That’s why we should never underestimate the power of multi-facetted influences.

There are plenty

of examples of integration that should get more publicity and we should exploit all their potential. It
should constitute a major strategy and investment as a model of how the most disparate people can
positively interact.
Freedom of speech and choice has contributed considerably to this, but I despise the
spineless racist and class distinction heritage of our British self-righteous, stiff-upper-lip, politically
‘correct’ society and the way it surreptitiously seeps into our psyche through the media. Whatever
happened to objective and insightful journalism? I listened to an interview between a respected
political broadcaster for BBC radio and a prominent Muslim leader. The leader said with such
insistent nonchalance, as if we’re all accepting and pre-disposed to this ‘truth,’ that “Muslims are
oppressed in this country.” Well, he has his right to that view but I challenge him to show me all
these oppressed and marginalised Muslims. Anywhere in the UK - show me just how oppressed they
are. Come on, please, I’d love to meet them. Yet this claim remained completely unchallenged by
the BBC broadcaster, since it was a politically sensitive time to be controversial towards the Muslim
community. And his interviewee didn’t know that?
So, was that a true expression of what faces Muslims in this country? Was that constructive?
Was it a valid point that helped us to get real about interaction and integration? Was that conducive
to acknowledging the true opportunities facing all UK communities? Or was it likely to reinforce
polarised factions? I thought we had a law against that now. I’m not against him saying it. I’m
against him getting away with it, unchallenged. I’m getting at the broadcaster more than the Muslim
speaker. His complacent, cosseting air of superiority was just as crass as the crude propaganda.
There seems to be a strong Eastern European contingency where I live, too. You only have
to think of the wars, organised crime, trafficking and prostitution etc. These people have astonishing
empowering experiences to share on these issues. But look at the difference between say young
Russian women and British. The stereotypes of poor little oppressed women, living in hovels with
their parents and grand parents, drinking litres of Vodka at a time fly out of the window. They’re
highly intelligent, well educated and qualified, have amazing work ethics and experience. They’re
often stunningly beautiful without a titanic ego to boost a shallow personality and can hold down a
serious philosophical conversation, in a club on a Saturday night, without being compelled to show
their tits and arse, throw up, or kick holes out of their abusive boyfriend’s attacker in the middle of
Peter Street, Manchester at three am in the morning. Russian woman are well wise to chauvinists.
I kind of resent the term integration, in a way, as if we are incapable of accepting different
perspectives than ours that don’t conflict with human rights. Those who can’t accept differences,
from any background, need to see how lazy-minded and weak that is. How detrimental that is. How
unrealistic that is. Schools have tried to address diversity, more than in previous generations, but
there is still a drive for separate schools. Raise the racism card folks. How can we blame them when
someone drunk leaving a city centre club at three am on a Sunday morning will give someone of a
different race a good kicking for fun, go and buy a kebab from someone of the same nationality,
won’t give a shit what race the taxi driver is so long as they can get home, (though, the driver has to
endure a load of verbal for their fare) and no matter what the origin of his drug supplier, he’ll sit
watching telly with him? It takes much more than business transactions to respect diversity, but it
has to be mutual. Seems we’re all up for those, though, no matter what colour your skin, what
country your parents came from, or how much we hate each other, your money’s always good.
I’m not against owning land and property or against someone loving the land where they
were born. But what is it that you love? Why is it that most people love the country they were born
and raised in? Is it the geographical country? Your government? Your religion? Or is it the way
people treat you and the lovely things or environment you enjoy? Is it comfort? Is it lazy-
mindedness? I don’t know. Even where things are bad people tend to do that and wish they could
change things. And many people with parents of foreign descent will feel that about the UK, when
comparing it to the land of their parents. I can wax lyrical over all the things I adore about the UK.
The majestic mountains, refreshing green hills and valleys, streams, moors, nooks and crannies; all
the dah-de-dah about the varied landscapes and nature of Scotland, all of Ireland, Wales and
England; the rich diversity and advancement of culture, education, history and art; its progressive
media taking us to every corner of the world. If I started, I’d never stop, so I won’t. We take so
much for granted, but how amazing that people got off their arses and gave us this. And it does feel
