Why some Brits feel so feared of immigrants stealing their national identity?

Question

Is that because they are all immigrants or their descendants, so some of them feel unsettled and endangered by newcomers?
Similar thing goes about Americans.

Sparkle: your culture has been created by the generations of immigrants: Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans, Irish, Scottish, Flemmish, Dutch, Germans (your Royal family!), Spaniards and many, many others.

Tattooddle: what about the recent immigration wave from Eastern Europe, which I am a part of it? You can go freely to our countries and encjoy the saqme rights and benefits as we do. And, in fact, some of the old EU country citizens do. There was some rumour in mass-media in my country (Poland) about unemployed British, Germans and some others coming to my country for the time being on the unemployment benefits, which they claimed also in Poland. Also, there are many Brits buying properties in Poland.

Private, what does mean for you: untermenschen? What is the adverse effect of mass immigration? Sorry, but your arguments seem te be all but rational.

Philip_L, my English is not perfect, but is much more better than the language presented by some scroungers moaning about their jobs being stolen by foreigners. And, at least I can speak more than language - how many of you do?

Danor, do you know that the NHS has employed foreign staff since it was created? Are you aware it will not run without them? One of the first to welcome foreign doctors to work here was actually Enoch Powell..

Kathy_is_a_nurse, you are right, people should at least try to accept the law and values of the society they chosed to live in. However, alienation is often due to ostracism and humility they experience. How many natives show their disdain and unjustified feeling of superiority to foreigners? IThe lack of acceptance does not encourage to integrate with such a society. Look, for example, at private's answer and you will know, what I mean.

Tattooddle, I have not noticed so many differences between our cultures, but if you have, then so be it. I lived in Devon fo more than 1 1/2 yrs., all i can only say is that in general, Devon people are more biased towards foreigners than in the other parts of the country. Probably that's why Devon is more white English than the rest of England. You said about people displaying 'English not welcome' on the doors. What about English people shouting 'Go out, bl...y Poles'; 'F...ed foreigners' and others, worse than that? What about all of your compatriots, asking humiliating questions like: 'Do you have cars/ hot water/ television/ railways' etc. in Poland? Action causes reaction.
All I am saying is we are not better than you are - or worse. We are just the same - human beings.

Jim_g, is the muslim minority not enriching your culture? I know there are some issues with the sharia law, honour killings, but, on the other hands, the vast majority of British Muslims I've met and worked with are friendly, nice and hard working people. Does it not mean they are just the same people as you, me and others? Not better, but, certainly, not worse?

Jim_g again: were Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons abd Vikings Christians at the time they came to Brtitish Isles?

Jim_g once again: do you consider a national identity as something which is constant? Look at the concept of Britishness from the historic perspective: how old it is? Had it existed before the Act of Union (1803 or about)? Then, was the concept of British identity of the age of Empire (say, Victorian times) exactly the same as the one from the middle of XX century? And what about the national identity before the Act of Union? Had they existed just separated identities: Scottish, Irish and English? Go deeper into the past: XII - XIV century. Had the English identity existed - or had they been separated Anglo-Saxon, Normans, Welsh identities?
The purpose of my dissertation is to show you that the national identiti, as the nations themselves are still evolving - and they always have been. You cannot separate one people from the other, close the border, because you will have an open-air museum instead of modern, dynamically developing and economically and politically strong country

with the vibrant and open society - the today's UK.

Private, "we" don't want? What "we"? "Private" is singular, so speak for yourself, mate. Your arguments lack any sort of logic nor are based on facts. Sorry to say that, but they also lack any intelligence. It is just emotional, wishful thinking, nothing else. Would you be able, at least, to say when your country was a better place to live than now and why, to show any evidence of your statements?

Private, how many people are "you"? 5 thumbs up, 2- down? Sorry, mate, but it does not make you a vast majority even on yahoo!q&a. Nonsense, that is all you can say. Your words are the best proof of dramatic shortage of logic in the BNP programme, although it is your problem, not mine.

Spooncatmusic, I can see what you mean, but I always try to give a chance for reasonable discussion to anyone, even to individuals like Private. Perhaps I am a bit naive, though...

Trish, "we" means who? and who is trying your style of life? Me? Certainly not. My friends? No. So who?

Spannerbox: yes, I arrived here not a long time ago.
no, I have not received anything here for granted. I am not on any sort of benefit, I do noy live in a council house, I did not came here to have a health service for free - we have an equivalent of NHS in my country. I came here to to know another country and its people and to work. I have the right to defend myself, as you have, too. If I get offended, I will counterattack. If you and people like you simply lie, I have a right to tell the truth.

Beausbreeches, I saw your answer to the Spartacus' question, you were unhappy with his generalisation of immigrants' descendants. Why do you generalise here, then?

Piltdown_man: what a problem you see with British woman of Indian origins who is proued of being British? What you said is pure racist, do you know?

'proud', not 'proued', of course

Piltdown, yes, you are racist and this is an answer. Who are you to deny the British woman with Indian origins the right to feel proud of her Britishness? British citizenship means you are British, doesn't it? Do you want to define the British identity by the means of ethnicity - pure English blood? Sorry, mate, but people are not dogs or horses. If you have not noticed the diference, you are nothing better than Nazi.

Answer 1

What makes me laugh with all these people against immigration is that they don't seem to understand how intrenched it is from centuries ago.

They lack basic knowledge about our country's history, and as a Englishman that makes me very sad.

