Fear and loathing in contemporary Britain *
November 23, 2004 ~ 1:37 p.m.
(* With all due apologies to Hunter S. Thompson)
While out for a rare bit of socializing yesterday, several times I encountered the sort of sick irony one would expect�indeed, perhaps would have predicted�from the fallout over New Labour�s brave new world of asylum seeker-conscious compassion and altruism.
As a prelude to the story I am about to relate, I refer the reader to a piece that I had recently written, which I closed by sermonizing:
The issue[s] that matter in Britain are � asylum seeker and immigration policy, [which] Labour have done nothing about � Polls reveal the British public in favor of [a] firm immigration policy and a reduction in asylum cases.
The point was: Stuff the anti-war and fox-hunting brigades and get to what people in this country really care about. A sensible immigration policy, which Britain glaringly lacks, would do more to unite a Disunited Kingdom.
What gives me cause to muse like this?
Firstly, to begin my evening, I went to get some money from an ATM by the supermarket. Some obviously drunk men, sitting on the bench by the entrance, were discussing the evils of foreigners with each other. It was troubling to listen to: �I�m telling you, mate, this country�s gone to shit, it�s in tatters. Used to be a great country, now it�s rubbish! I fought for this country, and what did I get for it? The shaft! An� you know why, mate? �Cause of all these foreigners who come here and do nothing but whinge and lounge about, while you and I get fuck-all!� As I collected my money, I had to wonder how a white American fit into their scenario. Somehow I don�t think they�d mind me, any differences over George W. Bush and Iraq notwithstanding.
Which leads me to the second xenophobia-laced encounter of the evening: I went into the pub to meet the wife and have dinner before seeing a film at the movie theater. We had plenty of time on our hands�another hour to kill�so I thought I might as well order a cigar from the bar and have a leisurely smoke. But I didn�t have a lighter on me, so I asked the man sitting adjacent to us if he�d mind if I borrowed his. He said no. He had heard me speaking in conversation with my wife, and so he knew my accent was �different.� I provide details of the ensuing t�te-�-t�te between us:
�Where you from? The States, or perhaps Canada?�
�The States�Boston, specifically.�
�Oh. What are you over here for?�
�I�m married. I�ve lived and worked here steadily for the past four years.�
�No need for an equivalent of your Green Card then?�
I laughed. �I did pay my dues. I had to get a variety of visas. I wouldn�t describe it as a walk in the park.�
�Well,� he sighed, and I could tell there was going to be a parting shot as I returned to my table. There was. �At least you�re white.�
I was speechless. My mouth just hung open for a second or two. I thanked him again for the use of his lighter and said no more. I don�t even think I tasted my cigar.
The third awful thing I witnessed that same night was at the bus stop while waiting to get home from the cinema. There was an advertisement for a laundry detergent that showed a smiling black girl among freshly washed linens. Across the girl�s face, somebody had scrawled: �Rights 4 Whites!� To the left of this was written, �We pay for emigrants, GET IT?�
Let me get this straight: If the concern of native (white) Brits is that Johnny Foreigners are scrounging off the fat of the land that they helped to build and fight for (and that foreigners have no right to dip their tentacles into), then who�s to say that all British citizens aren�t entitled to preferential treatment? Who�s to say that black girl in the advertisement wasn�t born and bred here? If so, she�s British.
Ah, but that�s not the whole story. She�s not white. So it�s not just xenophobia at play here. It�s that old standby�that one emotion you can really count on to be the deciding factor in all matters of scapegoating�racism. It�s a double whammy, a lose-lose situation for Mr. Darkie Johnny Foreigner. Not only are you lounging about on benefits, but you�re spreading your non-white genes across this green island of God�s. How dare you!
The problem is not immigrants per se�rare is the Western democracy that does not thrive on immigration, at least on a controlled, secure basis. The problem is that immigrants and minorities�as they have been in America, in France, in Germany, and now in Britain�are convenient scapegoats for crime of all sorts, from muggings to vehicle theft to benefits (welfare) fraud. But the image of druggie, deadbeat parents who let their barely pubescent angels run riot, get pregnant and soak up tax-funded welfare is in no way limited to this much-maligned group. If I had a nickel for all the white (trash) families I�ve seen who could use six months of boot camp to teach them basic manners, never mind instilling within them a sense of social responsibility or civic pride, I�d probably be attending lottery/charity soirees every night where tuxedos are de rigueur and the patrons all have spoons up their noses. Get it?
Yes, we cannot fit everyone who wants to come here into this relatively small and crowded island nation. Yes, many refugee and asylum seeker claims are unfounded. Yes, there have been stories of foreigners granted asylum smashing their free accommodation to get larger digs. Yes, there�s benefit fraud and violent crime committed by immigrants. Yes, there are those in our midst who think that jihad should be the chief guiding principle of the Government to ensure that they get their heavenly rewards, naked virgins and all other such Allah-approved accoutrements.
But, for the sake of coherent public policy, one would be well-advised to do away with the broad brush. Or, on second thought, to perhaps maintain a broader brush that will take into account any violations of the social contract that includes all native born Brits who haven�t fought to make this country a greater, more fruitful land and clearly have no intention of ever doing so. Or else, we risk becoming a country modeled on the British National Party.
And only then, only after they have come to their senses, could they play their part to pressure the Government to adopt a sensible asylum/immigration reform scheme, along the lines of which Michael Howard has already spelled out. Despite what the knee-jerk, politically correct cognoscenti like to think, it�s not a crime to call for immigration reform. But it is every British citizen�s duty to help get the job done without the racism.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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