To timidly suggest that Nigel Farage is not a racist

[Millyonthefloss]

Can I just start by saying that I am not a racist. Thanks.

This is my AIBU.

Lots of people on mumsnet say Farage is a racist.

But this is what I think.

He is a geezer. He is a city boy. He smokes. He wears dodgy coats. He looks weird. He says non PC things, like my FIL does. He doesn't like overcrowding and change.

But I am beginning to think that he is not a racist.

What he is in fact is a man with an absolute obsession with British parliamentary democracy and an absolute hatred of EU waste, extravagance and unaccountability. He is totally obsessed with getting the UK out of the EU and independent again.

He is enraged and infuriated by the wasteful things the EU does like moving the EU Parliament from Strasbourg to Brussels all the time and wasting millions and millions of British taxpayers money that could be spent in his beloved UK.

I don't even think he is that interested in immigration.

But he is so obsessed with his aim of UK independence that he will work with anyone. So when free movement of labour became the big issue - years after he started his campaigns - he was willing to embrace it. And there have therefore been racists in UKIP. He is not choosy.

But I don't think Farage himself is a racist.

He seems to be genuinely delighted now that he can stand on a platform with Kwasi Kwateng or Frank Field.

He does his weird grin when he is with people like them.

All he wants is UK independence.

What do you think? AIBU?

Happy to agree that the official language of England is English.

Now what?

Lynnm63

Both sides' predictions about what would happen post Brexit are pure speculation and just cherry picking the figures most convenient to their scenario. Fear and bogus predictions are being used on both sides.

But Leave are lying about provable, actual facts. Misrepresenting EU actions, UK position in Europe, laws, consequences, citing demonstrably false figures and statistics, urban myths and bad maths. Starting with the much repeated, ridiculous statement on the side of their bus. It is also completely dishonest to make election type promises about how money would be spent when 1. it's not in their gift 2. their statements in the past have been the exact opposite of what they now claim to care about 3. they don't even agree amongst themselves whether the UK should stay in the EEC or not (the former would mean accepting free movement).

Sorry for the derail.

British? Never heard of that language

In answer to your polite enquiries about my ethnicity I am White British and my husband is from Poland. In my immediate family we are nearly all white except my BIL, who is from Ghana and my dog, who is brown. I run a small company of about ten people - some of whom are mixed race and some of whom are EU citizens. One man is even both of those things at once.

I think he keeps saying racist, intolerant things so he quite rightly gets labelled as such. The massive prick.

He says non PC things, like my FIL does.

I am so very tired of people saying things like this.

Farage is a racist and I suspect your FIL is too.

May I just confirm that having a Romanian passport does in no way make me shit on the street at any given opportunity? Not on a British street either, not even on NF's street!

Let me help those of you who struggle to understand how NF is xenophobic:

genuine concern: "Any normal and fair-minded person would have a perfect right to be concerned if a group of criminals suddenly moved in next door." is EU immigration be a root-cause of rising criminality?

Xenophobia: "Any normal and fair-minded person would have a perfect right to be concerned if a group of Romanian people suddenly moved in next door."(this one, by the way, is the direct NF quote).

Hope this helps.

Eat, your using the word superior not me.

Your projecting something onto this which isn't there.

Boris Johnson and Farage both spout the most outrageous, straight out lies and misinformation while coming across all "likeable" and relatable.

Like the harmless Cameron, Blair, Juncker, John Major and Peter Mandelson then?

nauticant

RosesareSublime - just clarify, what is the 'British' language, in your opinion?

Oh roses, why are you hung up on the British language? It's wonderful that children can hear different languages in their daily lives, and not fear them. Life has progressed, and thank god it has

I couldn't say whether Farage himself is racist, but he is more than happy to flirt with them and stir up as much racial tension as possible in order to field his own ideology, which makes him a far more dangerous person than the likes of Nick Griffin.

I don't know. I live in a very white village in the north west. There are about four mixed race British children in my son's primary school. There is one Polish lad. Immigration has had zero effect on our lives. Oh, tell a lie, my older kids now have mates who are originally from Africa, which is great.

But I am aware that I am relatively wealthy and privileged. And I keep reading and hearing about poorer people, down south or in East Anglia, who are living in places where there has been a sudden influx of immigrants and the infrastructure is not coping. So problems with jobs, housing, schools, medical services etc. But it seems to me that these voices are often shut down or their validity denied and no one wants to have a proper debate about it, to acknowledge that problems exist.

I think you have to ask yourself who benefits from an influx of cheaper workers. It's sure as hell not the existing workers.

I'm not Roses; you said they should be British, which implies they have a superior right to be on that playground. I did ask why you thought that in case it wasn't a question of "superior right" but you declined to answer.

Anyway, it really is a small point; I don't want to get bogged down in the details when it's Farage on the stand here. We can all hold whatever opinions we like - of course yourself included - but then we're not the ones whipping up large proportions of society into a racist viewpoint with our charasmatic whitterings!

RosesareSublime - just clarify, what is the 'British' language, in your opinion?

Why don't you enlighten me, on the main language we should all be conversing in please Bran.

I don't understand how an MEP can campaign for his country to leave the EU. I think he is a hypocrite who turns facts to suit his own agenda - much like most politicians, in fact.

OP - In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act ...

Regarding Britain being the dominant nationality in the playground- we have schools that are full of Asian British children- hardly a white English face among them, because the catchment area for the school is predominantly Asian British families. I other parts of London the schools have predominantly black African British children in their playgrounds. British people are all colours, faiths and races. London is only 48% white English I, having lived in many parts of England, would say that it is far less racist than areas which are mainly white. In St Ives, Cornwall, a few years ago I saw gollywogs for sale, in ignorance. And English is our official language but it is not our only language- every language under the sun is spoken here.

No Eat, your framing it in your way, by using emotive words like "superior".

I suppose to put it in a different way, when I am choosing schools for DD do I want a school that has a small but still significant amount of children from other nationalities in it. Or do I want a school where 80% are Non English speaking?

I am sure the other school is just as excellent, but I would prefer her in a school where English is the main language.

That doesn't mean I think we are superior, we are also Italian /German/British.

It means I feel the school has less problems with language and she has more opportunities.

No shit Joy really that's for that enlightening post.

RosesareSublime, why are you so defensive? It's a simple enough question. I mean if you truly want us all to be speaking a 'British' language, I'm more than happy to start you on the basics of Welsh. Or how about Cornish, Gaelic, even British Sign Language. Isn't it great to live in a multi-lingual country .