Coming to London has been quite the experience. Some good, some bad and some meh.....One thing that I find quite interesting is that I rarely meet British people. Where are they?? Have they fled this beautiful island for a more "pure" existence? Have they grown tired and weary of the way of life here?
I am quite disappointed that I don't meet British people and that I rarely hear any British accents. I know the UK is really struggling coming to terms with the huge influx of immigrants coming into their country (As an American, I'm included in this). But I can't claim benefits and I'm restricted in the number of hours I'm allowed to work in this country and pouring U.S. dollars into their university system is okay with them. So I think the British MIGHT be ok with me and that is a very big MIGHT. They have more of a problem with me being American than being black from what I can tell so far.
There are articles written almost daily in some of the papers about immigration and the problems that are associated with it. I'm not here to say yay for immigration or nay. I'm simply stating that if someone comes to London thinking they will get a "true" British experience, well they will be sadly disappointed. Yes, there are areas around here where the quintessential British experience is alive and well. It's usually on the outskirts of London where you can see the beautiful villages, parks, true pubs and have long conversations with natives of this beautiful land. I'm not saying you can't get that in London but between all of the restaurants from other nations (McDonalds anyone?) and walking up and down the sidewalks hearing every language but English, well it's a little disappointing.
The British are not happy with multiculturalism at all. They feel that Britain should remain "British." I don't find necessarily that they have a problem with blacks, although I feel there is racism towards the Caribbean blacks and the Africans in some instances. But I find their racism and xenophobic behavior is geared towards people who practice Islam and people who are from the Middle Eastern countries as well as Asia. Oh and I forgot, they don't like the Eastern Europeans either. All you have to do is thumb through any paper, look at a news program or go online and you will see stories about multiculturalism and it's negative effects on British society. Crime has increased because of multiculturalism they say. They say the job market is terrible because all the migrants are taking all of the jobs. The benefit system is being strained because of the number of migrants that are taking advantage of it. The British are not very subtle about their discomfort in multiculturalism. It's to the point now that they are putting caps on the number of legal migrants they are letting into the country. They also are putting stricter immigration policies in place. And with this new government, I think they are really depending on the prime minister to do an overhaul of the current immigration policies. From what I read, most people want Britain to pull out of the European Union so they can have more control over their borders. Also, when you get time, look up information on the BNP or the British National Party which I can say is the equivalent to the KKK except they seem a little bit more intelligent than KKK members, which isn't saying much. But they believe that the land should be given back to the indigenous people of this land. Meaning everyone that isn't British should go back to their native countries. Hmmmmm.....
The United States is having its own tug of war with immigration with the influx of hispanics coming in and of course the majority are upset with President Obama because they don't think he's doing enough. Now, we don't really get too upset about the job situation because more often than not, immigrants are doing jobs that most Americans won't do. But when a crime happens or terrorism or something that endangers the safety and security of America, then of course, we get concerned. But putting pressure on our government resources? I rarely hear people say that concerning immigrants. In fact, most Americans think it's blacks that are putting the strain on our benefits system.
Having said all of this to say as I veered off a little is that London is still British when you look at the buildings and all of the beautiful history around this city but the society itself is not really British anymore and that kind of makes me sad.
Thoughts?
20 comments:
I'm quite familiar with the BNP (I read up a lot on them while I was living in England) and I must disagree with your assessment. They're just as stupid as the KKK.
Re: Immigration - Yeah, a lot of folks I knew in London talked so negatively about immigrants, completely forgetting that I technically was one! Sigh...I'm not trying to tell the Brits how to handle immigration, but I also feel like they're using it as a scapegoat to avoid dealing with some of the other issues in the country. Yes, they're putting a cap on immigrants...but it only applies to non-EU immigrants, who are both the lowest in terms of numbers and the most skilled in terms of qualifications. Instead of addressing skills gaps in the society (like re-training programmes for folks who work/formerly worked in industries that are literally disappearing), the government cuts immigration to "free up jobs." That's not going to help people who are trained for those jobs anyway.
The thing that trips me out about the whole immigration debate in the UK is that folks fail to realise the positive impacts of immigration, such as lower tuition for British students ('cause we international students subsidize their education by paying out of our ass).
I'd also like to point out that two items seen as most English, curry and tea, were jacked from people they conquered (and people that later immigrated to the UK).
Oh England....which reminds me I think I'll be in London this weekend.
This is an interesting view. I have never been in Great Britain for an extended period of time (more than three months). While I was there, I often was cryptic about my country of origin because I was tired about debating politics! There seems to be an undercurrent of dislike/hatred for America/immigrants.
ABCinEurope, I sent my number to you on FB. If you have time, call me! And yeah, once I thought about it, the BNP is just as stupid and retarded as the KKK.
@Love, I have to constantly defend the United States over here. Oh and then had a nice guy tell me the other day that he probably knows more about America than I do and proceeded to quiz me on my states and capitals. Which by the way, I'm very good at! LOL! Gotta love this place.....
London itself is very diverse but the rest of the UK is very White.
I find it amusing that a country that spent most of the 20th century colonizing other countries is now bitching about "other" people coming to the UK.
London itself is very diverse but the rest of the UK is still very White.
Here is a link about the UK 2001 census: UK Census
Non-whites make up less than 10% of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and NI) population:
Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom
Non-whites just happen to congregate in a handful of cities. If you travel throught Britain you will see the lack of diversity.
