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?

Can anyone explain where these other countries are which are not multicultural and do not have immigrants and where everybody stays exactly the same as everybody else? I've been to most countries in Western Europe and none of them seem to fit the bill. The US? Hardly. India? I wouldn't have thought so.

Uh fucking duh, Australia and north America are dominated by immigrants and descendants of them.

I feel a bit sorry for people who feel the way the OP does.

It belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the world works these days. Which must be confusing and scary for those who are ignorant of it.

This is the 21st century. People can get from one side of the world to the other within a day. Emerging markets in Latin America and China are propping up the limping Western economic model. People have the ways and the means to move freely all over Europe and even further afield. The planet is a global village these days. And the idea that we should be battening down the hatches of our island to keep the 'forriners' out is laughably parochial and old fashioned. It's as out of touch and outdated as the church refusing to allow women priests and bishops. Like a slightly senile old granddad stuck in a bygone age.

Not all immigrants are poor and looking to leech off the system. Economic migrants enrich the countries they settle in. And I include all working migrants in that definition - from corner shop owners to CEOs.

The world is changing and it'll happen with or without you OP. Up to you whether you want to get on board or go and hide behind your twitching net curtains in fear and mild confusion.

I suspect this OP has wandered off somewhere else, taking their spoon with them.

Bhutan
Ladakh

There is nothing 'new' about Britain being multicultural. The first black people in Britain were probably Roman soldiers.

Have a look at the buildings in Bristol for signs of slavery, what do you think happened to slaves after slavery was abolished?

All ports, Liverpool, London and Cardiff in particular have had generations of people from all over the world.

I'm white British and am in an ethnic minority in the area in which I live. My children's school is 85% non-white intake.

I can't afford to go out and see the world, so I'm very grateful that the citizens of the world come to me.

I don't understand what upsets you OP about other people's culture or differentness.

Nobody's forcing me to eat or buy 'forrin' food, wear 'forrin' clothes or listen to 'forrin' music. I can be as English as I like in relation to what I do, wear, eat and in relation to my values. Being surrounded by people from other cultures in no way restricts my lifestyle. How does living in a multi-cultural area impact on YOUR day to day lifestyle and choices?

Oh dear, scroll down to 'Ethnic discrimination'
Bhutan

They got rid of 1/5 of their population

(Well acc to Wikipedia)

"YANBU to harbour any feelings that you do. Your opinions are as valid as those of anyone else. It's a shame you're being called racists when you're not expressing racism - it's a ridiculous state of affairs to be in."

What - that you don't like people from other cultures?

I dont think anyone 'feels threatened by Eastern Europeans' although I do think some people here are taking things too personally and bringing up a racism issue when I doubt that was the OP's primary thought or intention.

Multiculturism is having an effect on some communities. There are English children in primary schools who find it hard to interact effectively with classmates because of the differing languages spoken in the playground.

The old days of knowing your neighbours and being able to chat over the fence about family life, whatever are gone because of this communication issue

Above two points - fact - not stating as either good or bad but fact and I think that is what the OP was really getting at rather than inherrent racism or fear of any particular group.

Off the top of my head :

Picts
Celts
Vikings
Romans
Anglo-Saxons
Normans

You'd have to go a very long way back to this island not being multicultural, methinks.

Hi,

I am an immigrant. . I have never taken a penny of benefits and have been a UK taxpayer for 27 years.

I love Polish culture, and I love it here, and maybe you are too ignorant poorly informed to know about the poles in the RAF in World War II, and the Poles who fought against Nazism so you can enjoy your liberty, and how they held off the Soviet army in 1920, checking Sov expansion, and perhaps you also don't know how we utterly failed to help them in 1945? We owe them, not vice versa.

As for peoples of the former empire, I take it pretty kindly that they don't gob on us in the street.

Tolerance is the best reason to live here.

Exactly happyinhearts

Snowprobs - I like the picture you paint of Australia however having lived in Australia for several years I've found it to be the most racist country I've ever lived in. In my experience Australians are completely fed up of Chinese (in particular) and Japanese immigrants.

I think a lot of this has to do with the facts that lots of Chinese have no interest at all in learning the national language of the country they choose to make their home. Doesn't really send out a very good message does it.

YABU for all the reasons already mentioned. Its not 'new', its not something even slightly unique to the UK. A legacy of empire is doubtless that we've had somewhat more inflows and outflows in the past ...if you look back relatively few generations most of the population of Australia is immigrant-descended.

And finally, most of the UK is overwhelmingly still 'white british'.

it's a free world op

humans are free to live in whatever country they choose!

we do not have to stay in one town, one city from birth until death - how miserable.

people move for work, family reasons, all sorts of reasons

I'm more worried about people in society with attitudes like yours rather than e balance of cultures in it. The world is changing - grow with it, accept it gracefully and interact with others who look or sound differently to you. You may goodness gracious even find you learn something new and exciting by doing so

Chickens I'll be on that ferry with your children (as long as it's between Scotland and Ireland) but mine will be on some constant round the world trip thanks to DH's family of properly exotic ancestors.

and I wouldnt ever aspire to making the UK more like Oz OP

Have you ever been there? You do generalise somewhat.

Such bitter racist attitudes over there, ironic really, in one of the biggest continents in the workd with more than enough space for new immigrants.

I sort of see where you're coming from happyinherts. But my point is that pretty soon the whole world will be multi cultural. The concept of nationality will cease to exist as we know it in a few generations' time.

So how do you deal with that? Do you get scared by change and think if you shut your eyes and actively dislike it enough it'll go back to the way it was?

Or do you adapt and change to accommodate it. So that it works as well as it can for everyone?

YABU - we are already multicultural. Being in the EU means other EU members can live here and we can live elsewhere in the EU if we want to.

Yes you are. I feel quite sorry for my DS as my area is mainly white and it all feels rather boring to me.

I've had a high regard for the Poles since first seeing 'The Battle of Britain' long ago, sieg. Nothing I've seen since has changed that view. If there has been an influx its much like post-war immigration from the Commonwealth - people willing to work hard at everything from leek-pulling to scientific research.

sieglind I'm reading the biography of Christine Glanville at the moment. What a woman!

'we are part of the EU which brings huge economic benefits to the UK in terms of trade.'

I am not doubting you, I am genuinely interested as to what?

Currently our EU export market is around £12 billion (mainly nuclear components, petroleum, gas, industrial machinery, chemicals and medicines). Our EU import market is around £17 billion (mainly electrical goods, clothes, shoes, food, alcohol)

Eliza - I did point out that Australia is, imo, rabidly racist. Point is, as a sparsely populated island in that part of the world, there isnt much choice but to do business and trade with SE Asia....or for Aussies to come here and 'take our jobs'. Ha!

There is no country on earth that can afford to 'close its borders' or get overly uppity about 'forriners'.

Perhaps, rather than worrying about multiculturalism in Britain, the OP should be sending her children off to learn Mandarin or Hindi, or investing in some extra maths tuition or something, because as a nation, we are breeding generations of unskilled, piss-poor-at-languages young people that simply wont be able to compete with those from ountries with 'emerging' economies... Thats a real worry.