White British – The two words toxate politics


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The political mainstream discourse has found two words that penetrate “White British”. The term is increasingly used to create a narrative of the victim that is pushed out of the local population of Great Britain. The stories are always the same: the white British become a minority in their own country; They are discriminated against in recruitment; British culture and history are devalued.

There are real problems to solve. The scandal of Children’s gangs; Mass immigration creates racist ghettos that are so sealed that they represent an obstacle to integration. Asymmetrical multiculturalism creates at least the perception of a two -stage society. But why the focus on the blunt expression “white British”?

When Robert Jenrick, A man who (not least by himself was seen as the next conservative guide speaks repeatedly about the decline of the “white British” population in some cities and says that Great Britain is “an island of strangers”, does not distinguish his words between non-whites. Apparently it would be just as problematic if Rishi Sunak or Kemi Badenoch would move in.

There is no gradation, no separation of well -integrated of not. Black British of the third generation, whose Windrush predecessors answered the call to fill workers on the wrong side of this binary main book. Also politicians such as Priti Patel or Sadiq Khan, the actor Ben Kingsley or the journalist Mishal Husain as well as many law -loving citizens inadequate leaves.

Neil O’Brien, a thoughtful conservative front bencher, uses the white British appearance for its Data blog Because of the ethnic categories in the census. But O’Brien’s contributions also sound alarm with headings such as “mass migration and break of social change”. Other Tories too provide the term. Nigel Farage is often more careful, but he also speaks of “white” cities of the minority.

Regardless of the motifs, the basis or benign, this use of “white British” reduces the discussion on the skin color in political discourse and ignores integration or the contribution. White British are the only measure of virtue. One Prominent legal blogger Seemed that the proportion of white British could only be 33 percent (out of almost 75 percent in England and Wales in the 2021 census) by the end of the century, and that a majority has no British descent beyond one or two generations beyond one or two generations.

Apart from the mainstream parties, the new White Warriors show little reluctance when looking for complaints. Anti-immigrant violence is excused or legitimized by right-wing commentators. Open anti-Muslim feeling becomes the order of the day. The crimes of non-white are relentlessly highlighted and the atrocities of other skipped. When a man drove into a lot of Liverpool fans, social media showed people who prepared themselves for a new fight. After the police unveiled that he was white (even a shocking but short -sighted step to listen to violence), let the interest.

And this is not just a problem for the obvious reason. But also because there are serious problems that you have to tackle. Only this week Louise Casey’s report the shocking and persistent failure emphasized to protect young girls from organized sexual exploitation by men Pakistani origin. These crimes were partially ignored because the authorities feared, racist or touching departments, and had a shameful disregard for victims that they saw as a subclass.

Complaints against outsiders are forever. However, it is true that some areas have a very high or dominant immigrant communities and the concentration with high number of numbers. It is also worrying that some constituents have recently chosen independent MPs who explicitly make sectarian arguments in Muslim areas.

All of this leads to a question. What do you actually want to do about it? Reducing legal migration to a trickle slows down the pace of change, but cannot change the existing conditions: 9.6 million non-white or multi-ethnic residents Plus another 3.7 million white non-British are legal here.

There are only three options. The first is to relax over it. The second is to find paths to operate the integration and to find out people from their self -imposed ghettos. This means guidelines in relation to language and culture that drive a uniform concept of Briteness.

The third is the remedy that is intended by the former Tory and Ukip MP Douglas Carswell, who calls for a “mass deportation of Pakistan”. Such a conversation goes far beyond the removal of illegal migrants and convicted criminals, but it is the logical conclusion if you see this as a pure game game. Fortunately, there is no evidence of public support for the broadcast of legal migrants and their descendants born in Great Britain.

But there is a challenge for the left, because where problems are real, they have to be recognized and tackled. Be it rape, recruitment practices or other topics, progressive politicians do their reason without favors by rejecting all the symptoms as “far right” and avoiding difficult conversations.

The only harmonious future lies in a well -integrated, multi -ethnic society that everyone sees as fair. Many would argue that Britain is already this society. However, one thing is clear. There are serious problems, visceral and complex, perceived and real. However, they are not fixed around the skin color by charging the white complaint with lazy dichotomies that create two levels of citizens, a real race and “plastic british”. Some problems cannot be reduced to white and not white.

Robert.shrimsley@ft.com



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