like home, when I return from abroad. It is more than my familiarity with the language and the
environment. It has nothing to do with my history; maybe a little to do with my relationships,
though I don’t need to be here permanently to sustain them. Look how many people are living over
here, far away from people they love.
But recently, almost everywhere I go, in conversations with all my friends and contacts, even
with people I don’t know, they are quick to say how much they hate this country at the moment.
How sick of being ripped off they are. And that’s people who were previously ok living in rip-off
Britain. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or where you are – nobody but nobody likes being
ripped off. Unprecedented numbers have emigrated or are contemplating it as soon as they can get
their act together. Many who have moved say they’d never return even if things improved. There
have been numerous media assertions that the credit crunch has persuaded many Britons to holiday
at home in the UK, where it’s cheaper! They’ve obviously never holidayed in the UK and don’t
even bother to research their news. They’re either being paid to boost the ailing economy, or they
like spending twice as much as they would to go abroad. This is a beautiful country but tourism is
part of the same rip-off culture. They must think ‘put everything up so no one can afford it except
the rich, then the rich will be the only ones that can stick it here in the end and we’ll be a country
full of rich people (who all live abroad anyway). And we’ll import the poor people to run the menial
tasks. Nah, that’d never work. Far too Mugabe, that.
Well, there are some things we could still rightly be proud of, if we preserve what we have
left. If we rewarded and promoted the good and common aspirations of all cultures and positive
exchanges here and abroad, couldn’t we feel better about our entire planet without leaving it to
David Attenborough, Michael Palin and Bruce Parry to fly the flag? That’s just naïve, some will
say, but positive interactions happen in small ways everyday, everywhere.
Our society is heading for a crash because it fails to have a level and solid substructure to
work from. The major inner cities seem to cope better with diversity; you cannot walk any street
without seeing it, which is great. There’s a whole history of it. But you don’t have to travel many
miles outside of any city to find strong excluding ethnic communities, or ingrained in-bred
homophobic attitudes. This is what we seem to be clinging on to as if it’s the only kind of stability
and identity we have left. But it isn’t stability, it is inverted anarchy. It’s survival. We’re all under
siege. Why do we prefer this to the prospect of a cohesive multi-ethnic community? Because we’re
convinced that our identity depends upon national and patriotic exclusivity. Fascism with another
face. White or black, fascism is still alive and kicking today in the UK. Despite all the documented
knowledge we have of the Nazi era, we have learned nothing. It is selective ignorance, though.
Danger and suspicion is on the increase, sure. Personal and national security is at a premium but
when I travel on a train or bus or plane, I think, ‘we’re all total strangers here and no-one speaks to
each other,’ then, I look at them individually and think, ‘…if this vehicle crashed, you might save
my life, or I might save yours, and when it’s all over we may feel better about each other and be
glad we were there for each other.’ My point is this: we shouldn’t be ‘accommodating’ other ethnic
groups; we should be one global community, but as long as we’ve decided that is unrealistic and we
glorify things that prevent it, how can we ever aim for it? People are naturally afraid of chaos but
that’s what we have already.
We are well capable of letting people be who they want to be and live together without
losing our identity; if that identity is a matter of personal choice in a climate of mutual respect, then
it was never in danger. That would be a stronger society. It’s only self-seeking liars and cheats,
power-hungry fear-mongers, that don’t want it. So how come oppressors get to have their way at
everyone else’s expense? If it’s so easy to let bigots have their way, why don’t we have a stab at
giving ourselves a chance? We surely outnumber them. We vote for them (well, a third of the
population does). Why can’t we get this right? Ok. I haven’t just been hit with the reality stick and
woke up to the fact this world is a cruel and aggressive place. And I haven’t just emerged from a pot
den wearing flowers in my hair with the ‘Ban The Bomb’ and ‘Om’ logos tattooed on my eyelids.
There is very little reasonable action that can be taken with ardent megalomaniacs, but why do we
employ mentally unsound predators in our ‘civilised’ society to make us ill for their gain? Why do
we give them the power? Well, it’s simply down to this simple dynamic:

Those who care more will always be at the mercy of those who care less.

In all areas of social, political and institutionalised denial, we have to overturn this
fundamental principle. The only way to achieve this is to reassess what we regard and reward as
strength and weakness.
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