Regarding the Charlottesville statue of Robert E Lee - it'd be interesting to see how many Americans actually had ancestors who went to America before the Civil War. It's safe to say that if your name is British, Irish or German, then there's a good chance your ancestors were there at the time (although not definite), but if your name is Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Hispanic or Asian, they were not, as those waves of immigration were post 1860s. Intermarriage, naturally, will skew the figures.
Was listening to Any Questions on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon and something came up that involved the question of multiculturalism, which is anathema to certain sections of the population, mainly the right.
When the East India Company ruled India as its personal fiefdom, it was not unusual for British officers and administrators to have native wives, siring many Eurasian children with them and dress in the Indian manner - going native was the term used; a more modern term is integration. However, once the British government stepped in and ran India as a colony, this practise was frowned upon and the British started forming their clubs, separating themselves from the natives and isolating their culture from that of the indigenous population while living alongside it. That was an exercise in multiculturalism - the two cultures retaining their own, distinct identities.
Fast forward to the present time - in fact, every period from the mid 1800s - and the British are renowned the world over for taking their culture with them when being posted abroad, or even merely holidaying abroad. The irony is that the British are arch proponents of multiculturalism themselves, but, perversely, detest it taking place on their own soil and demand integration. It's an irony that's completely lost on Brexiteers, for whom immigration is the key reason for their vote last year, are always banging on about immigrants not integrating and insist on exporting their Little Englander attitudes when abroad.
Weather forecasters are predicting Monday to be the hottest day of the month. That won't be hard.
Was listening to Any Questions on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon and something came up that involved the question of multiculturalism, which is anathema to certain sections of the population, mainly the right.
When the East India Company ruled India as its personal fiefdom, it was not unusual for British officers and administrators to have native wives, siring many Eurasian children with them and dress in the Indian manner - going native was the term used; a more modern term is integration. However, once the British government stepped in and ran India as a colony, this practise was frowned upon and the British started forming their clubs, separating themselves from the natives and isolating their culture from that of the indigenous population while living alongside it. That was an exercise in multiculturalism - the two cultures retaining their own, distinct identities.
Fast forward to the present time - in fact, every period from the mid 1800s - and the British are renowned the world over for taking their culture with them when being posted abroad, or even merely holidaying abroad. The irony is that the British are arch proponents of multiculturalism themselves, but, perversely, detest it taking place on their own soil and demand integration. It's an irony that's completely lost on Brexiteers, for whom immigration is the key reason for their vote last year, are always banging on about immigrants not integrating and insist on exporting their Little Englander attitudes when abroad.
Weather forecasters are predicting Monday to be the hottest day of the month. That won't be hard.
10 comments:
Would you point to the fact that there are thousands of asian immigrants that cannot speak a word of english as integration. Or the fact that the vast majority are women, who are seen as no more than chattels, and that it would be waste of effort to teach them as they only stay at home for breeding purposes only, being integrated into our society and values, as this is abhorrent to most peoples standards. Or would you view the average Middle Eastern young mans ideas on the treatment of women, especially in regard to sexual boundaries to be the norm as per our terms? Having lived overseas for very many years in India, Pakistan, Africa and the Middle East, I find that the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted are completely alien to most of these cultures, in a lot of these places stepping outside the law often means severe beatings and inhuman jail conditions, whereas they soon learn in our "enlightened" society that this does not happen, or that certain boundaries in there own culture would result in death, for example sexual harassment or rape, in our culture these extremes do not exist. Intolerance towards women especially, who are always kept in the background, is the norm in there societies whereas in ours women have freedom of choice, in dress, attitude, education etc etc. The abhorrent cases of mainly Pakistani`s in several cities in the UK with regards to sexual abuse highlights this (they do not abuse there own) against white girls upholds this. I am not a little Englander, but the failed experiment of letting all these people in has gone to far, and as such needs to be reined in immediately, or do we want more home grown terrorists!! An intersting conversation I had with an Emerati who expressed amazement that we let these people in under the guise of being refugees...he said that we were mad, and that why do we think that the Gulf countries would never let them in?? And that was from a muslim, who perhaps understands the dangers better than we do!!
I'm not criticising either integration nor multiculturalism, but simply highlighting the irony of those calling loudest for integration being the least likely yo integrate themselves when abroad. The British expat that only speaks English and refuses to speak any other language is a familiar trope, as is the low level of teaching foreign languages in UK schools. When foreign languages became optional at GCSE, hardly anyone took the course, and now we have few schools offering foreign languages at A level. My son wanted to do French and German, but neither are on offer.
Well your last paragraph indicated that, as that was what warranted my response. English people are the laziest people in the world at languages, and if I had not lived and worked overseas I would not have appreciated that learning and being able to converse with the local populace is in fact quite good fun, even though you do balls it up occasionally but usually with it being met with good humour by the locals! I agree with you on the likes of the Spain crowd who go to lie on the beach after a good fry up and all good brit food throughout there Blackpool with sun vacation, and would avoid them like the plague! The best time to teach, or start teaching kids a foreign language is at primary school as soon as they go...they soak it up...my sister kids were fluent in arabic by the ages of 10 8 and 6...my sister learnt it as this was their "secret " language, so they learnt Urdu of the housemaid!!
My last paragraph? About Monday being the hottest day of the month?
For what it's worth, I never voted in the referendum; I would have found it difficult but at the age of 71 I decided that I would let the younger generation decide, as it would affect them long term. I don't think it was a cop out but....
We do a lot of boating and about 2005 ish. we used Boston in Lincs as a access point to the sea.
I recall going in a favourite pub one evening and sat in the bar, where a conversation was going on about local immigration (a lot of Portuguese and east Europeans)
The chap who had most to say, (who I had seen in there before and seemed a reasonable sort) was going on about this and I stuck my 2 penneth in about the benefits of them being here. Suffice to say this did not go down well and I avoided the place for a while.
I thought about his point of view, and over our next few visits there, I tend to agree with what he said.
Boston was not the town it was in 2001, when we first spent some time there. The population had become mainly immigrants, an imbalance to before. It was not unusual for them taking 'a leak' anywhere and on one occasion there was a bloke taking 'a dump' at the side of the path; on full view.
I think your judgement of 'Brexiteers' is too harsh.
I don't think everybody who voted that way hates immigration; more of too much,too fast; control is needed.
My brother lives in Cheltenham, so I get there now and then and I do think you are not really aware of the effect on the Eastern side of England of this right down to Kent.
Ah, the east coast. Yorvik has never been the same.
Oh well done CB you certainly raised the ire with that post :-).
What amazes me is how your critics are unable to distinguish in the usage of 'their and there' Which indicates a fundamental lack of British English usage; therefore supporting the theory that Brexiteers are educationally deficient.
Be careful, Mel - Vaughan went to the same school as myself. However, I triumphed over adversity...
No matter what school Phil... he still needs to
brush up on "their and there"
And oh by the by...- little Britain no longer rules the waves.
Ha- a likely story. Next you'll be telling me Queen Victoria has abdicated in favour of Bertie.
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