Idiocy in Immigration - An False Belief

Immigration has to be one of the most contentious issues that politicians can discuss today. Somehow it has become ingrained into the British mindset that immigrants bring nothing but crime, unemployment and, frankly, mean trouble. It seems to be even more the case that it is not just extremists like the BNP that think this, but also a small minority politicians in the more ‘respectable’ and main stream British parties.
One of the main reasons why I think that immigration has been such a controversial issue for the UK is because of the legacy of the British Empire and what it has left in this country. For there still exists in Britain an ideal that somehow the British are superior to the rest. Now this is not a view that is expressed very often, certainly not vocally, but at least in our attitudes towards other countries, in particular Eastern Europeans and Asians it is very apparent. Whenever the immigration issue crops up in discussion or politics, there are always those that bring out the argument that immigrants are just here to live off the state and the benefits it awards. Aside from being misguided and completely incorrect, the idea typifies the attitudes some people have in this country towards foreigners. Somewhere the thought has been put into their heads that, simply because they are not British, they will not be putting something back in this country. There is absolutely no basis for any claims that immigrants to this country will not work when they come here. Immigration figures from independent sources show that unemployment amongst the white male population stands as 4%, whereas in Indian or Chinese male populations the figure is 7-9%. This shows that although unemployment is higher amongst other ethnic groups, the change is hardly on the scale that is often represented.
So why does this idea exist? Where has the idea that British people work harder and deserve more come from? We cannot simply put it down to a sense of national pride. If it were true that a nationalistic feeling was responsible for the notion that foreigners deserve less in this country because of a false belief in their work ethic, why aren’t people in the BNP and other right-wing groups up in arms about the thousands of American, French or Irish natives who live here? Of course they aren’t. So we have to turn to another solution, which I believe is the simple fact that it somehow irks certain people that others should be enjoying this country and working hard for it just as much as themselves. It is the selfish attitude that people such as Poles or Pakistanis should be allowed to enjoy the privileges of living in such a fine country, because that means they will have to share what they enjoy so much.

Queuing

Did you know that the average person in the UK over 50 will have spent 2 years waiting in lines?! The reason I mention this is because on Saturday I spent a small eternity queuing at the airport check where they processed 50,000 people’s boarding. I wouldn’t have minded if the single check in clerk was not yet out of Secondary school, had infinitesimally low intellect, and processed each boarding pass at the rate of one every half hour. But it wasn’t his entire fault; there were 50 check in desks unmanned right up until I reached the desk. Then, as if by some divine intervention, the entire check in clerk workforce in the UK filled up the available desks to process the 3 remaining families, then, presumably, sat and waited in an empty lobby until the next crush came, when they would all leave for tea break again! The same thing happened at the security checkpoint, passport control, boarding gate and even the coffee shop. Yet, as soon as I reached the airport in Switzerland, all was quick and efficient. The same was true of the bank and train station. Why?
Personally, I put it down to the Swiss Army knife. Any country that can come up with a contraption that contains tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew, fish scaler, magnifying glass, ballpoint pen, and even, on some modern ones, a USB key has to hold the reputation for being the most efficient nation in the world. Not that there are any uses for Swiss Army knives. Seriously, can you imagine a circumstance in which you would need an all-in-one fish scaler cum USB key? But that is not the point. Young children can cause serious damage and harm with them, so they have become a necessity for growing small boys. Efficiency is the key with Swiss Army knives. Can you imagine parents buying separate utensils for different purposes for kids who have a hankering to carve their initials in trees after removing splinters with tweezers? So, because the Swiss have achieved their reputation as being an efficient nation through the Swiss Army knife, they are anxious not to disappoint. And I salute them for it. If only we could have some of that clear headed efficiency in England. But we can’t, because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the fact that 4% of my life has been spent in a queue.