Is my best friend racist?

[Newnamefortouchysubject]

Visited my best friend today for lunch and had a conversation that has left me confused, so thought I'd bring it to the MN table.
We were talking about immigration, refugees and asylum seekers.
My friend says the issue is not the colour of people's skin, but rather their culture.
She has no problem with people who wish to settle here when they embrace the UK culture.
Her attitude is that multicultural societies are almost impossible to implement to everyones satisfaction because different cultures have such widely opposing beliefs and values and she believes it is unrealistic to expect to integrate many different cultures and values without considerable conflict between the different cultures.
Furthermore, she believes it is so difficult to integrate different cultures that people of the same ethnicity will inevitably gravitate towards each other and form their own social groups to the exclusion of other ethnic groups, so the whole idea of integration is pointless anyway.
We just end up with lots of different groups of people isolating themselves from other groups who don't share their ethnicity.
She is firmly of the belief that tensions that people describe as racially motivated actually stem from cultural differences, that she knows no one who has any issue with people of different races when they adopt the culture of the country they choose to migrate to, and that the tension is created by ethnic differences and their cultural differences.

I still say this is racism because racism also includes discriminating against people based on their ethnicity. She called me naive if I believe a truly multicultural society is possible when 'you wouldn't even tolerate a friend who has the same ethnicity as you but doesn't share your values so how do you expect to embrace someone's complete different way of life'.
I explained that the way other people choose to live their lives doesn't affect me. She called me naive again at this point and said when people don't have the same values, when they live according to different social rules, it affects people living in their vicinity who don't live like that.

Im not sure whether to raise the subject with her again, or let it lie because she seemed quite adamant and I'm not sure I could make her see this is still racist.

Now I'm wondering if I don't understand what racism is. Maybe I am naive.

This.

There are certain cultural practices or beliefs eg; homophobia, control towards women or physical abuse of children, which should not be allowed or welcomed in our country.

There are other things such as how somebody dresses, what festivals they celebrate or food they eat, which need to be embraced and respected.

That you Gregg?

I’m amused and bemused in equal measure at how the “Left” can’t seem to form any coherent arguments against reasoned expressions of concern about unrestricted immigration or other issues they disagree with.

All they seem to be able to do is respond with nasty insults… time after time after time… though at least being called Gregg Wallace isn’t quite as absurd as being told I only like Trump (I don’t like him btw) because he’s a sexual predator 🤣. It’s absolutely pathetic…

This thread has made me wonder whether the Left is driven more by a hateful superiority complex than anything else. I can only guess that it’s because they realise that their power (a power that seemed invincible only five or so years ago as the dominant force in the media, entertainment, political and corporate worlds) is crumbling beneath them, and so they descend into sneering contempt for anyone who dares to cross them.

Do they also speak English though. Think that was the point

No, central Canada.

No, she's fine, you're incorrect.

Sounds like there’s mass emigration out of India then at the moment.

Left used to be synonymous with liberal and progressive, but what it has become is as repugnant as the original definition of far-right (not the current usage which calls anyone who’s even vaguely conservative, “far” right). It’s now the radical left which sneers on any idea that they don’t espouse and attempt to dispose of it through false superiority or a desire to appear “cool” - I don’t know which. But either way, an unwillingness to enter into any discourse on topics such as immigration, integration and the problems of multi-culturalism will not make the problems go away. Eventually, they will arrive at the doorsteps of those who deign it beneath them to discuss it.

Yep, the left left us all behind, long ago. Those of us who were left are now considered far right by the radicalised people who call themselves left wing. Meanwhile, we are just normal, average people who were left or centrist left, and are now completely politically homeless.

The hard left have always been this. It's more or less Marxist theory that this is what they are- that the educated middle classes need to 'educate' the poor and working class into correct think in order to bring forth the revolution. They don't care that the consequences of mass immigration are more keenly felt by the poor and by established immigrant communities, some of whom are here because they escaped from the types of tribal thinking in their native countries and don't fancy it following them here. There's only correct thinking and everything else which is 'far right' ( unless you are Islamist fundamentalist, which is about as far right as you can get, then you are an acceptable type of Far Right)

Yes it’s a tactic on here but may be losing ground.

I completely agree. The left is all shouting in your face “be kind or I’ll burn your fucking house down” and not realising the irony…

I agree with you and I’ve just had someone on the right argue with me rhat trump is we need and he isn’t a rapist or involve with epstein. Two sides do the extreme

It is racist but, given we're on Mumsnet, I'm not surprised at the responses you are getting