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Every country is always like that. People are like that. Some of them push back against it, others embrace it and make it a way of life.
The latter
You don't really enlighten what you are talking about so I'll just assume but it's unfair to say everyone who breaks off is xenophobic. I am sure a phobia exists for certain people but we can't say the fears in other countries relate to being "scared of" foreigners. Rape for instance has grown since Germany opened borders and there's more than enough evidence provided that radical Islamic groups encourage lone wolf attacks and also have people that came in with all those refugees. You can't really blame people for wanting to take back control of their countries where their own government and various political groups are bent on being tolerant at the expense of other people.
What do you think of the worldwide reaction to the UK pulling out of the EU m'dear? The US stock market dropped 610 points yesterday...a loss of over $800 billion! Worldwide the stockmarket loss is over $2 trillion. No one knows what is coming next. The people who voted to leave were described as angry/anti-immigrant/working class whites/older/uneducated. Similar to those who support Trump. No one knows what's coming next but it could inv
olve/include worldwide recession. I wonder if anyone knew how bad it could be for the UK to leave the EU? I guess we will all find out. Thank you for your reply SH and Happy Saturday! :)
That's what I think too Uc....sad to say. :( Thank you for your reply! :)
Thank you for your reply mu and Happy Saturday to you.
There are always undercurrents of intolerance for difference, change and the unfamiliar.
There have been reports of racism increasing in all nations around the globe. It's probably due to the recent increases in war and terrorism that are forcing mass migrations in pursuit of safety.
But whether the intolerance is openly expressed also depends on how much leaders allow or discourage it.
Ten years ago, in Australia, a fish and chip shop owner founded a party called One Nation which stood on a policy of not accepting migrants and not helping Aboriginals. Most people were shocked when the founder, Pauline Hanson, actually got elected to Federal Parliament. In her maiden speech, her words did not literally encourage racism, but unsaid implications definitely did. Within a week there was a sudden spike in violent racist acts, one of which was when a 6-year-old Aboriginal boy, Tjundamara O'Shane, was doused in petrol and set alight whilst playing in a schoolyard in Cairns, Queensland on 10 October 1996. With 70% of his body burnt, he was not expected to live, but public donations for the many skin grafts and intensive care saved him. The person who attacked him was prosecuted and gaoled but never revealed his motives. But I have a friend who knew the attacker's origins and affiliations. He was a member of a neo-Nazi group of racists, who upon hearing Hansen's speech decided that it was time to begin enacting a campaign of racial attacks. My friend is an activist who reported the group, which resulted in it being disbanded and the members put on a watch list. I think this story demonstrates the level of responsibility we should demand of our leaders. Fortunately, Hansen lost her seat at the next election.
Oh my gosh hartfire. What a terrible thing! Trump's activities have definitely increased the speaking up of racists/bigots/hatemongers/misogynists. He gave his seal of approval so they all crawled out from under their rocks and now band together in great pride. I am disgusted. Thank you for sharing that bit of history. The cruelty that humans are capable of always shocks me. By now at my age I should be used to it but it is something I apparently will never get used to. :(
Rosie, i think it's always been there. No one wants their home overran with people who do not want to abide by the laws of their land. When too many of one group settles into another land and demands that land to confirm to their ways, it can get a bit prickly. Cultural Jihad is a real thing and is in motion in just about all countries: http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=815
I'm not saying all Muslims are like this, but there is a frightening majority of those who are.
There are plenty of countries with despots as leaders. Look to any one ruling in Africa for starters. Look at Putin, you like him? We don't need one here.
How about asking which ones are worth emulating?
@Notjustme... yes they will wake up but it will take a lot more. Eventually radical Islam will push their luck a little too far and people will get tired of it. I don't know how it will be in America but other countries will be sick of it eventually.
There's an irony in what you say, Karen.
Anyone in the USA, who is not a Native American, descends from immigrants, many of whom were seeking asylum from religious or political persecution. Most of them integrate into the nation within a generation, or two at the most.
And yet those early colonists did practice a cultural jihad against the members of the native nations. In fact, they did worse than merely try to convert them to Christianity. They committed near genocide, stole their lands and deprived them of their sources of food and livelihood.
We Australians did the same thing, even though religion was not the founding motive. We shot Aboriginal warriors in massacres. We poisoned their waterholes. We gave the women and children chicken pox and the common cold, deliberately, after soon discovering that they had no immunity and died within three weeks. We boasted about it in the diaries of the time. We regarded them as vermin. Those who survived we enslaved or put into concentration camps called Missions. Some of those were humane, while others were places of abject poverty and starvation. White men slept with or raped Aboriginal women and rarely took responsibility for the children. Only in the far north did the majority of Aboriginals remain untouched due to Malaria; they were immune, but we were not - until recently. We have admitted that we are now sorry (although maybe 15 or 20% still harbour varying degrees of racism,) but how does sorry undo the harm done? Our policies have changed now, have dramatically improved, while still being far from satisfactory - but the trauma from seven generations of different kinds of persecution has left festering wounds in Aboriginal hearts for which there are no antibiotics.
