot the most important one, which is to contribute positively to the community I live in.

Agree it's not necessarily racism I just wasn't sure if you were highlighting that that argument flips both ways. I like living within a mix, but don't know if I would like the incoming culture or whatever to flip to changing the overall makeup of what was the original culture but things move on and this has already happened in the past with lots of incoming cultures to Britain. I've lived in other countries where the race, culture and religion is different to my own and where we were the minority. I enjoyed it and would never have wanted to see my culture or whatever start to change that cultures make-up and neither would the people there want that either. I doubt there are many countries who really welcome a big change to what they perceive as their cultural make-up or identity.

personally I don't perceive any sense of belonging or identity based on race or ethnicity, so different cultures coming in to my home country doesnt bother me.

Yes, you are a good person. Nobody is doubting that.

However, you believe women and men should be segregated, women's bodies should be hidden from view, men should not come into physical contact with women no matter how innocent that contact might be. These values contradict your country's normal values of equality for the sexes, a woman's body being her own, physical contact and even intimacy & sex being very normal between consenting adults.

You can talk about your PTA and Facebook, but the basic fact is that you live your life according to the morals of a faraway land, back in 600 AD. That is why you get "the sense of not being accepted as British", not racism.

Of course, you should live as you like, but you shouldn't be surprised when you get these reactions.

cote who is "you"?

How exactly do the incoming cultures change your culture? Did you become more religious because of all those new Catholics and Muslims? Do you drink less because of Muslim teetotalers or have considered covering your head?

You probably go to supermarkets less thanks to Pakistani corner shop and can afford to eat out more thanks to Indian and Polish chefs and waitresses. Honestly, despite Jamie and Heston, hardly any locals want to work in this trade.

Multiculture is about accepting that there are many points of view and ways to live your live. I live in a pretty deprived area in Scotland. The population here is 99% Scottish according to nearby Housing Association research. Many people around here would benefit if they modified their (very uniform) culture a bit, but I doubt this will happen in near future.

CoteDAzur, how are you exactly affected by all this? All the things you mentioned are very personal.

'These values contradict your country's normal values of equality for the sexes, a woman's body being her own, physical contact and even intimacy & sex being very normal between consenting adults. ' - those values are about 40 years old and there's still a long way to go in terms of equality of sexes.

no cote, I believe I should only enjoy sex within marriage, I should cover, I should not drink, and that if my mum is living with her Polish boyfriend and goes to the pub with him, or if my cousin has a Muslim girlfriend that doesnt cover and lives with a man who is not her husband, or my sister wears revealing clothing, that that is up to them, and it is not to me to dictate how much of a womans body it is acceptable for them to show, or when they should have sex...

my body is my own so i decide who can touch it and who can see it, by saying that i choose to not let some people see it, and touch it that makes it not my own doesnt make any sense to me.

I'm surprised so many people still believe in the nasty Malthusian myth of overpopulation and in 'us living on a small island'. Perhaps central London is overpopulated, but here are some facts about Britain and world in general. Just to put your mind at ease:

Only 1.5% of UK is built upon.

nailak how long before people in the community who consider themselves the self appointed arbiters of moral rectitude force others to cover? Which may have been your voluntary choice but isn't theirs? It has happened in certain areas in London recently.

Personally I know many more sisters whose family have tried to stop them from covering then those who have forced them too. In fact I dont know anyone who has been forced to cover. The majority of Muslims are Pakistani in my area and traditionally in Pakistan dont wear abayah and hijab. I don't know who these people in the community who would force others to cover would be? and how they would force them?

I also dont understand why because some people are being forced to cover makes my choice to cover invalid? and how it means that my broad morals and values are different from anyone elses?

I don't understand still why my broad morals and lifestyle would be measured on my dress and who I have sex with rather then any of the other stuff I mentioned.

and also my community is made up of muslims and non muslims, people who cover and people who dont, people from different backgrounds, different levels of education etc, it is weird to think my community would be only Muslims.

OP, there are many that agree with you, including me and many immigrants that have been here a long time. Unfortunately these views cannot be expressed without invoking the inevitable (Blair indoctrinated) cries of "racist". My husband is an immigrant and this enables him to voice his observations on the massive changes in the last 10 years without being called names.

Lease can somebody explain how live have change because of multiple culture ism? What do you want to do or say that you can't?

That should read "how your lives have changed"

'My husband is an immigrant and this enables him to voice his observations on the massive changes in the last 10 years without being called names.'

No, sorry, it doesn't. Have you never heard about antisemitic Jews or homophobic homosexuals? It really doesn't make it any nicer.

I don't believe you can talk about 'politics of immigration' without vilifying the actual people who moved here. I had a chance to read quite a lot of scientific research on how the recent immigration affected UK and it's all very positive. Some of the working class, like plumbers and builders, may need to put a bit more effort than before, but in general people and economy benefited a lot. And I haven't seen here any reasonable arguments claiming otherwise. It's all down to the nasty r word and myths.

Monkey farm, may I ask you a question? Have you ever been for a Indian curry, Chinese, polish, Iranian, Italian meal before?How dare you post such an ignorant message. There are so many people who bring so much to this country regardless of where they originate from. Maybe you should take some time out and get to know some people who are not white British you might learn a thing or two!!! We are blessed to be living in a place where there is so much Diversity.

I'm a longtime lurker and would like to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the OP.
Moreover, everyone I talk to in real life also has a similar opinion to the OP.
The truth is that we don't want to live in a multicultural society.
We want to live alongside people like ourselves, who hold similar values. We are unhappy with mosques and non-English food stores etc springing up all over...you only have to look at Boston in Lincolnshire to see what has happened to our once proud country.

So I'm with the OP. I want to live in a country of roast beef dinners, fox-hunting, English speaking schools etc. To this end, I relocated to a very rural area and although I'm happy to do so, I feel sad that that I've been almost forced out of my local city.
If you feel that is racist then so be it, but it's my thoughts and those of many thousands of others like me.
And no, I'm not BNP, I am UKIP.