How many of these people shop in M+S - a store founded by a polish immigrant?

How many realise BP was originally called the Anglo - Persian oil company founded in Persia (Iran)

How many people have bought shoes in Barratts, shopped in Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge? controlled and some originally founded from Jewish descent.

How many people walk through Tesco's doors - it's founders dad was a polish-jewish immigrant.

See? these people all talk a load of twaddle about immigration withour understanding how it has shaped and formed the UK from hundreds of years ago.

If any of the fools on here would do an ancestry trace then they would find out they are not so 'English' as they think they are!!!

Answer 2

Some people feel that the immigrants coming to the UK today are only coming here for financial gain...

Some feel that the immigrants are not interested in adopting British culture, most British people feel that if you want to move to another country, you should love everything about that country.

If an immigrant wants to change a country by trying to make it more like there own, then logically they should go back to their own country and work on the problems there to make it a better place. Britain has had many problems in the past, but the people, when they get sick of a certain aspect, work together and have forced change. (Democracy, women's equal rights, a hard working economy, abolition of slave trade are some examples) Only the residing citizens of a country can make a country great as they are the only ones that really care what happens there... maybe if the immigrants were strong enough they too would stop running away from the problems they face in there own countries, and stand up and make a difference.

Democracy begins to fail when there are too many interests, and we as Brits love our democracy... If you want to be happy here, stop complaining, learn to live, speak and think more like us, otherwise move on!

Answer 3

what's your subject you asked like 3 questions in one! What precisely do you think of you could coach via all this?! i may be mad at every physique who took my identity! i might probable sue too! yet i does not hate the finished ethnicity that that one individual had! which may be ridiculous! besides every physique must be an immigrant! So if an immigrant took my identity am I suposed to hate all immigrants?! human beings get laid off from there jobs primary. Its a certainty of existence! frequently talking migrant workers tend to do the low paying jobs that no one else needs. Jobs like beng a janitor or choosing fruit and vegatables. in case you artwork no longer elementary and bypass to college you will no longer BE interior the region that your laid out of your activity as a results of fact some one will do it for a distinctive pay.

Answer 4

I think the issue is more, that the new immigrants arriving in Britain seem to show a reluctance to intergrate with their British peers, and also seem to be here just for the state benefits.
My personal gripe - being from a Polish immigrant family is that the new Poles have over-run my local Polish community. Which has meant that people just use the community to find work and lodgings and translation purposes. And making a mockery of the community that my grandparents built when they first arrived here as refugees after WW2.

Answer 5

I totally agree with this question. There are more than 2,000,000 Brits working overseas, if this is OK, then it's OK for eastern Europeans and alike to come here, what's good for the goose.
spannerbox, research the facts of immigration and the differences between economic migration and asylum, for your information, Easters Europeans or any European migrants are NOT entitled to free housing etc, they are entitled to free health care as we are if we travel to a European country. Have you been abroad to a European country recently? If you have, did you get one of the new E111 health insurance cards? How much did it cost you? well I went to cephalonia last year, had an accident in a car and paid absolutely nothing for my health care there, all I claimed for on my insurance was for damages. RESEARCH THE FACTS, MORON.

I would like to correct 'beaubreeces' on what she has said. For your information, economic migrants are entitled to NO state benefits until they have completed 12 months continuous employment and are then made redundant.

Answer 6

It is identity theft which hides behind the defence of calling anyone racist who dares question it.The best example I have noticed is Indian people who like to call themselves British.
One female Indian questioner in Yahoo answers actually called herself "British and proud of it"

Try going to live in China for a while and saying you are "Chinese and proud of it" Then hear 1,5 billion Chinese all laughing at the same time

The difference between British people going abroad and the current immigrant tsunami into the UK is UK people go from success to failed countries usually, the immigrants to the UK come from failed countries to take advantage of UK success

eastern_eu. I predicted you would say "racist" because you have no real answer. Indian people are Indian and this includes those who have arrived into the UK.Even the Soho Chinese are honest enough to call themselves Chinese. The typical Indian claim to be "British and proud of it" is nationality theft

Answer 7

because it feels life one rule for them and another for us,we couldnt go to any of their countries and demand anything like they do...eg.... mosques,benefeits etc we dont mind them being here but they should live the way we do,and a lot of people are afraid to say anything as theyre scared to be labelled racist.


reply.....

im not saying your one of the bad ones so dont take offence but i live in devon n weve had a load of east europeans come here this last year n weve also had a lot of trouble because of them..your culture is very different from ours and at the moment theyre clashing quite badly,in my town some polish opened a polish shop for polish people selling polish goods which is fair enough but they also put a sign on the door saying 'english not welcome' i have met nice ones but the majority dont seem to even want to intergrate

Answer 8

It shocks me how many small minded bigots there are on this site. Like Rick said, if it's OK for Brits to work overseas, we have no grounds for complaint. when I was 19 I worked in Majorca for the summer, I was given a room and earned just over £8 per day, I was happy doing this summer job, many many many Brits have done and are still doing the same today.

Answer 9

OMG, listen to some of you lot. I'm a British citizen however I was not born in this country. You talk about the English language, the person writing this question has a better knowledge of the English language than some of you who are moaning about 'Britishness' etc.

Answer 10

Ok i would like to inform u that every culture in history has been influenced by someone else. If you dont like how the British people feel u are freel to leave the country.