AIBU to think that racism is getting a lot worse of late.

[AliceMaforethought]

Just read this awful story in the Guardian. Awful and makes me feel so angry and so unsafe as a half Black woman.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/20/family-in-fear-after-tommy-robinson-shares-video-of-black-man-with-white-granddaughters

Thank god for that, it was getting weird. Ok well if you accept the majority are against mass immigration, do you also accept that maybe stopping mass immigration and controlling it to be tens of thousands for a few years might also reduce tensions around all immigration? Or do we really need all this flag waving nonsense and a Reform Government to get it done.

Would you give me a straight answer please, do you really think the majority are in favour of mass immigration?

Trouble is neither main party solves this issue so what can you do.

I've given you an answer just not the one you want.

A. The majority continued to vote for mass immigration for 14 years.
B. Nothing was done by the Tories to reduce immigration eg investment in the British workforce.

If the majority vote for it, what does that say?

The nation has never had actually had a referendum on that specific question, so nobody can provide a definitive answer. What we do know is that the vast majority of voters have rejected the self-styled anti-immigration parties at successive elections. So we can deduce from that fact that not all voters are frothing about this issue quite as much as some posters would have us believe.

You could have voted for a party that was promising to solve it. Perhaps you did.

But most people chose not to.

No, I'm not mentally ill. It's perfectly possible to discuss immigration without being racist. If you are not actually racist.

If you read my post earlier I stated I didn’t want to vote for reform but it doesn’t mean I’m happy with the unsustainable situation that is occurring in the UK

So why didn't you vote for Reform, then?

Was it because you cared about other issues more than you care about immigration?

Or was it because you considered Reform to be too extreme, notwithstanding your concerns?

Both really and I don’t think reform is the answer

What on earth does saying the majority of the U.K. are against mass immigration have to do with me being racist? Honestly, it’s impossible to talk to you.

Would you give me a straight answer please, do you really think the majority are in favour of mass immigration?

Ok, are you saying the majority of the U.K. are in favour of mass immigration?

Yes/No

Why is this such a struggle for you guys?

I'd appreciate it if you stop hectoring me. I've already answered the question.

?!? Was the answer yes or no?

Edit: Actually don’t worry, it’s obvious the answer is no you don’t think the majority of the U.K. are in favour of mass immigration. Thanks for the great interaction 🙄

That's fine, I will survive if you don't talk to me.

What I actually said is that it might be difficult for you to understand the reality that most voters didn't prioritise concerns about immigration at the last election if you are surrounded by racists for whom that might be the no.1 issue.

Don't ask me again.

Given you accept the majority are against mass immigration, do you think it’s time we started listening to them?

Surely “mass immigration” is subjective anyway. We’ll all have different thresholds.

Might be 10k for someone, 100k for someone else, and absolute zero for others.

Being “against mass migration” will mean totally different things to different people. If you mean in the context of someone thinking zero is the aim, no I’m not against it. If you mean 100million a year, obviously I am.

But you’re asking people to judge whether they’re for or against something completely arbitrary.

I agree with this.

If you want an economy where people have the skills to do the jobs that need doing, you need to invest in people. Instead, the previous government cut opportunities for adults to retrain and upskill. They prioritised academic schooling over the practical skills the UK needed - EBACC, anyone? They did nothing to offer businesses incentives to train up and upskill their own staff - instead they focused exclusively on making people richer. They cut SureStart, which prioritised families at risk of crime and unemployment.

If you want an economy that can work with fewer immigrants, you need to invest in your own people. I see nothing in any of Reform's promises that will deliver that.

And if you start mass deportations, the economy will absolutely tank.

Blaming immigrants is not the way to go. Demanding investment, offering businesses tax breaks to train up staff and also employ disabled people by offering hybrid working, jobshares, reasonable adjustments - this is the way to go. We also need root and branch reform of the education system so that we properly value vocational education; not everyone needs Shakespeare and trigonometry. We need to identify those young people whose interests and aptiudes lie in skilled trades and get them on that track early.

But the people currently painting roundabouts don't want any of that. They'd call it hard left and scream about it.

I think it's time to accept that the anti-immigration party didn't win the last general election. Maybe they will win next time round, only time will tell. But in the meantime, the Labour government would be stupid to dance to Nigel Farage's tune. The electorate did not choose a far right government, so we should not be seeking to enact far right policies.

I agree.

People should be allowed to voice legitimate concerns and screams of 'racist' should no longer shut down the previously quiet voices of concern. Rather than an increase in racism, I think, more, we are seeing people with concerns becoming sick of being dismissed and shouted down, or being made to feel ashamed of, or guilty about, their country's heritage. 🤔

Is stopping mass immigration a far right policy?

The majority voted for mass immigration for 14 years. They got what they voted for. The party of zero immigration got 4 seats.

It's not as simplistic as you think eg hanging flags from lamp posts. In order for immigration to come down, strategies must be put in place to make up the loss in foreign students, care workers, hospitality, agriculture, the NHS, engineering and other areas which need skilled workers.