Trashing Britain: An Island Nation’s Dirty Immigrants?
Read Time:1 Minute, 46 Second
by Neil Bamforth
I can fully understand liberal hackles rising at the header question. ‘Oh here he goes again, immigrant bashing‘ – but, actually, it is merely a question. A question that, I believe, is justified simply by the evidence to hand.
If you go and live in a foreign country should you not respect said country?
Should you not adopt and adapt to said country?
Should you not avoid inciting the people of the country to which you are an immigrant to dislike you?
I recently went to a place called Christchurch – despite the name Christian fanatics are pretty thin on the ground, fortunately.
I went there with some chums on a walking football tour as it happens.
Christchurch has a population that is – at a reasonable guess – almost entirely white British.
It’s near The New Forest. A lovely part of the country. I’ve no idea why it’s called ‘The New Forest’ given it’s very old but hey ho, no matter, it’s lovely.
No litter in the streets.
The Cotswolds is another place we’ve been to.
Almost entirely white British. No litter in the streets. None.
The Pennines, just up the road from whence I originated.
Almost entirely white British. No litter.
The list is very long.
Then you turn your attention to my adopted hometown of Hayes, near Heathrow Airport.
A significant number of Asian, African and Eastern European immigrants.
Filthy. Litter everywhere. Polish beer cans and bottles, rubbish in driveways and on the street.
My hometown of Oldham. A high population of Pakistani and Bangladeshi plus a more recent influx of Eastern Europeans.
Filthy. Disgusting. Litter abounds.
Of course, there are areas predominantly white British that are filthy too. These areas tend to be inhabited by people that can often only be described as ‘white trash’.
So. Areas of Britain populated particularly by Asian, African and/or Eastern European immigrants plus ‘white trash’ areas. Filthy.
Areas populated almost exclusively by decent white British people virtually litter free.
I’m not going to give my opinion as to why beyond what I’ve already said.
I’m asking you why.
Why? You tell me.
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If we could suspend the name calling and wilfull misunderstanding, the problem of integrating immigrants into the “genpop” as they call it in the Slam, is something I think the US does better than other nations and perhaps because we’ve been dealing with the refuse of Europe since the 17th century. Usually within a generation the urban slums give birth to Americans who move on and leave the tenements empty for the next wave who speak a different language and eat different food and in passing give us new words and new food and a richer culture.
No we’re not good enough, but I think the UK and France and others are far worse and seem to have internal colonies or communities of exiles, uninterested in becoming French or English. We’re not a perfect melting pot, but with certain exceptions we’re better than others. We have more people looking for a new life, I’m guessing, and fewer looking for a walled community as much like the old country as possible.
You just nailed it Glenn.
Thank you.
You can look at any area where there are people and unless you live in a tony neighborhood there is trash. I give you parts of my city by the bay, San Francisco as but one example, maybe skid row in Los Angeles as but one more. some areas of the city are pristine and some areas you are scared to put your feet down, in case you step in something nasty. Some people are pigs, some people are not… race, religion, etc etc and so on, have ZERO to do with the state of certain places. People litter if they feel they can get away with it, no matter where you are. I have a couple of friends that disgust me, throwing cigarette butts on the ground when there may be a trash can sitting 3 feet away from them. Why can you not just take the few steps and throw your shit away like a normal person, into a trash receptacle people.
Absolutely right but, why – along with areas predominantly poor white – are areas predominantly immigrant – often 2nd, 3rd etc generation – more litter strewn?
Predominantly immigrant areas are not necessarily poor by any means. Many are quite wealthy.
He’s right is our Neil, and I don’t always agree with him, but he’s right. Bloody immigrants everywhere leaving their trash to fly about and that’s not what should be happening. They’ve no respect for us, none, and many don’t even bother to learn to speak our language. I suppose if you look at people commenting here like Cherries, Kirby, and Shirley I’m a bigot as well, but I’m not, far from it, just a person who speaks about what they see. I immigrated to the UK in 1972 from the Middle East, and I was raised not to throw my trash about, but the new ones weren’t raised that way. Good on you Neil for speaking your mind, nowt wrong with that!
Spoken like a true Yorkie 👍🍺😀
I don’t know how a blog called “Mad Mike’s America” became the soapbox for a blowhard British bigot’s logic-free rants about Britain, but I’ve lost interest. Unsubscribing.
