Is anyone else getting quite tired of being called a racist?

[Peppatina]

I know it can't just be me.

It doesn't matter what carefully thought out reasons a brexiter has for wanting to leave (I've seen some very articulate and reasoned ones on mn itself) we are still all getting lumped into a stereotypical group of closet racist idiots.

And Lord forbid any of those reasons might just involve any concern over levels of eu migration!

I've been told that I'm essentially imagining the three week waiting list for my GP or that this is nothing to do with eu migration. If I say I know it is because of the names being called out I become the equivalent of Enoch Powell.

The same goes for a certain local estate very much being a no go area, especially for young girls. After braving this street once with my children and being spat on and shouted at by a group of very hostile Romanian men/boys I've been told I imagined it.

When I had my son a few week ago my I was the only English speaking person in my ward. A polish man was shouting and being very aggressive to staff as they were struggling to find an interpreter.

I absolutely know that not every migrant is aggressive and that they should build more schools and go surgeries but I believe I'm right to be concerned about a high number of migrants who are not intergrating with their local community and the unsustainable strain on services.

I'm sick of being told that my experiences don't matter. That to even mention that this is what life is like in our town means I am a racist or little englander.

When you are talking about the EU and immigration, the fact that they are Polish is relevant.

Don't get me wrong elephant, I see that and I agree with you! I was trying to make a point about the circumstance when that would be a bit ; the context was as a response to someone saying about the use of the word lovely so not specific. In this context I have no problem with the nationality being cited as relevant. But in the same context the "lovely" is relevant, so not "a bit racist" as I think it was described.

Sorry, hockey, I must read more carefully!

Two thirds of school children in Barking and Dagenham are of Eastern European

Can you articulate why that is a problem?

Another on doctors surgeries over run with Eastern Europeans

'overrun' is an emotive and, on its own, pretty meaningless term.

But, agirlhasnomoney, I don't really say things like that and those 'lovely' people were all made up. It was my way of demonstrating the potential dangers of extrapolating from one's own personal experience. And it is certainly not racist to be interested in finding out where people you meet were born or to hear when they tell you.

Look sapphire you think everything is hunky dory as you keep saying....

I don't!!!!!

I think it's a problem

It's my opinion on immigration

I do not like my child to be a minority in her uk school.

Quiet simple!

And I would like her to be able to get a doctors appointment

I do not like my child to be a minority in her uk school. Quiet simple!

That isn't a simple statement though. That's why I'd like to hear the thinking
behind it. Why is being a minority a problem?

Because most of the time the three tutors they have had to employ for her class alone spend their time translating the lessons for the other students

The other students get extra lessons out of hours however she does not qualify and no extra help is given as she English

Jellied - what's so bad about people who were born in a different place/have a different heritage? Why do you not want diversity at your children's school?

I do not like my child to be a minority in her uk school. And I would like her to be able to get a doctors appointment

Is that going to change if Britain leaves the EU then? Because if that's really what the people are voting for, we're going to have a lot of very pissed off and disappointed people.

Jellied dd speaks perfect english and is in the top group in her class..is she ok? Actually all the kids in her class speak english even though they are not all British. Her class must be some kind of utopia i guess.

Is that going to change if Britain leaves the EU then? Because if that's really what the people are voting for, we're going to have a lot of very pissed off and disappointed people.

This is the thing, isn't it? All the Sturm und Drang about immigration and, actually, if we leave, we'll be in the same position. Only with shit trade deals.

Saphire exactly extra housing,schools, whatever aren't suddenly going to show up. Actually more and more schools are being shut down and merged. Plus i doubt much will change in regards of eu migration,and nothing at all in regards with non eu migration. I don't get why people believe that being out of the EU will stop all traffic...and even if it did,what about non eu and commonwealth migration?

I actually cannot be bothered to comment anymore.

Please keep on going. As I have said they are my opinions and I share them with many others

Please by all means take my leave as a reason to justifiably rip me a new one.

I'm still voting out.

I struggle to get a doctor's appointment, but I live in an area with really low levels of immigration. Things really aren't so clear cut as "immigration is why public services are crap".

I do not like my child to be a minority in her uk school.
I don't understand this. I went to a school were I was definitely in the majority. Most people looked and sounded like me, we all had families with the same religion, roughly the same income, and most of my friends' parents were all from the local area. I don't think I benefitted from it in the slightest. In fact, moving to a city for my university years where I mixed with people who has a wider range of experiences was massively beneficial to me. Why would anyone actively want their children to have such a narrow upbringing?

I will await the day when we watch Question Time and someone in the audience wails that they still can't get a GP appointment and their DC are still minorities at school and they'd voted OUT because the Exiters had promised to sort out EU immigration.

Then BoJo can laugh patronisingly and ask when he said he was going to do that? Because as far as I can see is all they've done is point out the downsides of EU immigration without actually saying they're going to sort it out because they know if they still want a trade deal they're going to have to agree to freedom of movement.

Then the IN voters can say "Well what did you expect? A bloody magic wand?" And ask if they're enjoying their sovereignty and if it's changed their lives.

I just think it's hilarious talking about Barking, Ilford, Dagenham and East Ham like they used to be lovely, traditional British havens. They were crap 30 years ago and they're still crap and it's got bog all to do with immigration.

I grew up in East London. I've also lived in north London. Now I live in south east London. I can't imagine raising my DC anywhere else. I love the diversity in this city. I love the fact I can go into a tiny corner shop on any given street and buy all kinds of exotic herbs and spices. I love the fact you can now get decent pierogi from the polish delis. I love the fact I grew up amongst a million cultures. At no point whatsoever did I feel bothered I was a "minority" in my school, nor am I so insecure I feel intimidated when I hear someone speaking another language in the queue at the post office. Neither of these things threaten my identity as a British person in any way.

I am not wearing rose tinted glasses; a lot of problems exist in some cultures which need to be tackled particularly wrt attitudes to women. Most of my friends from these cultures agree and are trying to be part of the change.

But frankly if the above means I have to wait a bit longer for a GP appointment that's fine by me.

I think the point is about Dagenham etc is that they are already poor areas with often over stretched services etc

High levels of immigration in these areas stretch services further so these areas and people who live there take the brunt of the issues

Naturally people will gravitate to live close to people they know when moving abroad, but when you have councils putting large numbers of people in areas that are often already struggling it's creates more struggles not less or that is where the lowest rents are and not all come here with the financial option of living somewhere like Chelsea or Blackheath

Jellie feel free to vote how u want. It's your right but don't vote out based on migration only as you'll be badly disappointed when very little,if anything at all will change.

I love the diversity in this city. I love the fact I can go into a tiny corner shop on any given street and buy all kinds of exotic herbs and spices.

I just think that's 'hilarious.'

Why, Mooing?

oh the good old corner shop

Run by those Asians such nice people

It could be seen as patronising

Why is that hilarious???