So, is she a bigot? (UK vs US immigration debates)

[pampango]

From the Dallas Morning News regarding the woman (Gillian Duffy) whom Gordon Brown referred to as a bigot:

" Duffy: You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?

Brown: A million people have come from Europe, but a million British people have gone into Europe. You do know that there's a lot of British people staying in Europe as well. ..."

Does that make Duffy a bigot, "one who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race or politics and is intolerant of those who differ"? It's unclear. It depends on why she's opposing the influx of Eastern Europeans. Is it because they're different from her, and she's worried about the cultural ramifications? Or is it an economic concern -- depressed wages, crowded schools, etc.?

Although U.S. and British immigration policies are miles apart, I'm struck by the similarities in the debates. About 80 percent of immigrants coming to Britain do so legally, yet there are people just as vociferously opposed to the influx of foreigners in the U.K. as there are here.

It's gotten me thinking about the nature of our debate; we talk about foes of illegal immigration, about being a nation of laws, about the principle involved. But if we'd had this influx of immigrants legally, I don't think the debate in the U.S. would change much. Opposition here would remain strong. Just as it is in Britain.

http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/05/so-is-she-a-big.html

I wonder if our "opposition here would remain strong" "if we'd had this influx of immigrants legally".

[YOY]

1. I've got 4 Eastern European friends living in the UK. I work with 4 Brits.

Well, I'd have to agree with Gordon here.

The woman is a bigot.

[EFerrari]

2. Using "law and order" as nativist code is not new. n/t

[Caliman73]

3. Right on target

Every group that had immigrated to America after the Revolution faced similar discrimination. Some Irish-Americans who had come over prior to the Revolution were prejudiced against Irish coming to America in the 1800's even though they share the same heritage. Some Mexican-Americans are prejudiced against "illegals" who are coming today even though they themselves were granted status by Reagan's Amnesty program in the 80's. There There seems to be a belief that because you have been here longer you are more worthy of being here than other people.

What is being missed at least regarding Latino immigration is WHY people would risk their lives to immigrate to a country that does not accept them? What role has the US played and does it still play in creating the drive for emigration? That is something no one seems to be talking about.

[EFerrari]

4. If we had any unexploded Irony Meters, they should all be going off.

One of the most famous, if not the signature, mariachi songs is "El son de la negra" -- a love song to a black or dark woman. That a culture so welcoming is so reviled by nativists and outright racists must make the angels weep for humanity.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-U82PriO0&feature=related

[Nye Bevan]

5. Of course she is a bigot.

And there are millions like her in the UK.

But a politician running for office can't go around calling voters bigots, even if it is true.

[LeftishBrit]

7. True - not that he was intending to(!) but the first rule of politics is always check that mike'

In the UK, anti-immigrant prejudice is the commonest form of bigotry, and is constantly whipped up by the right-wing media. While there are currently some genuine issues arising from easier within-EU migration, of insufficiently tight regulation of businesses using cheap East Europaean labour, British anti-immigrant attitudes were around long before that. At various times, it's been the Jews, the Irish, the Asians, the Afro-Caribbeans, and the East Europaeans, or any combination of these, who have served as scapegoats (e.g. Enoch Powell's infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech in 1968).

We have much less religious bigotry here than in the USA, but the xenophobia is another matter.

[pampango]

8. Given the legality of most UK immigrants it's harder for a bigot to hide behind the "illegal"

argument for opposing immigration in the US. I often see posts that reveal that the real problem is that "they" are here and that their "illegality" is a useful whipping boy. But if most of them were legal (as in the UK) and equally numerous, many would still resent "their" presence, it would just be harder to hide the bigotry.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

6. She certainly is a bigot. Everyone rushed to her defense because she looked like a sweet old lady

But there you go.

Bigotry is nothing new in the UK. My in-laws are horribly bigoted against Asian immigrants. They complain about them being on welfare when they themselves are on welfare. They complain about them "breeding" too much, when all of their kids already have kids.

[HipChick]

9. she is a bigot...I grew up with people like her..

They would complain about the people that came from the West Indies, then it was the Asians, and now its the Eastern Europeans...same sense of something being taken from them...its harder for them now because they can't tell just by looking at the color of someone's skin..