Please don’t unsubscribe Mike Kirby you are a voice of reason.
Everything NN writes about is about immigrants/Muslims he’s determined to try and convince everyone to agree with his views.
I’m English and disagree with just about everything he says. It’s a mindset I think and sadly there’s quite a lot of people that think like he does.
Unsubscribing doesn’t solve anything. If you read the comments on this thread you will see that no one agrees with Neil’s position, but everyone respects his right to express it, in addition, if you will note the headline of this post, you will see it asks the question. I would hope you reconsider, as, like so many others here, you too are a voice of reason. That being said I don’t know we are a “soapbox” for logic-free rants, although we do entertain rants, primarily those directed at issues in the United States. Again, I hope you reconsider.
It strikes me that any view not coinciding with some qualifies as a soap box rant to them.
As Cherries rightly says, there’s quite a lot of people who think like me.
I guess they don’t generally pop up on MMA!
To me, discussion, debate and respect for opposing views always take precedence.
Not to some seemingly.
It’s your view or no view then Cherries.
Another sounding Trumpish.
I respect your views and your right to express them – including skating me.
It appears my respect only goes one way.
Well most of us are liberal up to the point where our opinions need to be defended. Does saying that make me a bigot? That accusation has become a frequent ego defense, but perhaps I am although it’s an ‘equal opportunity’ sort of bigot who doesn’t think much of the human race and its shifty standards, hypocrisy and self-satisfaction. Hell, my own proclivity to accept things that damn my list of deplorables without due diligence is probably as bad as anyone’s, although I try.
Poverty and disrespect for where one lives seem to go hand in hand and perhaps there’s a cultural element to it as well. To me the thing that needs to be asked and answered is how long does it take waves of immigrants to assimilate, to acquire an affection and respect for their new environment and to treat surroundings with some pride of place. What does it require of a country to aid people in this process?
Very good question indeed.
Most recent suggestion in Blighty has been compulsory English lessons….makes sense…an ability to communicate can’t be a bad thing.
I wonder whether Britain’s obsession with multi-culturalism isn’t helping….it can segregate people more than anything.
London’s Mayor Khan is currently supporting the building of new homes specifically for Muslims….it’s like ‘Hey! Let’s create a new ghetto chaps!’….madness
Now I have two questions.
The first I’ve already asked.
The second is – Why is it bigoted to ask why areas with large immigrant populations are so often filthy? They are as a matter of fact not opinion. It seems it’s better not to ask…..
I tried to address your question Neil. This not just Britain that is having a problem with unkempt areas of the cities. It happens everywhere. It is not always the immigrants but it is usually the poorer areas where people are crammed together. It is a combination of unmet expectations, depression, and frustration. Also, if one looks at their place of origin it is usually not the neatest places in the world. In some cases their hope to escape that is overwhelmed by the masses.
Too true. Poor areas tend to be rubbish strewn as well.
Perhaps it’s a lack of hope that makes people stop caring?
That is basically what I was trying to say.
Bill writes:
“…it is usually the poorer areas where people are crammed together. It is a combination of unmet expectations, depression, and frustration.”
Hear! Hear!
Didn’t you just write one of these about the same thing? Starting to sound like a broken record there old man.
I’ve mentioned it before. It’s getting worse so thought I’d ask for opinions why?
Royal family up shortly…
I can imagine the original inhabitants of America thinking much the same way Neil describes above. Native Americans that were widely scattered across this country felt a bonding with nature and their land. For the most part, based on some of the historical information, they could inhabit and area and it was just the way they liked it. In fact, some the nations could move from one place to another and leave their former residence pretty much as they had found it. This came from respecting the land and their culture. I think that anytime you have a cohesive culture it becomes self policing. However, in today’s modern world of global residences that changes. Immigrants to a new land to be the poorest and have a struggle just to get by. The poorest in most cultures today seem to be the litterbugs of the world until the assimilate to their new culture. But, there is also the problem of over populating a given area and crowded areas are difficult to keep up with the amount of refuse produced by humans. These areas were known as “transition areas” by Clifford and Shaw who studied population patterns and their effect on crime. People were stuck in an area, and tended to live up (or down) to those areas until they were able to move up the cultural ladder. This is not unlike the old European cities and towns of the past. Most had a fairly well kept social order based upon what one had and, of course their breeding. “Coming from good stock” was important and immigrants from less fortunate places tended to be of poorer stock by current social norms. Another thing were the expectations of immigrants. They left one place moving to a new place looking for a better life than they had but with their old customs intact. What they usually found that initially they were no better off than what they left behind. Some succeeded while many may not, at least, not right away. It is probably depressing and discouraging to the point that there was no pride left for them. And pride in ones self usually dictates ones living habits.
