So, I was on the bus today...?

Question

... heading into Manchester city centre, and on the way there, the bus took the route through this town which is a muslim neighbourhood. And I swear, I thought we'd driven into Afganistan. All of the women were dressed in all black, their faces covered, a lot of the men were also wearing tradition Islamic clothing. There was Islamic clothing stores, Arabic resturants, Halal butchters, even Arabic hairdressers. Nothing non-islamic or British at all. I'd say about 3/4 of the names of the shops were written in Arabic. I was quite shocked. I'd been in different cultured neighbourhoods before, but nothing as full on as this. I've nothing against foreingers, as even though I'm British, I have no British blood- my parents are Spanish and the rest of my family live in Spain. But why if this is England, do we have towns like this? I find the fact that avertisments, shop names, ect, which are written in Arabic and not English, is a little ignorant if you ask me...It's killing our British culture

Vegan_Treehug- Spanish and other European people have one thing in common with Britain... We all live in Western way of live.

Answer 1

I am Welsh born and god only knows what else! my mother and father are welsh but my grandmother on my dads side is german and grandfather was welsh. my grandmother on my mothers side is from Brittany and my grandfather welsh but the rest of the family is from all over so i tend to think of myself as a bit of a mongrel lol.

however, i totally agree with you on this one, it's totally disgusting the way things have gone in this country. if we went to their country of origin and tried to do the same there we'd probably get shot! what gives them the right to come in and take over like they do demanding rights and demanding to be able to wear their religious clothing while we are stopped from going on planes because we wear a cross which is a symbol of our religion. anyone remember that case where a woman was refused to fly because of her cross.

i think they should try to adapt to the country they have moved to. they want equal rights? they should behave in a way that would make us want to give them equal rights. they should behave like our equals instead of our counterparts. they should try to dress like us and speak our language.

it is incredibly ignorant and is a form of abuse towards our country's good nature letting them in to give them sanctuary and oppurtunities to better themselves (i know that may sound a bit racist or whatever but i dont mean it like that! anyone can better themselves and this may have been their vision of a better future but insteda they change our country to make it seem like theirs! i've heard of making yourself at home but this just takes the biscuit!)

most of these people are seeking assylum but others come to "experience the British culture" and how we live. how can they do this when they have made parts of this country into another Arab state!

i dont wish to sound offensive but this really does annoy me at times because we dont go to their countries and complain about how they are living and how they treat us because it would be seen as racist, yet why can they do the same to us and get treated totally different?!

Answer 2

Bus drivers interior the united kingdom do no longer stress previous human beings in simple terms with the aid of fact they're Asian, I promise you. via a techniques the main possibly clarification is what all human beings else has already reported: there have been not greater seats on the bus. On some buses status passengers are allowed, and on others they are actually not. Please, please, do no longer seek for insults. maximum persons are too busy with their very own techniques and problems to care - or maybe word - different human beings's pores and skin shade. i'm a white 60+ British lady and buses sometimes stress previous me. playstation basically a small language element: the bus replaced into already coming, and your father signalled it to 'provide up'. Oh! yet another thought. Did he sign interior the British way, via conserving his arm out? i've got lived interior the a techniques East and understand that throughout the time of Hong Kong and Thailand human beings sign to the bus in a far greater discreet way, style of flapping your hand, palm down. Is it a probability your father did this, and the motive force in simple terms did no longer comprehend he replaced into signalling?

Answer 3

You're essentially an immigrant and you are essentially being snotty towards other immigrants? Just because they left home, doesn't mean they they want to leave home. Why not have ties to the Old Country? Also, it's not easy to learn a new language, especially one with different characters. I'm fifth generation German, yet, I'm still proud of my German-Lutheran heritage. I enjoy going to places like Chinatown, Little Italy, etc. for the cultural difference. (Little Italy is like a whole different world compared to German Village in Columbus, OH; For that matter NYC and Columbus are wonderfully different.) Just because it didn't seem British, doesn't mean it wasn't. Just because you got a glimpse of the Afghan culture, doesn't mean that there isn't British culture that you didn't see from the isolation of your bus seat.There are probably many second and third generation Afghans there who are more British than Afghan, but continue to live in that neighborhood with their family.

