With elections
round the corner there is a lot of talk of immigrants and their benefit to the nation. I had a
conversation earlier this year with my priest and very rarely am I told off (I
was glad I was in this case). I pointed out how good immigrants were for the
economy as I contribute by paying taxes and paying for things…. I was stopped
there and then and asked what if I didn’t do any of that should I be asked to
leave the country?
While the anti
side protests that we rob precious resources the side that supports us thinks
of us in terms of how we benefit society and them. both these arguments are
selfish… its just that one is less selfish than the other. I have heard people
tell me how grateful they are to immigrants who built roads as there were none
in Britain till we came in. Sounds like a compliment or is it? What if we
didn’t build roads? I find this assumption problematic as it positions the
immigrants as the new working class and can only think of them in terms of
productivity. This argument calls to mind a sketch by Rowan Atkinson about
immigrants and curry.
I will let you
watch it.
The line now
that we have got the recipe is hilarious and it points to a deeper problem – we
have stopped being useful and therefore should be asked to leave. Working class
immigrants are elevated and white ones demonised as scroungers which ferments
animosity and has lead to the rise of groups such as the EDL.
What if we
didn’t make curry, roads, or take up any job that came our way would we still
be welcome? Working in jobs no one wants to is not our choice it is a necessity
(we aren’t given allowed access to public funds). I agree we contribute to the economy
however human society isn’t about working alone.
Is our worth to
be measured only in how we can make the lives of the middle classes comfortable and
exotic?
PS: Comments
about the previous post ruffled some feathers. Yes some white people are very
nice and have wonderful personalities and good intentions which I have every
right to question. Good manners are not being questioned here just the thought
process around certain ideas.
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