Are Irish People Xenophobic?

UsernameInUse

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves. I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

strokemyclover

Yes

cianl1

strokemyclover wrote: »

Yes

/thread

TheIrishGrover

Yes...... in the same way and to the same degree as other countries. Your real question should have been: Is Ireland More Xenophobic Than Other Countries

My name is URL

Delicious generalisations. And all without a single hint of irony

Hazys

I thought Xena was hot even if she was a bit manly, but hate her? no

tallaghtmick

are you saying irish people discriminate against protestants,muslims,africans,chinese,polish,romanian gypsies,travellers,people from the northside of dublin?well sir i very much disagree:pac:

pragmatic1

OP a middle ground between your view and the views of xenophobic people is the best. We dont have infinite resources, we have a small population and we need to keep our identity. However, new blood is needed to bring fresh ideas and add to our country.

Mike 1972

Im not Xenophobic like those bloody foreigners ?

jimcoolding

Only because we have a strange sense of entitlement.

citizen_p

well history has alot to play, Ireland was always a country of out migration, and apart from the english settlers (vikings and normans if you want to be pedantic) the only in-migration has been in the last 50 years. england has had a relitivley multicultured society for centuries (former colonies etc... ), and so has most of mediterannen europe and north africa due to roman influence and afterwards, influences which without the catholic church rarley reached us.

LambsEye

I'm not racist but....................













*Insert exceedingly racist comment

Hazys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brj2UkUPjCI

Rented Mule

jimcoolding wrote: »

Only because we have a strange sense of entitlement.

How's that working out for the country these days ?

NeedaNewName

Don't know about us but switch from English to polish on this site...

http://www.umlub.pl/index2.html

:eek:

londonbus

Bloody foreigners.

There's the child I know*. He's 7. Three of his grandparents are foreigners. His paternal grandmother came over in 1964 to train as a nurse - can't get her to go home, despite best efforts. She married a local man and they bred like rabbits - had four kids...

Then there's his other grandparents. Both from these small islands. Had two kids. Now retired. Sheesh...

*Except the child is my son - Sean. I'm sitting in London where we live. The paternal grandmother is my mother who came to England in 1964 to train as a nurse because in those days in Ireland you had to pay. In the UK, the NHS paid you...

Sean's maternal grandfather is from Montserrat. Its Irish in a Carribean fashion... and his maternal grandmother is from Jamaica.

All of these immigrants have worked hard and paid taxes.

Are Irish people Xenophobic? Some probably are. Most countries will have some xenophobes. To be fair, Ireland has swung from emmigration to immigration and has experience the social changes arising from this over 15 years. In England - and particularly London - we've had waves of immigration for the last 120 years.

And in the words of the graffiti at Holyhead: "Keep the Boat People Out. Sink the Dun Laoghaire ferry."

My name is URL

NeedaNewName wrote: »

Don't know about us but switch from English to polish on this site...

http://www.umlub.pl/index2.html

:eek:

wow.. and no doubt pointing out the blatant racism displayed there would be construed by some here as being equally as racist against the Polish.

Look here too - http://www.pcworld.com/article/170820/microsoft_apologizes_for_racially_charged_image_alteration.html

Amhran Nua

Mousey- wrote: »

england has had a relitivley multicultured society for centuries (former colonies etc... ),

No it didn't, they only started letting them in in the 40s and had race riots by the 50s, continuing to this very day.

Irish people generally are about as far from xenophobic as you're likely to find in my experience, there are the odd few but you'll get that anywhere. Proportional migration: if the entire population of Poland had upped sticks and left the country a vacant lot, moving to the USA, over a two year period, you'd have the equivalent immigration experienced by Ireland, and not a peep of a right wing group in sight, unlike most of our European neighbours.

londonbus

Amhran Nua wrote: »

No it didn't, they only started letting them in in the 40s and had race riots by the 50s, continuing to this very day.

Irish people generally are about as far from xenophobic as you're likely to find in my experience, there are the odd few but you'll get that anywhere. Proportional migration: if the entire population of Poland had upped sticks and left the country a vacant lot, moving to the USA, over a two year period, you'd have the equivalent immigration experienced by Ireland, and not a peep of a right wing group in sight, unlike most of our European neighbours.

Apart from the problems in Oldham what are you talking about? The riots in England in the early 1980s weren't race riots. They were young people vs police. Equal opportunity riots. Sheesh...