Your family is from Spain. Do you not (or at least your parents) still hold on to some Spanish traditions and culture?

Gee, maybe it would be easier if everybody just stayed in the countries in which they were born.

Answer 4

You should know better with a family living in Spain. You ever been to the Algarve or Costa Del Sol? All you see are British pubs, Union Jacks, Restaraunts offering Roast Beef, Stewed Dumplings and British lager. And on top of it hardly any of them can speak basic Spanish.

I see the same here in Germany. I moved from Ireland to Hamburg 4 years ago and see Irish pubs filled with English and Irish and Scottish most of whom have been here longer than and they still don't speak German or act German.

Answer 5

Sorry--the basic cause of this kind of phenomenon--well known to sociologists--is bigotry and discrimination on the part of the larger culture.

When a group from a differnt cultre enters a society, they normally create "ethnic enclaves" that are a mix of the existing culture and that of the immigrants. But--when the immigrants are excluded, stereotypet (e.g. labeling them" ignorant" simply because they are different) and subjected to public discrimination and labeling--this is what happens: as a group the immigrants will draw together into a tight-knit community and in reaction, tend to exclude much of the wider culture instead of assimilating as is normal.

In other words--the British have made it clear the Muslims aren't wanted--so the muslims are making their home neighborhoods into a scanctuary against the bigots and racists.

Answer 6

It's clear to me that these people aren't assimilating because people like you don't WANT them to.
Your country is changing, like it or not; take a deep breathe and think about what you Brits did to my Native American ancestors, well as the indigenous inhabitants of Ireland, Australia and other nations all over the globe. Turnabout is often fair play.
As an American I love visiting ethnic enclaves; nearby Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, has the largest Arab population outside the Middle East. It's wonderful to experience. And there are Chinatowns, Greektowns, Little Italy's and other such places in or near every major city in the United States. The Mexican culture is huge in the American Southwest. People here flock to such places to enjoy a taste of various cultures.
Additionally, I'd like to say that during my visits to Ireland, I was gratified to see that many Irish cities are shedding their British-imposed names and reverting back to the original Irish Gaelic ones. Good for them. Many of the signs in the western part of the country are in Gaelic only as well. "Western" doesn't necessarily mean English, and "western" doesn't always equate with "superior", either.
II think you have a lot of nerve. It was perfectly Okay for YOUR ancestors to emigrate to England, but now it all must come to a grinding halt because you don't like the way the people refuse to "adapt"?
I never thought I'd say this, but Americans seem to be a lot more open-minded than you Brits!

Answer 7

We have had 'chinatowns' in western cities for centuries and no-one ever complained. Although I believe it is better for incoming populations to integrate as it leads to better understanding, they are perfectly entitled to have shops selling products they are used to and if necessary signs in their own language. No-ones ancestry began on these islands, all of our families have come here from overseas at some time in the past, and you point out that you yourself are Spanish. Britain has always been multicultural and we should embrace it's diversity and make new people feel more welcome, and help them to learn english, so that they do not feel they as if they have to live in ghettoes.

Answer 8

When immigrants come to a country, they will often live near their same nationality/religion. Much like in Little Italy in the States. (not just italian, but there are greek, jew, dutch, etc. sectors. Oh! And China town!)

Answer 9

They don't want to accept that this is Britain, we're British and we won't kill you for taking off your burkha. Britain has been invaded from every angle since the 3rd century, slowing replacing it's indigenous population, but this time we have to sit back and let it happen, because it "infringes human rights", and its not because of foreign marauders like the Saxons, it's done with the help of a false passport and poor border controll

Answer 10

We have similar concerns in America with an influx of a large number of immigrants who do not appear to want to adopt our language and become Americans. No matter where someone comes from, it is bad for them and for their new country to try to remain isolated like that. My ancestors certainly did not.

If they want to live as they did in their old country, why did they leave?

My country is more than merely an address. I assume you feel the same about yours also.

Answer 11

I'm somewhat amused by people in both the U.K. and the U.S. who assume that "our culture" is a static sort of thing that will never change. Do you think that people in the U.K. have always spoken English? The "King's English" used to be FRENCH, after all. Cultures are living, breathing organisms, and when living things cease to change, they die, pure and simple.