Bnp

Originally Posted by Pem

Hmm, five pages on the BNP, are they really that interesting ....

Apparently.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Tezcatlipoca

Sorry, Ramrod! I wasn't meaning for that to seem like having a go at you

No worries

If preserving a culture/way-of-life involves discrimination (i.e. shipping all non-white people "back home"), then that is obviously wrong.

Obviously

I guess it can depend on what exactly is meant by culture/way-of-life, or what kind of culture/way-of-life is being preserved.

Ah, thats discrimination since no culture can be inherently better or more valid than any other can it? (in this day/age/pc country)

Kind of brings up another subject....what exactly is "British Culture"?

"2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps"?....may I point you to the 'chav trumps' thread

The BNP would say that the "British Culture" is that solely of white Britons & their way-of-life, & that for it to be preserved, Britain should only have white residents.

and thats pretty much what the govt/people of Bhutan are saying......

But does the British Culture have to be defined by skin colour? I'm sure that you & most other people would agree when I say no.

How many Sikh morris dancers have you seen lately? I bet most if not all members of the WI are white?

Has the "British Culture" been diminished by recent immigration, or has it been added to?

Diminished probably........if 10 million brits suddenly went to live in Japan we would quite reasonably understand that wherever those brits lived in Nippon they would dilute/diminish the cultural identity of the area, merely by being there. That is self evident.....why is it any different here? It isn't.
Thats different to asking if they would also add something else/new/beneficial to the country though.

[Bifta]

I'm curious as to how our culture has changed, and what exactly it's changed from due to immigration. It's made no noticeable difference on my lifestyle. Personally I'm struggling to think of one aspect of British "culture" that actually needs preserving.

Originally Posted by Bifta

I'm curious as to how our culture has changed, and what exactly it's changed from due to immigration. It's made no noticeable difference on my lifestyle. Personally I'm struggling to think of one aspect of British "culture" that actually needs preserving.

This is part of the problem. Immigration into the UK has been largely concentrated on a few urban areas. That means large parts of the UK simply don't understand claims that we have become a 'multicultural' society, and some parts of the UK feel threatened because they live near to a neighbourhood that has accommodated large numbers of immigrants and their descendents.

In both cases, there is a risk of so-called 'native' British people resenting demands to accommodate other cultures. So far as the majority of this country is concerned, it's the race relations industry that is to blame for this. We are constantly told that we are 'multicultural' when as an entire nation we quite plainly are not. I suspect that (as usual) London is to blame for this; London is extremely multicultural and there is as we know a tendency for some to fail to see the difference between London and the UK as a whole. In those areas where there has been a large concentration of immigration, blame is a little harder to apportion, I think. Those who came here naturally wanted the security of their 'own kind' in a strange land. It would have been wrong to deny them that but perhaps we could have done more in the way of British citizenship 'training' to make it easier for them to integrate into British life without losing their own heritage or cultural identities. As a people, perhaps we could have been more welcoming too. There's nothing like an atmosphere of hostility to make you want to seek safety in numbers.

None of the above, however, justifies the stance of the BNP. There is no such thing as a British monoculture. Yes, there are certain things that we all have in common but there is plenty of diversity. Just try convincing a Yorkshireman that he has anything in common with those soft southerners. And what have the Welsh got in common with the Scots, except an inability to play football and an almost comical hatred of all things English ? We are an island populated entirely by immigrants, with a wide range of traditions. Some of us arrived 40,000 years ago; some a mere 1,500 years ago, plenty more came here in the last 100 years. Why should the BNP draw an arbitrary line in history and declare all immigration after a certain time to be unacceptable? Worse, why should they determine ancient immigration from continental Europe as acceptable because they are genetically more similar to 'us' than immigrants who came from further afield? The very notion is absurd.

[Ramrod]

Well put Towny!

[etccarmageddon]

Originally Posted by Bifta

I'm curious as to how our culture has changed, and what exactly it's changed from due to immigration. It's made no noticeable difference on my lifestyle. Personally I'm struggling to think of one aspect of British "culture" that actually needs preserving.

correct me if I'm wrong but you refer to 'our' culture but as you consider yourself living in 'derry' as oppossed to 'londonderry', I've always assumed you think of yourself as Irish?


as to preserving culture etc... I suggest the BNP and their ilk go off and make babies if they want to preserve a 'white' majority in the UK that's the only non racist way of doing it?

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

as to preserving culture etc... I suggest the BNP and their ilk go off and make babies if they want to preserve a 'white' majority in the UK that's the only non racist way of doing it?

God no, we don't want them to breed......

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

correct me if I'm wrong but you refer to 'our' culture but as you consider yourself living in 'derry' as oppossed to 'londonderry', I've always assumed you think of yourself as Irish?

That's a whole different argument, suffice to say I'm a nationalist, but not in the same vein as the BNP, I have no problem with immigration, ethnic groups, gay's, protestants*, socialists, communists or students. Derry was prefixed by the English with "London", 99% of the cities residents call it Derry, it's generally only called Londonderry by people wanting to irritate others and media groups who don't want to upset the people being irritating.

*In particular I have no problem with around half of the population of Northern Ireland wanting to keep their link with Great Britain, I wouldn't expect them to repatriate to the mainland and I don't expect them to accept being merged in to the republic, Instead of just "Brits out" and a "32 county state" I'd much prefer to see higher investment in Northern Ireland (from a business perspective), a better quality of life for everyone that lives here (immigrants included), less of the day to day terrorist and non terrorist related violence and a mixed party that are able to govern their country without constantly postulating and bickering.

[etccarmageddon]

ok, fair enough... my point is though that your comments about not seeing anything about the british culture worth preserving arent coming from a British person? apart from the fact that you have been forced to be British?

and considering the way the people of NI have been shafted by the 'brits' over the last 100 odd years I wouldnt expect you to see any positived in British culture.

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

ok, fair enough... my point is though that your comments about not seeing anything about the british culture worth preserving arent coming from a British person? apart from the fact that you have been forced to be British?

and considering the way the people of NI have been shafted by the 'brits' over the last 100 odd years I wouldnt expect you to see any positived in British culture.

I see your point, but that's not the reason, 30 years of observing British "culture" first hand (i.e. living in England) is where I based my observation.

[etccarmageddon]

what is british culture?

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

what is british culture?

That's kinda what I'm trying to ascertain

[etccarmageddon]

perhaps it only exists in the minds of the BNP types?

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

perhaps it only exists in the minds of the BNP types?

I think when the BNP says 'British Culture', what they are actually expressing is a very narrow-minded kind of English nationalism. At least, I don't hear much about the BNP gaining support in Wales or Scotland...

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

what is british culture?

2 pints of lager and a packet of crisps........