Amhran Nua

londonbus wrote: »

Apart from the problems in Oldham what are you talking about? The riots in England in the early 1980s weren't race riots. They were young people vs police. Equal opportunity riots. Sheesh...

Oh long before Oldham:

1958: Violence breaks out in Notting Hill Gate, west London, sparked by a domestic incident between a black man and his white girlfriend. TV crews are accused of encouraging riots by staging reconstructions in the streets

1981: More than 300 people are injured, including 200 police officers, as crowds hurl petrol bombs in Brixton, south London. The two-day clash causes £6.5m damage. Later in the year there is another riot in Brixton, as well as in Manchester, Southall and Toxteth, Liverpool, where a man is killed

1985: Trouble flares up again in Handsworth, Birmingham. Rioting leaves two people dead and dozens of buildings gutted by firebombs. More violence breaks out when a black woman, Cherry Groce, is mistakenly shot by police who burst into her home looking for her son in connection with an armed robbery. More than 50 cars are set alight and two shops gutted

1985: Broadwater Farm. PC Keith Blakelock is hacked to death with knives and machetes

1995: A policeman is almost kicked to death after being pulled off his motorcycle during a second riot in Brixton

1995: Three nights of fighting causes more than £1m worth of damage after gangs of Asian youths run amok in Manningham, Bradford

1998: A group of 100 youths throw bottles, cans and stones at policeas the five suspects of the racist murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence arrive at the inquiry

Then we have 2001, Oldham, 2005, Birmingham, 2009, Birmingham again, I'm sure there are probably a few more incidents but that will do to be getting along with. Indeed, even the US ambassador was a bit shocked by the attitudes encountered, according to wikileaks:

Toxteth, Brixton, and Handsworth were the scenes of violent race riots that summer, leading Raymond Seitz, the then US ambassador, to write to Washington: "Dickens described the squalor, overcrowding and poverty in Britain's cities over a century ago.

"What has changed is that the people affected are increasingly likely to be members of minority groups."

The Guardian newspaper reported that Seitz added that Britain was unprepared for dealing with the impact of immigration and looked on "complacently" while America dealt with similar riots in the 1960s.

"The one acerbic exception came in 1968 when Enoch Powell, a Conservative MP, made a notorious speech in which he predicted 'rivers of blood' in the streets if the tide of Asian and African immigrants was not stemmed," Seitz wrote.

"However crudely and unacceptably to most of his audience, he had put his finger on a problem: Britain appears unprepared to deal with the profound change in the complexion of its society.

"There are only 1 million blacks and browns in Britain, out of a population of 54 million, and by now half of these are British born. But their outsider status persists."

He added: "Reporting of the recent race riots has reflected the rabble-rousing racism which is still easy discourse in modern Britain.

"Tabloids describe the 'Zulu-style war cries' of the rioters and recycle the comments of whites calling them 'barbarians' and 'animals'.

"We are likely to see more rioting ahead. While the onset of winter may inhibit street violence, spring cannot be far behind."

The disclosure was included in one of more than 250,000 US embassy documents leaked to several media outlets including The Guardian, New York Times and Der Spiegel.

Lawrence1895

Xenophobia does not automatically lead to racism, just to mention that

jumpguy

Are some Irish people xenophobic, yes. Are ALL Irish people xenophobic, of course not. I think we're actually quite good with foreigners in comparison to some other countries, I think there's a good share of us who realise we've all had people who emigrated. I remember one of the fears being bandied about when the Celtic Tiger came crashing down was "but all the Polish will go back and we'll be left with a vacuum of workers!" (Quite a retarded statement yes, but certainly showing a lack of xenophobia.)

There are, of course, exceptions, but in general I think Ireland has done well and treated foreigners quite well. I've heard of little racially-motivated incidents in my area in the last few years.

londonbus

@Amhran Nua

..and then we have the really terrifying thing about immigration...


We're breeding with them! And its acceptable!

Even The Daily Mail says so!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1268580/At-Its-cool-mixed-race-handy-Im-African-American-Jewish-Geordie-Irish-Scottish-Hungarian.html

And even when you can't see racial mixing - well these immigrants just breed.

I mean - 10% of the British Population have at least one Irish grandparent:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,,1871753,00.html


Its horrendous! At home I'm an ethnic minority. My household is 33% White, 33% Black and 33% Mixed Race. And when the in-laws come round its only 20% white. Outrageous...

Dr_Phil

No. Living here 7+ years and never experienced any.
Very happy here.

