4 ms·

Swedish “welcome refugees” backlash

4 points by colund 11y ago

deanCommie 11y ago
I recently relocated from Canada to Western Europe. It is absolutely mindblowing to my wife and I how casually racist Western Europeans are. We have had numerous people we met for less than 5 minutes drop passing references to other nationalities and ethnicities (indian, muslim, black) in a derogatory manner that would never fly in conversation in North America. Maybe I'm in a bubble, and all the friendly strangers I'm used to talking about at the dog park were also secretly nationalist, racist, and islamophobic in Vancouver. But somehow I doubt it. Basically, it boils down to immigrants to Canada and US seeing themselves as Canadians/Americans first. I don't know what in the culture leads to that, but it does. Meanwhile I've met people in the country where I'm living that have been there for 3 generations, speak only the local language, but see themselves as exclusively the country of the origin of their ancestors. Maybe because it's only an hour flight away? One only needs to look at /r/europe and see the awful shit that gets regularly upvoted to understand that Europe simply has not figured out how to welcome or embrace immigrants that are unexpectedly different from themselves in a way that is sustainable and does not self-perpetuate animosity. Unfortunately I do not have any solutions for this, only my own anecdotal observations.
- informatimago 11y ago
  First, we have perfectly well figured out how to welcome and embrace immigrants. Each country of Europe has at one time or another welcomed immigrants, and INTEGRATED them into their mores, culture, language, and laws. What is not acceptable and won't be accepted, is INVASION, where people are coming here, and after three generations, are still MUSLIM (not a religion), behaving and clothing as they do in Middle East, still speaking Arab, and unable to speak correctly the language of the country, and wanting to impose the Sharia law instead of respecting our laws. We know what this will result into, we've seen it in Lebanon, and we see it everyday in the USA. We do not want that, and won't have it, just like Isabel la Católica didn't have it 500 years ago. I should add that we know who puts us in this predicament, and it's not muslim countries. This has been theorized by Samuel P. Huntington and it's applied by the US government and his puppet master. This won't be left unpunished.
  - deanCommie 11y ago
    Europe has a long history of welcoming WHITE immigrants. People segregate because they are not welcomed and not integrated, so they cling to the communities that actually support them. You have no idea what you "see everyday in the USA." The USA has a horrible history of government-mandated segregation that leads to inequality and class divides. The only times they were able to rise above their problems is when they introduced FORCED de-segregation. Forcing people to interact with those different from one another is the only way to get past our differences and towards unity.

4 points by colund 11y ago

I recently relocated from Canada to Western Europe. It is absolutely mindblowing to my wife and I how casually racist Western Europeans are. We have had numerous people we met for less than 5 minutes drop passing references to other nationalities and ethnicities (indian, muslim, black) in a derogatory manner that would never fly in conversation in North America. Maybe I'm in a bubble, and all the friendly strangers I'm used to talking about at the dog park were also secretly nationalist, racist, and islamophobic in Vancouver. But somehow I doubt it. Basically, it boils down to immigrants to Canada and US seeing themselves as Canadians/Americans first. I don't know what in the culture leads to that, but it does. Meanwhile I've met people in the country where I'm living that have been there for 3 generations, speak only the local language, but see themselves as exclusively the country of the origin of their ancestors. Maybe because it's only an hour flight away? One only needs to look at /r/europe and see the awful shit that gets regularly upvoted to understand that Europe simply has not figured out how to welcome or embrace immigrants that are unexpectedly different from themselves in a way that is sustainable and does not self-perpetuate animosity. Unfortunately I do not have any solutions for this, only my own anecdotal observations.

informatimago 11y ago
First, we have perfectly well figured out how to welcome and embrace immigrants. Each country of Europe has at one time or another welcomed immigrants, and INTEGRATED them into their mores, culture, language, and laws. What is not acceptable and won't be accepted, is INVASION, where people are coming here, and after three generations, are still MUSLIM (not a religion), behaving and clothing as they do in Middle East, still speaking Arab, and unable to speak correctly the language of the country, and wanting to impose the Sharia law instead of respecting our laws. We know what this will result into, we've seen it in Lebanon, and we see it everyday in the USA. We do not want that, and won't have it, just like Isabel la Católica didn't have it 500 years ago. I should add that we know who puts us in this predicament, and it's not muslim countries. This has been theorized by Samuel P. Huntington and it's applied by the US government and his puppet master. This won't be left unpunished.
- deanCommie 11y ago
  Europe has a long history of welcoming WHITE immigrants. People segregate because they are not welcomed and not integrated, so they cling to the communities that actually support them. You have no idea what you "see everyday in the USA." The USA has a horrible history of government-mandated segregation that leads to inequality and class divides. The only times they were able to rise above their problems is when they introduced FORCED de-segregation. Forcing people to interact with those different from one another is the only way to get past our differences and towards unity.