Do you believe there will be a civil war?

[exhaustedandwholly]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and I wonder if others feel the same. With everything going on, from the arrival of illegal migrants in small boats to a government that seems powerless, and with Farage gaining popularity because people are fed up, it feels like tension is rising across the country.

People are frustrated. You try to raise concerns and are instantly labelled a racist or bigot, even when your worries are about integration, safety, and national identity, not race. It feels like any honest conversation is being shut down.

There are parts of the UK where people who were born and raised here no longer feel at home. In some areas, if you are not part of the dominant local community, you can feel completely out of place or even unsafe walking alone at night. That is not right in your own country.

It is not just about people coming from Muslim-majority countries or those arriving illegally. There are also large numbers of Eastern Europeans, including Bulgarians, Romanians, and Russians. Many work hard and contribute, but there are also communities forming where people keep to themselves, speak no English, and make no effort to integrate. Some of these areas are experiencing rising antisocial behaviour, crime, and a breakdown of community life.

You can find videos online showing the state of some of these areas, with rubbish piling up, people ignoring the rules, and no sign of enforcement. It looks lawless, and it often is. But speaking about it honestly is considered of limits.

I live next to a Muslim family and they are wonderful people. Friendly, respectful, hardworking. So this is not about judging individuals. This is about a wider pattern where people are arriving, not integrating, and changing the fabric of our country in ways no one voted for.

We are a Christian country with our own traditions, values, and way of life. Why is it seen as wrong to want to preserve that? If we moved to Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, or Russia, we would be expected to adapt to their culture. So why is it unacceptable to ask the same here?

The anger and division in this country are growing. I do not want unrest or conflict, but I cannot ignore what feels like a serious shift. When ordinary people feel ignored for too long, things eventually boil over.

Is anyone else feeling this? Or are we just not allowed to talk about it anymore?

"Although, I will say, it is those “underclass” men who are patrolling the park daily to keep girls and women safe from the men in the hotel who are causing trouble and who have assaulted girls in the area."

Ironically some of these men may well then return home, get pissed and batter their partners. Then get in their white vans the next day and cat-call women on their way into work.

And it was even harder for the Anglo Indians coming here as they were British, they had duel nationality.

My mum always said she was too British to be Indian and too Indian to be British, so never fit in anywhere.

Yup, I don’t doubt it. They have taken to shooting each other too over drugs, my road was closed for two days a few weeks ago after a shooting. But that’s just how it is.

That's not true. I'm mid 30s and I have quite a lot of 'ex pat' friends having and raising their children in various countries. They are mostly teaching their children the local language but they don't know it themselves so no different to many families moving here. Many ex pats live in English-speaking bubbles. Really no different...

Where I live is like the Wild West compared to that.

I’ve never seen an estate agents listing that says

Walking distance to 5* hotel
No state schools nearby
Low crime rate
Has a Waitrose

But what is your point to do with the discussion?

You said in your previous post you find the term underclass gross.

I was pointing out that there is a huge underclass in this country, mostly white British, and they don’t find it offensive, they seem to love living that way. I live among them.

And trust me, if there was a cent in it, they'd be listing them like a shot.

Well, in a lot of places, that’s pretty obvious by the price tag and the area, isn’t it.

Seriously? Schools and low crime rate are major selling points for an area and have you not heard of the Waitrose affect for property prices ?

https://www.homewardlegal.co.uk/news/post/waitrose-effect-can-boost-local-property-prices-50

Estate agents do cite private schools and /or outstanding state schools for a start. That’s common here.

There is and they do.

There’s more than a cent in it and they do list it.

I think that’s really common. I always look at schools when I am looking for houses.

My house is on the market and my children’s school, just around the corner has gone from a failing school to getting its first “good” from ofsted in 15 years a few months ago.

The first thing the local agents did was update the local listings with it! (Although, it still says “requires improvement” when you click on the schools bit on rightmove, which is annoying!)

Can you provide a Rightmove link to back that assertion? Because I’ve genuinely never seen it.

Loads of them will have “X school catchment” on the listing if there is a desirable school in the area. It’s a massive selling point. Schools are a huge reason people move to certain areas.

Here’s one from in Beckenham, it has two paragraphs on the local schools in the description.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161104613#/?channel=RES_BUY

It's the lead in the drinking water.

Just because you don't engage with any British culture beyond F&C, Paddington and pints, doesn't mean it doesn't exist and flourish.

Well generally I think yes it's not a nice way to describe people and suggests just because people are poor that they have no class. The 2 are not the same. And also suggesting that people have no class, simply because they're migrants is hugely racist and offensive. It's just tarring a huge swathe of society with one brush. Even in terms of education there's an assumption that you are less educated and poorer because you are a migrant.

The reality is that, as a whole those that most to the UK do so because they have means to do so and are usually well educated - in the last review, 44% of adult migrants had a higher education qualification, compared to 31% of UK-born adults.

There is a huge focus on the 'boat migrants' in this discussion when they actually make up only around 5% of overall migration to the UK, and even then it's a push to assume they are all poor and uneducated as you have to pay a huge amount for this route.

Ironically my experience is that there are none-so classless as Brits abroad. As a Brit who has lived abroad our reputation is quite frankly hugely embarrassing at best.

I mean it’s pretty much there’s money in it so it’s used.

High end shops and schools.

Nestled in the heart of Beckenham, Manor Way is steps away from a delightful array of shops, high-end boutiques, restaurants, cafes, wine bars and convenient amenities, as well as being within easy reach of an abundance of world-class schools. Commuting to James Allen's Girls School (JAGS), Alleyn's, Dulwich College, Trinity, Eltham, Whitgift and Sevenoaks School is effortlessly accomplished, with a short journey by school coach, train, or car.

The area also benefits from being within the catchment zone for two esteemed state grammar schools, St Olave's and Newstead Wood, as well as locally renowned 'outstanding' institutions like Langley secondary schools and Unicorn primary.

Probably not the point of the thread but I can't remember the last time I had decent fish and chips. Certainly before COVID.

Despite a round tour of all 11 chippies within a sensible distance (i.e. one requiring minimal reheat) none of them now keep fish in the cabinet because of the cost. This means they can only offer "freshly fried" fish which they pretend is a treat. Only (and I realise this may be personal taste) I hate crispy batter and much prefer it after steaming in the cabinet. With that pleasure denied the rare chippy visit will see either kebab meat or fishcake.

As you were.

Yep it’s pretty standard, if there’s good schools around.