Well these sort of comments are annoying but it depends on context more than anything. If your boss or colleagues are continuously using racial slurs or ethnic references its going to be a problem in the West, which is better than the East in this regard.
I had a senior Irish colleague who threatened a boss with a lawsuit due to his publicly mentioning Irish gypsies at a corporate meeting. He laughed it off at the time thinking it would go away. He was hauled over the coals and forced to make a mealy mouthed public apology, and yes he was a complete tosser!
The fact is that a lot of Irish people do drink too much, if a Taiwanese said that to me I couldn’t disagree. If a British person constantly brought it up then I’d think hold it a second it’s the same in the UK why are you focusing on the Irish?
Once again though I would be the first to admit alcohol causes a lot of problems in Ireland.
The use of Paddy again is contentious, many Irish don’t care , but many do, especially in the UK where it was often used negatively in the past. They might not tell what they feel about this directly to save hassle or conflict. Some take perverse pride in the term, Paddy Powers bookmakers being an interesting example. Use with care and don’t call me Paddy .
When I was in the US some older people had the habit of calling me ‘Irish’. Although nothing was intended by it this got on my nerves somewhat and eventually told them to stop and learn what my name was, some people have no manners. Although they were old so maybe they had problems with remembering names!?!
Why is it strange for people to want to live in a community with people who share their culture and values? Why is it okay for the Dalai Lama, but not European far-right groups, to demand an end to ethnic swamping? Not only Australia but also the USA, South Africa, and various European countries are becoming unrecognizable. Is it wrong for the natives to defend their way of life? We may all be homo sapiens, but that doesn’t make us family. They say human and chimpanzee DNA is mostly similar too. The little differences are important! Anyway, you wouldn’t let me in your house just for being a human–why would you let me in your country? In order for a people to control any territory, they have to be willing to keep people out, otherwise they will be taken over by foreigners with fewer ethical scruples.
That’s true, and if you complain about it you are considered a racist. Perhaps up to now some of the complainants have been a bit racist. But people do have the right to be concerned about the radical transformation of their communities.
Whoa, dude! Are you implying that the differences between human ethnic groups are analogous to the differences between humans and chimp?
Why do you presume immigrants will have fewer ethical scruples?
No, a closer (though still imperfect) analogy would be with breeds of dogs. Remember however that human identity groups need not be “racial,” but can be based on things like language or religion.
If they do not, then they will be dispossessed like their predecessors. Eventually some group will come along which is willing to kick newcomers away from the lifeboat, so to speak. It’s not that they will lack ethics, it’s just that their ethics will be different (and more robust).
I think your analogies are a bit dodgy. There are smarter and dumber, more and less potentially vicious breeds of dogs, yes? I wouldn’t want to say that about cultures.
Do most immigrants to the Western World have to scrap over available seats on a lifeboat? I don’t think so! Most of them probably have some money, are good at paperwork, or just stubborn and lucky. I don’t see any of those as making it hard for them to fit in in the West.
Of course in a democracy the voters should have a right to determine government policy. At the same time voters should be informed as to what is fact and what is fiction, and can be easily mislead and taken advantage of by simplified talking points and swayed in times of economic uncertainty.
Immigrants and different ethnic groups are often a convenient target for the pols and the mob to target their grievances.
Countries have a right to control their immigration policy but it should be done in a fair and transparent manner without rabble rousing. There should also be transparency as to how much immigrants can also contribute to economies, such as my example of foreign students above.
I don’t get it. Imagine if the WASPS in the US were such shortsighted with the Irish. There would have been no beat cops, factory folk, or domestics in the 19th century (I’m Irish on one side so can take the piss).
The island of Ireland has a population of around 7 million. The estimated global Muslim population is 2 billion, roughly that of China and India combined. So by per capita, Ireland has a far higher percentage of terrorists and has committed more terrorist attacks than Islamofascists, and it’s not even close.
I can take the piss out of the Irish because I’m part Wel- …well, close enough.
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