We are going to need to become accustomed to foreigners as migrants, or else face increasing amounts of war. Why? The world is becoming overpopulated. In marginal, arid lands, the deserts are expanding. Some Pacific islands have already flooded from rising sea levels, and their people were forced to leave. Bangladesh is each year sinking further under water. As the glaciers of the Himalayas recede each year, the spring floods become less and the waters for irrigating rice less plentiful.
The West created the current fanaticism in Islam by the way we treated Muslims during the colonial era. British and French occupation of the Middle East was arrogant, intolerant, abusive and thieving. For over 100 years we used a policy of divide and rule, helping to increase some of the strife between Muslim sects and nations. And then we lit the fuse of hatred with our greed to control their oil supplies when we invaded Iraq.
Try watching Western TV or movies through the eyes of a sincere Muslim. What are the ingredients of drama? Illicit sex, medical crisis, secrecy, fraud, corruption, cruelty, violence, and murder - this is the picture of ourselves and our lives that we present to the world. How do they know that these themes exaggerate reality for the sake of entertainment? Or do they? Is it not easy to understand why at least some people would want the protections o faith and conservative morality? We may disagree with some of their tenets, such as the inferiority of women, and yet within Islam feminism is growing at a faster rate than it is in the West - a little-known fact because our media focus more on the horrors of female abuse among extremists. 98% of Muslims only want to live responsible lives in peace. Could you say that such a high percentage of Westerners do the same?.
If we want to reduce wars around the world, and eventually coming to our lands, we are safer by accepting immigrants in a moderate and careful way. We limit the numbers to a rate that can be gradually absorbed and assimilated. We vet each family to accept only those who are willing to abide by our laws - (psychologists are not infallible but can pick up most attempts at deceit.) If a minute number prove to be problematic, the law can deal with it just as it does with the rest of us.
One of the best propaganda techniques that the West has against Isis and the Taliban is charity for refugees. Such kindness has confounded and frustrated the terrorists - it demonstrates that the West has more compassion than they do. It loses them the chance to conquer hundreds of thousands of citizens for their state. They are now using terror against their own to try to prevent escapes from the cruelty and horror.
There is a third option between refusal and acceptance of refugees - temporary asylum. Settling in a foreign country, learning one of the world's most difficult languages, and adapting to new ways is not easy. Many want to return home when war ends, want to become part of re-building the peace in their countries of origin. Why not be part of a program to make this possible? If you have a neighbor who is beating his wife and children, do you stand back and leave him to it? Or do you help the victims find safety? The USA and Australia have some of the highest standards of living in the world and sufficient wealth to be capable of absorbing a percentage of immigrants without causing suffering to our people.
Why have borders and countries? Let's have one world government run by the person of your choice.
I think it's a good thing not to become desensitised to cruelty or its close cousin, callousness.
It is horrible to feel the pain of the suffering of others, but worse not to feel it.
Well, there are some good reasons for borders, like the control of the spread of diseases, insects, weeds and feral animals which can ruin the health of humans, livestock, crops and wilderness. Also to control or reduce misuse of drugs, toxins, and weapons. And perhaps to ensure that culprits get back to the place where they can meet justice.
Many don't feel it hartfire and even worse look down upon those who do. There is no hope for them and i fear their number is growing. Thank you for your reply! :)
Thank you for your thoughtful answer and the link Karen and Happy Sunday. I guess we disagree on this my friend. I'm inclusive and some folks are exclusive and never the twain shall meet. We have plenty of home-grown terrorists who are not Muslim. No one seems a bit concerned about them. I don't know why. :(
Thank you for a very thoughtful, moving and informative answer hartfire. I think xenophobia is inherent in some and they don't even realize it. They don't look to their roots or history. They are really good at ignoring the past when it suits them. And truth is of little consequence when you are trying to make a point so they ignore it too. :(
Is this directed at me Sharonna?
Your answer reminds me of the times we travel by car. When we approach the California border we are ALWAYS
stopped by an official and asked to declare any fruit or plants that we might be bringing into the state. They don't want imported insects to spread disease. Thank you for your information-filled reply hartfire! :)
Good morning Rosie, I'm not saying all Muslims are terrorists, just not all terrorists use bombs and weapons. Some try to destroy quietly from within. I have nothing against immigrants coming here, my ancestors have not been here for very long, I doubt any of them came over with the Mayflower. I know my great grandparents came from other countries, so it only goes back a few generations on my dads side.
I am not anit-Muslim, I'm not anti-anyone. I do know that most just want a better way of life and are grateful to have that. It's the radicals and fanatics that are the problem----that goes for all religions and beliefs. There are radical Christian sects out there as well. Terrorists come in all colors, nationalities and religions, not just Muslim.
hartfire--Very well said. The white man's history is nothing to be proud of.
