Immigration comment from colleague, AIBU

[user2726182]

Name changed.

Myself and a couple of colleagues were talking about the upcoming general election, just about the debates that were on television last week.
Colleague stated she was voting conservatives because she wants brexit (fair enough) but then went on to say it's because of immigration and doesn't want anymore people coming in to the UK because we're a 'small island' and can't home any more people, she went on to say refugees are fine but that's it, then said 'I'm not racist' but just my opinion.

Now my grandparents were immigrants and I wouldn't be here without them coming from Asia, I was a bit offended by her comments.

Aibu?

She has a viewpoint that differs to yours. That is literally all that happened.

it's because of immigration and doesn't want anymore people coming in to the UK because we're a 'small island' and can't home any more people

What exactly is racist about this comment?

not sure whos arguing for 'open borders' to be honest?

Me

She is ignorant and shows a complete lack of tolerance

Yes, report her to HR for voting Conservative.

My dad is hopeful that Brexit will stop all the immigrants coming 'over here' because all immigrants are cheats and scoundrels. Except for the one he married of course . And the people at the Polish bakery because he likes their pastries. And he's politely ignoring that his sone is an immigrant to the country he lives in, and is also married to an immigrant! We've all agreed not to talk about Brexit any more with my dad, because someone will punch him.

Hi OP, I wouldn't bother pulling her up on it to talk. She is almost certainly a boring xenophobic person but she technically hasn't said anything wrong. Or certainly not something that could be considered wrong in the terms of misconduct in work. I would just leave it, some people aren't worth your time.

euuuugh here come the 'sensible discussion to be had' people.

euuuuuugh here comes a "fingers in ear" type of person.

There does need to be a debate about this but too many like you who shut us down . YOU have no more rights to your thoughts than others do.

PS YABU OP

She is as entitled to her view as you are , coming on here namechanging .

The Conservatives are specifically calling for an Australian immigration system. Australia is a country over-run with immigrants (as any aboriginal will tell you) that wants to import more and more and more of them.

This is why politics simply shouldn't be discussed at the workplace...

However: YANBU to be offended.

Is she in charge of you other other people? If yes: I'd consider contacting HR because there is be the possibility of her bias possibly affecting her actions at the workplace / how she conducts herself in her position as a senior employee. It could possibly influence her judgment in regards to reviews, recommendations for promotions, internal conflict settlements etc.

not because she's voting conservative btw. but simply because she's against immigration. And that may specifically affect your or others who are immigrants / descendants of immigrants. (well, recent immigrants. She obviously won't go as far back as the Romans. Or the Vikings)

I am a child of an immigrant and glad to be born here.
I also think that open borders will finish off the Welfare State.
I don't want that to happen.

There is such a thing as saturation.....we need more homes, schools and hospitals as it is.

As lovely as Open Borders sound is it really practical?

no i hate this.and to me its mostly from racists.(mostly not all before some jump on me) and when you dig deeper its all this " dont want that foreign muck coming into our great country,stealing our jobs our money and homes" blah blah fucking blah. and you know its about racism when they call someone out as foreign or immigrant who was actually born and raised in Britain so is just as British as them.
and when you ask them what they actually mean by it and why they dont want immigrants they either cant answer and just want Britain british but again cant go deeper or they come out with more subtly and not so subtle racism

There is nothing (from what you posted) that outlines your colleague as a racist.

People have taken to prefacing any comments on immigration with 'I'm not racist but..." because there is a common opinion that anyone with concerns about immigration must be xenophobic or racist.

Immigration and immigrants are not interchangeable. You can dislike the concept of uncontrolled immigration but not dislike the people.

I get really tired of immigrant bashing, as the whole island is full of immigrants, including myself. YANBU. We come over here, pay our taxes, jump through endless hoops (and pay tons of money) to become a citizen and then have to hear about it from thickos whose grandparents are probably from somewhere outside the UK anyway. Whevs. I for one would go a mile for a hard-working immigrant who knows that it's like to leave your homeland for somewhere new and scary and has the drive to succeed, versus someone who's been here for centuries, sits on their backside and complains about immigrants. Bah.

As long as no-one is doing harm to another person can't we have different points of view anymore?
Did she name anyone? or was it just a general comment?

why is she not allowed freedom of expression?

Open Borders sounds lovely but in reality might cause a lot of issues in tiny Britain

Actually she should be reported to HR as politics should not be discussed in the workplace as a healthcare professional this is in my code of conduct not to do this

unfettered immigrant lion

I think that sounds rather magnificent!

You are not being unreasonable to disagree with her views on immigration.

You are being unreasonable if you surmise from her opinion that she is racist. There is a difference between concern about population growth and racial stereotyping. Her stance on refugees suggests that she does not have concerns about people of different races seeking refuge in this country.

You are also being unreasonable if you think that her opinions are an invalid basis for her voting decision. The whole point about universal suffrage is that everyone gets a vote and can vote the way they choose for whatever reason they want.

I am married to an immigrant and voted remain and am pro immigration.

But I accept people can be against immigration for non- racist reasons.

Some areas of the UK there are enormous pressures on services eg schools and whilst I personally think it's down to a lot of factors such as under funding, it is easy to see why if you didnt get into your closest school for example, and a significant number of the children are to immigrant families, that you might think 'if there were less immigrants living in this catchment area there wouldn't be as much pressure on school places'.

So I think YABU. If she has said something such as she didnt want immigration because of how people look / dress / speak or anything then YANBU

As long as no-one is doing harm to another person can't we have different points of view anymore?

Discrimination based on someone's opinion about the existence of immigrants in the UK is however harmful.

And this particular senior employee may not be particularly objective when it comes to other employees who are immigrants or have a family background of immigration...
Which is why the OP should contact HR imo.

She doesn't know what she is talking about, Brexit wont mean the end of immigration and most of the problems are less to do with EU regulation and more to do with successive government policies.
Tell her to go read up the facts instead of repeating the lies of certain media outlets, whose billionaire owners vomit out these comments are just trying to keep their power and money.

PS
The reality is that international mobility will only continue to increase, so she can hope all she wants, inward migration is not going to stop under an Australian-style points system - it is too important for the economy. For what its worth, I know people of South Asian decent who are in favour of this because they think the current system discriminates against their own relatives.

So many people getting offended - that's why some people preface. You can't state an opinion nowadays without being labelled a racist/transphobe etc. That's without being classed as thick/idiot/vermin as suggested above.

It's so easy to shout someone down if you're not affected by it. My good friend is a widow, living in a small street in the SE. 4 of the houses have been turned in to houses of multiple occupancy. 8 European men live in each of those houses. How much chaos do you think that causes when the majority have a car? The noise? Imagine living there and not being able to afford to move. It's ok to not want unfetted immigration. Just now we've had another lorry load of illegal immigrants picked up on the M25 (all arrested plus the driver).
There's nothing racist about her comment and what are you going to report her for? Having a different opinion to you?

'I'm not racist'...

This is always, always followed by "but" and then a clear demonstration that the person saying it is racist. It's even more obvious when they refuse to use the word "racist" and say something like "racialist" instead.

YANU she’s entitled to her opinion just like you are. To want to curb immigration doesn’t make her a racist, because on that basis wouldn’t you wanting to stop her having an opinion you don’t agree with, make you a facist?