In thinking the woman Gordon Brown called a bigot deserved it ?

[SwissCheeseIsHolyCheesus]

Because she was in fact a bigoted, bigotty pants .

Her husband's parents may have grown up in Ireland, though, or her husband may have.

I don't think the problem is immigration, it's the fact that employers can get away with paying people a lot less than they might if MT (Conservative) hadn't hobbled the unions. (And did she not also claim to have defeated Communism?) Young, unattached people are attracted to a country where they can work and get paid anything above what's available for them at home, which usually means a country where employers can get away with cutting costs in this way. Once upon a time it was the Irish who were doing this, in droves (including a good few of my relatives). Hence the surname Duffy in the UK.

I think without becoming almost racist in my explanation this is how these feelings have become common in my community.

Oldham as is Rochdale is made up of many estates ....many years ago when Asian people first began coming to Oldham they came to do jobs that some 'white' men wouldnt do- the only housing available for these people were on the outskirts so they began as more and more of them came to build their own community- you cant say its a fault,if I moved abroad and the only place I could live was very rundown and most of my neighbours were of the same ethnicity as me I daresay I would feel comforted feeling as though i was living back in Oldham - as these families became richer (through hard work) they began to buy houses in similarly rundown areas and these were on previously 'posh' estates big houses enough to accomodate 2-3 families but enabling them to work and prosper - that family that began on that estate may now be living in a beautiful part of Oldham having worked hard to get where it is - however a lady who has grafted for everything she has but been hindered by the lack of opportunity and support network that Asian families share may be clouding her envy with jealousy and therefore judging unfairly.

I see the same thing happening with other Immigrants now particularly the Polish who are now forming there own communities away from us- unless we somehow embrace integration how can these views of the older generations ever be changed?

Similarly a lot of immigrants (in this case Polish people) come to England work bloody hard with 2-3 jobs purely to earn and either one day return home reasonably wealthy or to help support family back home - kind of a reverse russian wife thing.

YANBU

Good posts, Nickschick. And surely all that money sent home to Poland is going to eventually result in a Poland that can offer Poles (and maybe others) more than it could previously?

"a part of it is that there is a lot of latent hostility, tribal aggressionn, and racism in the British mindset.with the right catalyst, it would be easy to manipulate the mindset. Especially at that time. "

And especially in Rochdale.

I live in lancashire and not a million miles away from Rochdale and the overall tone of the area is very threatening, it would actually be my nearest shopping centre but I avoid it.
There is already substantial support for the BNP around here and yesterday, I had a leaflet posted through my door from, wait for it...the national front.

I went for an interview in Rochdale the other week and was told that because I am well spoken I would not fit in with what they were looking for.

I am seriously considering a move mainly because of the bigotry, I don't want ds to be influenced by it.

YANBU

Caininthepunt- and dont you think that some 'parties' are using these tensions to illicit votes from people who arent accurately informed??

nickschick Yes, its totally opportunistic.

YANBU, the reality is she probably is a bigot.

Rochdale is not nice neither is Oldham due to the bigotry and small mindedness of the people that live there, that's the truth of it.

I live in South manchester and have lived in central in Hulme near Moss Side. Yes these areas have their problems but many different races and culture live side by side here. Go north of the city and it's a completely different culture, racist white working class predominantly. When I worked in Prestwich I was shocked at some of the openly racist attitudes expressed by some of the staff.

I love Manchester but parts of Greater Manchester/Lancashire are absolutely awful because of this prevailing attitude.

Well said Minx.
Being an immigrant to the area I didn't realise it was specific to the north of the city and Lancashire.
I had started to think it was just the way it is in the north of England.

unfortunately the north of England has this reputation because of places like Rochdale/Oldham/Burnley etc etc. However Manchester is a huge and culturally diverse city, as is Liverpool.

I think more culturally diverse areas of the city also have a high percentage of students living there and young professionals who are students who've stayed after leaving University. This amounts to a more educated, diverse and fluid population, and a more pleasant atmosphere as there's no segregation between different sectors of the community.

Yes of course.

I find it quite sad, the hills and greenery around me are so beautiful, it could be such a lovely place to live were it not for all the ugliness.

I think the problem is that people are living in poverty and instead of looking at how they can change it,not neccesarily financially just make their community a 'nicer' place - they blame it instead on a culture that tends to stick together and help each other.

Yes - she did sound like a bigot. Being an 'ordinary, hardworking old lady' does not mean you cannot be a bigot. She spoke in the same terms as my mother does - my mother is also a bigot.

When it first emerged I was pleased because GB was speaking his (unspun) mind and I agreed with him. I'm only sorry that he has backtracked - it makes me think less of him.

'What we need is an influx of eastern european banking bosses that will do the job for less, then we can end this ridiculous, 'we have to pay them millions or they'll go somewhere else' debacle. '

Genius.

Are bigot's allowed an opinion?

Bigots are totally allowed an opinion. They just shouldn't be surprised/offended when they are called bigots.

should bigots be kept away from PM's when they are trying to court public favour?

A bigot is "a person who is prejudiced in their views and intolerant of the opinions of others". (Oxford dictionaries online)

This word is being used too loosely on here to describe anyone who does not agree with their views, Gillian Duffy who the PM insulted was not a bigot, just relaying resonable concerns that the majority of the electorate have. Just because MN majority do not agree with her she is called a bigot .

That incident last week between the PM and Mrs Duffy just shows how out of touch with the people he is, not used to meeting real people with real concerns. The deal breaker was not that he used the word bigot, he described the meeting as a disaster, and and said 'who put that woman in front of me', just because it was not staged and he ended up being confronted with a real person with real concerns, for him it was a disaster

Mrs Duffy might not have used the right phrases mabey she was nervous, if you look at that dictionary definition she is no bigot.

I expect in Spain and other countries where they have a high number of British expats, they are probably thinking the same way.

"Rochdale is not nice neither is Oldham due to the bigotry and small mindedness of the people that live there, that's the truth of it."

well there's a sweeping generalisation if ever I saw one, that's the truth of it...

I would agree that some people in Rochadale are small minded, but NOT all of them. DH'd family live there & they are NOT like that at all, well except for one barking Auntie (but doesn't every family have a barking Auntie )

well said pigletmania

I agree she didn't use "PC" language, but she was only voicing the concerns of many, which all the main parties seem to be avoiding.

In some areas such is the increase in population & birth rate that health, social services, education, housing, etc just can't cope with the demand. Politicians should be addressing these legitimate concerns not calling people a "bigot" and "that woman" for having the nerve to ask a question about it.

As I said earlier, my mum is of Armenian heritage born in Cyprus and she can be described as being a bigot as she has quite strong views should I say on immigration as is a couple of other Armenians that I know. So its not just confined to the ingiginous white British person, there is a lot of prejudice within cultures too.

My grandmother is of Lebanese descent (quite) and all her life held some very bigoted and racist views. I use to put it down to her illiteracy but I that doesn't in my opinion excuse her views, especially when she and her family were welcomed into a multiracial country in the West Indies.

Just because someone is an immigrant themselves doesn't make them immune to bigotry, Pigletmania.

Some of the most bigoted views I have heard come from ethnic minorities themselves. Some hold nasty views about other ethnic groups who are facing exactly the same sort of discrimination from the conventional culture and which leave me shaking my head.

I know foxy I have heard it first hand myself and I was not only from my mum but other people from other cultures. I think that the general concensus is that it is only white fascists that hold such BNP type views, well no not always.