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AIBU?

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Original poster

to be surprised by how many people are anti-immigration?

326 replies

Mimstar · 09/09/2013 18:48

I was called naive today. Apparently 'if you aren't concerned by immigration, you've got your head in wonderland'.

And I thought - actually, I know hardly anybody else who isn't anti-immigration.

I'm trying to understand this attitude, it seems so common nowadays. Maybe I do have my head in wonderland.

I'm so tired of hearing 'job stealers!' type comments.

Sad
OP posts:
inabeautifulplace · 09/09/2013 22:29

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Here is some punctuation. Give it a go sometime ;)

ShellyBoobs · 09/09/2013 22:30

deaky - I am assuming your post is satire? If so, it's not very funny.

I'm not, I'm assuming it's just a load of racist twaddle, to be honest.

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 22:32

shelly, to be honest, I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone with such poor English would come out with such a stereotyped rant about immigrants' lack of English. Which is why I begin to suspect it is a wind-up.

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 09/09/2013 22:32

Jinsei Absolutely. And I would be prepared to listen, with a truly open mind, to any party or organisation who attempted to put together an honest assessment of the true, total cost / benefit of immigration.

The problem, I think, is that the various sides in this equation all have a vested interest in ensuring that this does not happen. And thats a shame.

Katz · 09/09/2013 22:32

Net migration last year was 153k in a population of 63millon. Ands that's what's to blame. Really! Even at its peak net migration was less than 275k

ShellyBoobs · 09/09/2013 22:38

You're probably right, LRD.

Jinsei · 09/09/2013 22:38

And I would be prepared to listen, with a truly open mind, to any party or organisation who attempted to put together an honest assessment of the true, total cost / benefit of immigration.

Most of the studies on this show a small but positive impact on the UK economy. I'm sure none of those studies are perfect, but I've yet to see anything that persuades me that immigration is a net cost to the UK.

TrueStory · 09/09/2013 22:40

Very few people were anti-immigration until the character of whole parts of England changed as a result of mass immigration over a 10-20 year period. Even if you enjoy "diversity" in London you can walk for a long time without hearing an English voice, and it can feel very weird, and not in a good way.

Its not just jobs and housing either, but then again if you need housing and none is available - but you see social housing being given to people who have been in the country for 10 minutes, its hardly surprising people who were born here are a bit Hmm about it.

I think politicians ignored ordinary people's concerns for years on this subject, and if you questioned anything you were immediately accused of being a racist, which suppressed a lot of genuine concern. Its all a bit of a mess now Sad.

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 22:41

I don't entirely follow what vested interest we're supposed to have? I mean, I suppose I have a vested interest in that my DH and SIL are immigrants, but frankly, we'd be better off if we emigrated to their country, and they pay more in taxes than they take out, so I don't really feel convinced.

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmmmmmmmm · 09/09/2013 22:44

Jinsei Perhaps what I am getting at is that most studies seemed to be published by groups or organisations with some sort of agenda. The 2008 Legrain report referenced upthread, for example, refers to "Little Englanders"

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 22:45

Cross posted there.

true, I am a historian. I am absolutely sure that the 'character of England' has been changing for centuries and that every generation feels nostalgia for the changes.

I grew up near Leicester. For me, walking around and not hearing English voices was home. I miss that, a lot. I now live in a city where it is rare to hear Hindi or Punjabi, and I miss it. I miss the labels in the supermarket and the food in shops. I miss the clothes. I miss seeing Diwali lights. These things are part of my British heritage.

Why is my British heritage less important than yours?

I won't address your point about housing being given to asylum seekers, because I know it is unlikely to be true. Most asylum seekers struggle hugely to get housing - I know, my brother works with them. You are of course not talking about normal immigrants, many of who are not even entitled to claim for housing.

namechangesforthehardstuff · 09/09/2013 22:46

I just loved the earlier poster (whose name I can't actually be fucked to look back for) who thinks we're a bit overcrowded. And what gave her this perspective?

A spell in France Grin

That was 'a spell in France' if you missed it the first time.

Course immigration's just what furriners do innit?

That's why Vinnie's staying Stateside.

YANBU. OP.

ShellyBoobs · 09/09/2013 22:48

...but you see social housing being given to people who have been in the country for 10 minutes...

Hmm
Nancy66 · 09/09/2013 22:52

True - people have ALWAYS been anti immigration. I don't think many of the people who arrived from the West Indies in the 50s will tell you that they were welcomed with open arms - even though they were invited here by our government

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 22:53

nancy is right.

skylerwhite · 09/09/2013 22:56

True that's nonsense I'm afraid: plenty of anti-immigrant feeling towards West Indians in the postwar era, and lots of hostility towards Irish migrants in Britain in the 19th c. And that was internal migration within the United Kingdom!

Misspixietrix · 09/09/2013 22:56

Oh Dear God was that really said? Confused Offers OP Shelly and the likes plenty of Cake to go with their Wine

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 23:00

skyler - not to mention, anti-Viking sentiment more than a millenium ago.

It's a natural reaction. We're territorial by nature. But it's wrong not to analyse and think about what's going on.

skylerwhite · 09/09/2013 23:03

LRD I take your point, although I suspect anti-Viking sentiment might have been based in justifiable fears of raids and the like!

LRDMaguliYaPomochTebeSRaboti · 09/09/2013 23:06

Not so much, I think, no.

Revengeofkarma · 09/09/2013 23:07

I love the way the default is "the health service can't cope because of immigration."

Um, take a look at the stats - the only way the health service IS coping is foreign labour, and lots of it. At all levels.

And, yeah, there's a whole lot of racism tied up in being anti-immigration. People complain to me about immigrants all the time. When I remind them that I am an immigrant, and a recent one at that, they're "not talking about people like (you.)". Meaning white.

It got to the point where I once introduced myself again to someone being particularly jerky with "hi. I'm the immigrant who took your job."

skylerwhite · 09/09/2013 23:07

Really? This might be more your period than mine. Can you elaborate?

jojane · 09/09/2013 23:09

We just can't support the amount of people that are moving here. Couple thatbwitht the fact that a lot of them send a good proportion of thier wages home to thier native country to support family which then lessens the amount of money in our economy which then lessens the amount of jobs available etc etc.

gordyslovesheep · 09/09/2013 23:14

yes damn those people moving here and paying taxes and shit - selfish bastards Hmm

If we stop people coming here do we have to take back all the leather oap's from Spain?

I don't see immigration as the cause of problems in housing, education and health - more lack of investment and advances in health care

I dislike the slight of hand that blames the poor, the welfare claiments, the foreign etc for the problems of society while the rich dodge taxes and carry on regardless

eretrew · 09/09/2013 23:14

Isn't the real problem that so many low skilled workers are reluctant to move abroad, the moaning about immigrants taking jobs in low skilled professions reflects that. There is a global economy and this includes migration of labour and so people are always going to come here and often these people are in low skilled work, yet so few low skilled English people move abroad to work.