Fuckwits
"There is a growing sense of inequity" ... "politicians are becoming increasingly concerned about this issue"...
On Radio 4. Just now. Talking about immigration. So why are those in power getting upset about it? Because of this growing sense of inequity. Apparently people are getting more and more worried that immigrants are getting more than their fair share, at the expense of "us" and our public services. And immigration is a big issue because it feeds into so many other issues - jobs, crime, the NHS, public services in general.
And why are all these issues on the agenda? Is it actually true? Do immigrants get more than their fair share? No they bloody don't. They contribute more in taxes than they take in benefits, and many groups are not even eligible for benefits, and even when they are they get pitiful help. I'll never forget the family of asylum seekers in front of me at the Asda checkout, who couldn't leave until I gave them an extra 10p because their food stamps (they only get stamps, they're not trusted with money) weren't enough to cover the pathetic collection of Value brandless products on the conveyor belt in front of them.
Figures are endlessly quoted of how many people are coming into this country, but nobody mentions the hundreds of thousands of Brits who leave each year. And why do they leave? Because they don't like the weather, or they've heard that in Australia, Canada, the US, other parts of Europe, the Far East they can get better-paid jobs or better benefits or a higher quality of life. We all know people who have done this. Do we condemn them, for taking other people's jobs, for using up the resources of other people's countries, for moving around the world in search of a better life? Do many people leave this country because they have been raped or beaten or tortured or have lost their home and their whole neighbourhoood in a flood or an earthquake? Would anyone blame them if they did?
So why are politicians concerned, if it's not even a fucking issue? Because the media, and those same fucking politicians, allow these lies to be propogated - and don't put anyone right. Because the fucking so-called neutral media continue to report the "issue of immigration" as if it really was an issue, and not just a convenient way of offloading concern on all those statedly-connected issues of crime, jobs, public services. Because rather than say "Actually, this is bollocks. We shouldn't be blaming these people for things that are not their fault," it's easier to say "Ooh yes, immigration, what a problem it is, let's make it even fucking harder for any poor bastard to move to our supposedly-wonderful country, and then demonise them even more in the process."
Meanwhile people go through hell in order to get to this country and leave their homes, only to find themselves vilified, attacked, even murdered when they get here. And all over the world and history, most ethnic and civil conflicts have their roots in fuckwit politicians pitting populations against one another to distract them from the real problems. And people die.
Fucking bastards.
___
On Radio 4. Just now. Talking about immigration. So why are those in power getting upset about it? Because of this growing sense of inequity. Apparently people are getting more and more worried that immigrants are getting more than their fair share, at the expense of "us" and our public services. And immigration is a big issue because it feeds into so many other issues - jobs, crime, the NHS, public services in general.
And why are all these issues on the agenda? Is it actually true? Do immigrants get more than their fair share? No they bloody don't. They contribute more in taxes than they take in benefits, and many groups are not even eligible for benefits, and even when they are they get pitiful help. I'll never forget the family of asylum seekers in front of me at the Asda checkout, who couldn't leave until I gave them an extra 10p because their food stamps (they only get stamps, they're not trusted with money) weren't enough to cover the pathetic collection of Value brandless products on the conveyor belt in front of them.
Figures are endlessly quoted of how many people are coming into this country, but nobody mentions the hundreds of thousands of Brits who leave each year. And why do they leave? Because they don't like the weather, or they've heard that in Australia, Canada, the US, other parts of Europe, the Far East they can get better-paid jobs or better benefits or a higher quality of life. We all know people who have done this. Do we condemn them, for taking other people's jobs, for using up the resources of other people's countries, for moving around the world in search of a better life? Do many people leave this country because they have been raped or beaten or tortured or have lost their home and their whole neighbourhoood in a flood or an earthquake? Would anyone blame them if they did?
So why are politicians concerned, if it's not even a fucking issue? Because the media, and those same fucking politicians, allow these lies to be propogated - and don't put anyone right. Because the fucking so-called neutral media continue to report the "issue of immigration" as if it really was an issue, and not just a convenient way of offloading concern on all those statedly-connected issues of crime, jobs, public services. Because rather than say "Actually, this is bollocks. We shouldn't be blaming these people for things that are not their fault," it's easier to say "Ooh yes, immigration, what a problem it is, let's make it even fucking harder for any poor bastard to move to our supposedly-wonderful country, and then demonise them even more in the process."
Meanwhile people go through hell in order to get to this country and leave their homes, only to find themselves vilified, attacked, even murdered when they get here. And all over the world and history, most ethnic and civil conflicts have their roots in fuckwit politicians pitting populations against one another to distract them from the real problems. And people die.
Fucking bastards.
___
Labels: Politics
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