« Universal experts and the global warming debate .... | Main | Places I love »
October 24, 2005
The multi-cultural myth
If one believes the promoters of "multi-culturalism", it is supposed to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect. It is supposed to defuse and remove forever, the problem of racial bias and hatred. That is why the government have squandered millions on promoting the rights and cultural superiority of so many ethinic minority groups over the "native" culture of the UK. So, if this is what it is supposed to do, why have we had two nights of rioting in Birmingham between Afro-Caribbean community members on one hand and Asian community members on the other? Don't they live in harmony? They share a section of the inner city and are both "oppressed" and "under represented" minorities as our political leaders so frequently tell us. Why are they embarking on such a course of enmity?
Partly, I would suspect, because the promotion of multi-cultural ideals has meant that communities are now retreating into small, isolated cultural ghettoes, making it much easier for psychological barriers to be erected between groups and to promote perceptions of "injustice". Taking just one aspect, the Asian community appears, on the whole, to be in better paid jobs than their Afro-Caribbean counterparts. This makes it easy, when there is a suggestion of discrimination, to promote the idea that Asians get a better deal. Look around at the evidence of this - as the communities do not mix either culturally or socially at any but the most basic levels such as work or trade, there is a complete lack of understanding between the groups. To an Afro-Caribbean from the poorer end of the social scale (or to a caucasian from a UK lineage!) Asian businessmen often seem arrogant, aloof and influential. This creates resentment, and resentment breeds distrust. Thus, it becomes extremely easy to introduce a mythical rape of a teenager from the supposedly disadvantaged group - and spark a riot when the MP for the area (an Asian as it happens in Birmingham) arrives and tries to deal with the problem by making political platform speeches about multi-culturalism which do not address the problem.
It really is time to take note of the dangers this "separate development" of "cultural integrities" poses. Even the Commission for Racial Equality is now wondering about the wisdom of this ideology. What is plainly evident is that it fuels distrust of "other groups", it promotes disengagement between groups and it creates a feeling of alienation for all those affected by policies of "positive discrimination".
The flare-up of violence in Lovells Road over the weekend, should be a wake-up call to politicians of all shades on opinion. It is time to stop promoting "difference" and to adopt a more pragmatic and sensible approach which will see integration and closer understanding between groups. Discrimination on any grounds is unacceptable, isolationism leads only to distrust and abuse and should be resisted by all sensible people.
If we do not, the events over the past weekend, could well become the future prospect for racial conflict. I sincerely hope it will not be, but we must get the politicians to acknowledge that this ideological nonsense has failed - and to find common sense ways of moving forward to proper fairness, dignity and opportunity in an integrated and racially diverse nation.
Posted by The Gray Monk at October 24, 2005 01:42 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt3.mu.nu/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3256
Comments
I think you're absolutely right - integration is the key to racial harmony - not separate development as promoted by the multiculturalists. The starting point has to be a review of UK immigration & asylum policies. The problems you have highlighted are only compounded by mass immigration, together with very poor border controls. We are currently in the position of holding our fingers in the leaking dyke - how many illegals are there in the UK? We can only guess! The problem is further compounded by the threat of terrorism. How can we tackle this problem effectively if a): we discourage integration thus allowing the disaffected members of the Muslim community to express themselves in the way they did on July 7th; and b): we do not know how many potential terrorists are landing on our shores?
Sadly, the human rights 'culture' only compounds the situation when we do identify undesirables, and we are unable to take effective action. I'll bet the politicians wish they could duck out of this problem - but they can't!
Posted by: Slim Jim at October 25, 2005 11:10 AM