Sure, because correlation implies causation. If there are a lot of immigrants, and a lot of litter, then obviously the immigrants are the cause of the litter. It’s not at all possible that, say, the same social conditions that make housing accessible to immigrants also produce poor sanitation or civil disregard.
To a bigot, at least. Sensible people understand these things better but apparently sense doesn’t count for much these days, “truth” now refers to whatever allows people to justify their biases with minimal effort.
I don’t know how a blog called “Mad Mike’s America” became the soapbox for a blowhard British bigot’s logic-free rants about Britain, but I’ve lost interest. Unsubscribing.
Oh I see…you’re one of those ‘freedom of speech as long as I agree’ sorts…
Bye 👋
You can say what you like but he’s right there Norman, because you are a bigot you know. If a person is a different colour, speaks differently, or lives different from you they aren’t as good as you. Not just this one you know, like your theme there. I still read you and I won’t unsubscribe because I wouldn’t know how, but at least tell us the truth now and again about how you really feel.
I did.
I pointed out stupid white Brits litter….mainly because they’re stupid.
Most immigrants are far from stupid so why so much litter in areas containing high numbers of immigrants?
Apparently it’s racist to ask such a question regardless of the clear evidence.
‘Why?’is now a racist word 😋
What you say is true. Large metropolitan areas and surrounding environs are heavily populated so you will inevitably find more litter. Immigrants are often poor, coming from lives in their home country that offered little by way of education and few if any laws governing the proper disposal of trash. So, yes, immigrants may contribute an unhealthy quantity of detritus.
I think you could find trash on the street in any US City. When I first moved to Key West, Florida, I was astonished to see trash everywhere; blowing across the streets, in the mangroves, and on the beaches. This came from the tourists, who had no respect for the places they visit and care nothing about the locals, and how they feel about their homes. Visitors to the Florida Keys aren’t poor by any stretch of the imagination, although they do come from everywhere. I don’t really have the answer and agree with everything that’s been said on this thread so far, and also, at least in part with Neil, but not necessarily because certain “people” are more prone to littering. Certain cultures, perhaps, but people no.
Years ago, I applied for an indefinite leave to remain in England, for family reasons, which have since changed. My parents had immigrated there some time previously and were already citizens and living in Windsor where squalor seems unknown. I remember all the difficulty I had in demonstrating my suitability and financial stability. I don’t think the average American would qualify.
Evidently requirements are different for other countries of origin. But I certainly do not have an answer to your question. During the huge surge of immigration to the US a hundred years ago, there was a concentration of Europeans in certain cities and pictures illustrate some rather unattractive surroundings in New York and other places, yet in a generation or at most two, their population included people of means, professionals, statesmen and prosperous businessmen.
One thing that appears at least outwardly true was the wish to become Americans, look like Americans and have names that sounded American. Of course virtually all of us here are descended from immigrants and that is less true of your green and pleasant land. Still we can be mean and unpleasant about immigrants too.
My question is what it will be like 50 years from now – a hundred. Perhaps you’ll even accept an immigrant into the royal family. Oh wait. .
Being American, Meghan is, technically, an immigrant but a most welcome one – as are, actually, the majority.
It’s only a significant minority spoiling things for everyone.
As far as I can tell, Meghan’s already extremely popular in Blighty – and rightly so…..I bet she’s not a litter bug either 😜
One doesn’t have to be an immigrant to be a litterbug Neil, not by a long shot. I know some privileged white folk that are litterbugs, and worse. You don’t?
Of course not. There are plenty of stupid Brits around littering.
My question includes them albeit I’ve sort of answered it by saying they’re stupid.
Immigrants are far from stupid in general though so why the abnormal amount of littering in areas with a high immigrant population?
As usual some call it racist to even ask a question….and, as pointed out, I’ve touched on this before. It’s getting even worse though so why?
Never knew ‘why?’was racist 😋
Ha! I love your last paragraph!