Oops. The link didn't work. Hope it works this time: UK ethnicities
I'm not sure which papers you are reading or what television you are watching but your assessment is so far from what actually occurs in the UK. Instead of reading tabloids like the Daily Mail or the Sun, have a look at The Guardian, The Independent or watch the BBC and you'll see that most British people do not dislike Eastern Europeans, multiculturalism, etc.
I appreciate you are entitled to your own opinion. Still, London is not the UK but more importantly, most British people love London/UK because it is multicultural. Believing the newspapers that spout hatred in the UK is like saying you understand Americans because you watch Fox tv. It's a misrepresentation of what most people are like. Anyone not having lived in the UK or in your case, for a very short time, would get a very inaccurate viewpoint by reading your post.
Thanks Sandra for that link and the information!
Just wanted to give you that shout out and let you know that I'm finally here in London! It is interesting to read your thoughts now that this experience is really setting in for you, I would love to catch up with you more in person. Look forward to hearing from you soon!
I didn't realize your comments were moderated. My email address is la.la.thann@gmail.com and you can also call me at my brothers house/cell, but he is asleep now so I will get the # later! Can't wait to hear from you :)
The British are not happy with multiculturalism at all. They feel that Britain should remain "British.
Gurl, you need to stop reading the Daily Mail. Not all of us feel this way at all.
As for British accents, once you leave London there tends to be a greater variety.
There will be people with an RP accent kicking about London town though!
"All you have to do is thumb through any paper, look at a news program or go online and you will see stories about multiculturalism and it's negative effects on British society. Crime has increased because of multiculturalism they say. They say the job market is terrible because all the migrants are taking all of the jobs."
lol I'm commenting again, but it can't be said enough: The Daily Fail. Don't read it. It's full of nonsense and scaremongering 75% of the time.
"The British are not very subtle about their discomfort in multiculturalism. It's to the point now that they are putting caps on the number of legal migrants they are letting into the country. They also are putting stricter immigration policies in place. And with this new government here, I think they are really depending on David Cameron and his party to do an overhaul of the current immigration policies. From what I read, most people want Britain to pull out of the European Union so they can have more control over their borders"
I'm truly sorry for spamming, but it's so sad that this has been your experience. Are there people who think this way? Yes, of course. (Not enough of them to give the Tories a majority in the general election, though ;))
London is very multicultural, but not everyone has the same views over immigration. The policies tend to be sensationalised by the press, some of whom live for stories like this.
Dan and Dan say it better that I do, in a funnier way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI
Good insight about the immigration issues over there Tecla. It's been an intense topic for a while now - that's why I was soooo afraid and paranoid about getting to London ASAP, because the immigration and Visa laws change about twice a year... and if you're two days late, too bad. I know so many people from my UK Yankee/Visa website that missed out on the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme Visa about 18 months ago, because for a while it only required a Bachelors, then without warning one day it required a Masters! So people counting on it were totally out of luck. Some people spend years there trying to reach the length limit to get a Visa, and then it's changed in the middle and they have to leave after years of work/waiting.
I don't know how to feel about immigration overall considering it's going to be something difficult I'll have to face when trying to relocate to Europe. AND I've witnessed it all my life living in Arizona. It's so racist and cruel and ruthless here... people act as if they wouldn't do the same damn thing. I bet anyone, if born in somewhere like Mexico, and had a starving family, would illegally cross over to the U.S. if it meant feeding their children, but people born here in AZ act as if it's a right and not a privilege... they seem to forget they never did anything to earn their citizenship... they just got lucky. They could have been born in Ecuador for godsake; all I can be sure of with immigration is that more people should be more grateful and empathetic for immigrants. You don't have to "open the border to all", but you can sympathize and such, no? It seems to be a problem everywhere. In Italy the same thing is true with people from all over Africa. Everywhere you go there are native Africans trying to make a living selling things on the street, and they have to run/hide whenever the police come by. It's sad. I realize how lucky I am to have been born in America and that if I don't make it to Europe and gain my EU citizenship I have nothing to bitch about.
I'm commenting again, and I really do apologise for spamming. I also apologise for the disconnected and slightly nonsensical comments I left yesterday!
No worries.
After living here for nine months my husbands *still* gets surprised when he hears British accents. We don't have any close British friends in London so the only accents we hear are on TV.
Personally, I fled the UK at the earliest possible opportunity. :D
Though, speaking as a Brit myself, I love multiculturalism and welcome it with open arms.
I agree most with the anonymous poster - January 22, 2011 8:13 PM
I do not feel that your comments paint an accurate picture of what the majority of Brits feel about multiculturalism and immigration. Of course this has been your experience thus far but I definitely feel as though it is a misrepresentation. There are negative feelings out there for immigration of course but I think some new news sources might be good to check out.
I think a lot of people do recognise the positive impacts of immigration. As ABCinE said international students fund home students, the students and others in academia get that. However, the government can mostly control non-eu citizens from coming in the country so that is why it is being done.
The UK has been quite easy to get into for the longest time. But it's a tiny island, resources are strained and jobs aren't as readily available. They have gotten on controlling this a little late and now have to pull back heavily.
Also I hear British accents all the time! Where are you hanging out/living??
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