Definitely ambivalent
There seems to be a little background chatter about migration these days?
Of course Donald Duck has stirred things up over the pond with his little announcement about restricting [or banning? I wasn’t paying that much attention] access to the States from certain countries. This naturally has gravely upset the Snowflakes and the Righteous [and, of course, the Twitterati] who scream about how diversity is wonderful thing and we must all show compassion and blah blah blah.
Our lot of tree huggers are now screeching that Dame Enda must not under any circumstances visit America on Paddy’s Day. If he doesn’t, then what? Will The Don break down in tears and beg forgiveness? Wil he open the gates again if only we’d give him a bowl of shamrock? Will 99.999999% of Americans even notice? Or give a shit?
So am I pro or anti this latest move on closing borders?
Having given at least a minute’s thought, I would probably say not anti. The Duck is of course the elected leader so those who elected him can hardly complain. He loudly announced his intentions before the election so they can’t whinge now. In fact it must be one of the first recorded instances worldwide of someone actually keeping an election promise?
I will be honest. On balance I don’t really go for immigration here. I know I am now going to be labelled as a xenophobe, a racist and guilty of hate crimes but fuck that. First and foremost I don’t believe in all this diversity crap. A country has its own cultures and traditions and if other cultures and traditions get stirred into the pot then instead of enhancing the culture it tends to dilute it. I know one of the reasons that the EU is so pro-migration is that they want countries to lose their individual cultures and identities and all become part of a European Grey Porridge.
One line that is frequently trotted out here is that “other countries took us in during the Famine”. Bollox. Different times, different circumstances. The Irish who emigrated invariably ended up in menial tasks, building roads, railways and canals. That was in the days where if you wanted a mountain moved, you trucked in a few hundred diggers who were glad of a job. The days of hard menial labour are now largely gone so an immigrant either has to be highly qualified, or go back to college to gain a qualification or live off handouts from the state.
But how many of these people are fleeing tyrannical regimes and civil wars? Quite a few no doubt, but a hell of a lot aren’t. I would hazard a guess that the vast majority are economic migrants [as they call them] and opportunists [as I call them]. I do believe it is wrong to send someone back home to a concentration camp but equally I don’t think I should pay for someone who just wants the easy life. So how do you separate the two? Border control. Simples.
So having spent more time typing this than actually thinking about it, I think I would probably come down in favour of the Duck’s actions. Not that it matters a whit to me as I am not American, nor do I have the slightest intention of ever moving there. So it’s a case of their country: their laws.
Incidentally, has anyone ever noticed that when they arrest someone here for murder, robbery or violence the arrestee invariably has a name that sounds like it was invented by a three year old playing with Dad’s typewriter?
Just sayin’.
the arrestee invariably has a name that sounds like it was invented by a three year old playing with Dad’s typewriter?
Also known as “triple word score surnames”
Hah! I like it.
Grandad,
The last bit – “sounds like it was invented by a three year old playing with Dad’s typewriter” reminded me of how the Chinese chose their kids names.
They put two one inch stainless steel bolt nuts in a tin can, put the lid on and roll it down stairs. Sounds about right…
One thing this Trump hoo-ha at the mo has got me thinking about is “refugee”. When is a refugee actually a migrant? When the problem they’re seeking refuge from be it war, natural disater etc is fixed and the don’t return to their homeland. Time we called them what they really are, imho. I agree with you GD – saying no to European Grey Porridge!
I have a slightly different slant.
For me there are grades of immigrant and as ‘Distant Relative’ points out, there are refugees as well. White Northern Europeans with a skill or trade are desirable as they might possibly dilute the incestuous national bloodline while also offering their own distinctive attitudes and customs. I regard these as grade one because they can easily integrate and can also easily return to their native land if they don’t like it here.
Grade two are the refugees and no matter how bad we think things are, it’s far worse in their blighted country and we should help them.
Grade three though are people who regard their religion as above our laws here and this lot will bring nothing but trouble in their wake.
Grade four would be those of a different skin color who desire to find a neighborhood of their own and then make the native Irish unwelcome in that place. Fuck these guys too and they’d be better off setting themselves up somewhere else. Coloured people who seek to integrate though should be welcome to give it a lash.
So I’d automatically let in grades 1 & 2, forbid grades 3 & 4 and then there’d be a fifth grade not covered by the above. These would be judged on a case-by-case basis and they’d either get in or not.
That’s what I think anyway.
Call me a xenophobe if you like, but like the Donald I want my own country put first.
Listening this morning to some tosser complaining about the state of accommodation being given to ‘refugees’ but I’m afraid my attitude is you should be grateful to be taken into a safe haven and if you don’t like it then feel free to fuck off back to the third world shithole you came from…
I thought I was going to be flamed for the above, but it seems I survived.
I agree with John, to a certain extent. The one proviso I have is the number of homeless here in Ireland, running into the thousands. Shouldn’t we look after them first? I am a great believer in the old “charity begins at home” lark.
Incidentally I didn’t mention it above but there are a few non-nationals in this area and I have no problem with them at all and are perfectly integrated. There are others [so called nationals] in the neighbourhood that I was happily see deported to Van Diemen’s Land.
I often wonder when I hear those in favor of letting almost everyone in, if they are in jobs where they can be left go. It’s a lot easier to be liberal if you and your family are not directly under pressure. t