The reason London IS London is due to people from everywhere makkng it their home. Without that we would have no beigels, no biryani, no proper Turkish kebabs, no fish & chips (yeah, may not be a biggie to you, but it is to me matey!) no...well anything that makes this wonderful, gruby, exciting, mildly bonkers, diverse city a great place to be.
As a Caucasian import to this country I’m well aware of the othering from some in this country. Yet this has been my home for decades. It took Brexit though to fully reveal the hidden and not so hidden racism here. An older ‘friend’ exhibited racism towards immigrants. I replied that I too was one. After they recovered from their shock that their words might apply they said ‘you’re not the same’ by which was meant an undoubted reference to my skin colour. Then I visited the East End to the home of a stranger. When we exited their home they looked across the street where some people with skin colour from the Indian sub-continent were standing and said ‘They will be leaving for a start.’ I offered the POV that Brexit was not going to do that to people who were born in the UK but was sending away mostly white people. I was assured that I was wrong.
It is the misinformation and misunderstanding of what a vibrant and varied culture the UK offers that is so unfortunate. The richness of such a mixed society that calls to many immigrants and residents combined with a view (highly distorted now) that there’s a fail-safe below which no one should fall that makes those who favour egalitarianism over liberalism comfortable here.
Even one who is ‘the correct colour’ and speaks English natively is sensitive to othering. It must be much worse for those not from within that small subset of immigrants. Public policy is likely to blame. Is that a surprise as many of those who lead this country seem to be imbued largely with that self-same POV in spades and not only with regard to immigrants but similarly with regard to those who are less well-educated, financially able or indeed less well-spoken? I can only hope that the UK swings back towards acceptance and celebration of the other soon because it is not the place I came to all those decades ago.
As a Bangladeshi immigrant who dreamed of becoming British, then paid the tax and took the test to become British, for the longest time I'd get frankly enraged when I needed to convince a Brit that actually I'm British too. Ten or so years ago my work took me to Geneva, then France, and now that I'm based in Spain, living in among the expat (read: glorified immigrant) world, I've become used to people wanting to know about my origin story. I have a Russian and a Croatian friend who are absolutely American, but when we talk about food, sports or politics, I find myself asking them questions as though they are spokespersons for the land they were born in. So I can't complain when they do the same to me. Now, when someone asks me where I'm from, I just tell them "born in Bangladesh, raised in Britain". If some twat needs proof I've integrated and am "British enough", meet me in the pub, where I'll be downing pints with my bacon sandwiches, ignoring the shit out of them.
Well said that Bear!
As a born'n'bred London as long as you
a) say "good morning!"
b) moan about the weather (Winter AND Summer)
c) don't frighten the horses
then you're in!
The reason London IS London is due to people from everywhere makkng it their home. Without that we would have no beigels, no biryani, no proper Turkish kebabs, no fish & chips (yeah, may not be a biggie to you, but it is to me matey!) no...well anything that makes this wonderful, gruby, exciting, mildly bonkers, diverse city a great place to be.
Rant over. Carry on.
As a Caucasian import to this country I’m well aware of the othering from some in this country. Yet this has been my home for decades. It took Brexit though to fully reveal the hidden and not so hidden racism here. An older ‘friend’ exhibited racism towards immigrants. I replied that I too was one. After they recovered from their shock that their words might apply they said ‘you’re not the same’ by which was meant an undoubted reference to my skin colour. Then I visited the East End to the home of a stranger. When we exited their home they looked across the street where some people with skin colour from the Indian sub-continent were standing and said ‘They will be leaving for a start.’ I offered the POV that Brexit was not going to do that to people who were born in the UK but was sending away mostly white people. I was assured that I was wrong.
It is the misinformation and misunderstanding of what a vibrant and varied culture the UK offers that is so unfortunate. The richness of such a mixed society that calls to many immigrants and residents combined with a view (highly distorted now) that there’s a fail-safe below which no one should fall that makes those who favour egalitarianism over liberalism comfortable here.
Even one who is ‘the correct colour’ and speaks English natively is sensitive to othering. It must be much worse for those not from within that small subset of immigrants. Public policy is likely to blame. Is that a surprise as many of those who lead this country seem to be imbued largely with that self-same POV in spades and not only with regard to immigrants but similarly with regard to those who are less well-educated, financially able or indeed less well-spoken? I can only hope that the UK swings back towards acceptance and celebration of the other soon because it is not the place I came to all those decades ago.
I want my country back.
The country that's tolerant, welcoming to strangers, supportive of one another:
The country that recognises that things work best when we all pull together and everyone chips in their share.
The country where we look out for one another, in the knowledge that caring for everyone benefits us all.
The country that offers those in need a nice cup of tea, not a slammed door.
That's the country I want back.
As a Bangladeshi immigrant who dreamed of becoming British, then paid the tax and took the test to become British, for the longest time I'd get frankly enraged when I needed to convince a Brit that actually I'm British too. Ten or so years ago my work took me to Geneva, then France, and now that I'm based in Spain, living in among the expat (read: glorified immigrant) world, I've become used to people wanting to know about my origin story. I have a Russian and a Croatian friend who are absolutely American, but when we talk about food, sports or politics, I find myself asking them questions as though they are spokespersons for the land they were born in. So I can't complain when they do the same to me. Now, when someone asks me where I'm from, I just tell them "born in Bangladesh, raised in Britain". If some twat needs proof I've integrated and am "British enough", meet me in the pub, where I'll be downing pints with my bacon sandwiches, ignoring the shit out of them.
I often think it would be a good idea for some people to be blind, to colour that is.
Bravo, as always, spot on.
I think it’s all part of this governments strategy to cause division in the country, which seems to be they’re main policy