Amhran Nua

Bit more here:

Modern Britain

There were race riots across the United Kingdom in 1919: South Shields, Glasgow, London's East End, Liverpool, Cardiff, Barry, and Newport. There were further riots by immigrant and minority populations in East London during the 1930s and Notting Hill in the 1950s.

In the early 1980s, societal racism, discrimination and poverty — alongside further perceptions of powerlessness and oppressive policing — sparked a series of riots in areas with substantial African-Caribbean populations. These riots took place in St Pauls in 1980, Brixton, Toxteth and Moss Side in 1981, St Pauls again in 1982, Notting Hill Gate in 1982, Toxteth in 1982, and Handsworth, Brixton and Tottenham in 1985.

The report identified both "racial discrimination" and a "racial disadvantage" in Britain, concluding that urgent action was needed to prevent these issues becoming an "endemic, ineradicable disease threatening the very survival of our society". The era saw an increase in attacks on Black people by White people. The Joint Campaign Against Racism committee reported that there had been more than 20,000 attacks on non- Indigenous Britons including Britons of Asian origin during 1985.

The British Crime Survey reveals that in 2004, 87,000 people from black or minority ethnic communities said they had been a victim of a racially motivated crime. They had suffered 49,000 violent attacks, with 4,000 being wounded. At the same time 92,000 white people said they had also fallen victim of a racially motivated crime. The number of violent attacks against whites reached 77,000, while the number of white people who reported being wounded was five times the number of black and minority ethnic victims at 20,000. Most of the offenders (57%) in the racially motivated crimes identified in the British Crime Survey are not white. White victims said 82% of offenders were not white.

Racism in one form or another was widespread in Britain before the twentieth century, and during the 1900s particularly towards Jewish groups and immigrants from Eastern Europe. The British establishment even considered Irish people a separate and degenerate race until well into the 19th century.

Since World War I, public expressions of racism have been limited to far-right political parties such as the British National Front in the 1970s, whilst most mainstream politicians have publicly condemned all forms of racism. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that racism remains widespread, and some politicians and public figures have been accused of excusing or pandering to racist attitudes in the media, particularly with regard to immigration. There have been growing concerns in recent years about institutional racism in public and private bodies, and the tacit support this gives to crimes resulting from racism, such as the murder of Stephen Lawrence, Gavin Hopley and Ross Parker.

The Race Relations Act 1965 outlawed public discrimination, and established the Race Relations Board. Further Acts in 1968 and 1976 outlawed discrimination in employment, housing and social services, and replaced the Race Relations Board with Commission for Racial Equality. The Human Rights Act 1999 made organisations in Britain, including public authorities, subject to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Race Relations Act 2000 extends existing legislation for the public sector to the police force, and requires public authorities to promote equality.

Although various anti-discrimination legislation do exist. According to some sources most employers in the UK remain institutionally racist including public bodies such as the police and particularly the legal profession. It is also nearly impossible for persons subject to such institutional racism (who are normally economically disadvantaged) to seek legal redress, as in the UK public funding (legal aid) is not available at employment tribunals. The situation with the implementation of Human Rights law is similar. The Terrorism Acts, which came into law in 2000 and 2006, have caused a marked increase in racial profiling and have also been the basis to justify existent trends in discrimination against persons of Muslim origin (or resembling such) by the British police.

There have been tensions over immigration since at least the early 1900s. These were originally engendered by hostility towards Jews and immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe. Britain first began restricting immigration in 1905 under the Aliens Restriction Act. This was the first time that the United Kingdom implemented a policy that was designed to prevent the influx of immigrants,in particular it was aimed at those Jews who had fled persecution in Russia.

Before the Act Britain had had a favourable immigration policy, most notably throughout the Victorian Period. However,for the first time policy was enacted to prevent the wholesale entry of foreign migrants. Although the Act was extreme Britain maintained its asylum policy. This meant that any persons who had fled their country due to religious or political persecution could be granted asylum in the United Kingdom. However,such policy was removed in the period before the Second World War to prevent the wholesale entry of Jewish refugees leaving from the Third Reich. Although Britain's policy was restrictive it was one of the leading nations that helped solve the refugee crisis preceding World War Two.

Britain has also had very strong limits on immigration since the early 1960s. Legislation was particularly targeted at members of the Commonwealth of Nations, who had previously been able to migrate to the UK under the British Nationality Act 1948. Conservative MP Enoch Powell made a controversial 1968 Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to Commonwealth immigration to Britain; this resulted in him being swiftly removed from the Shadow Cabinet.

Virtually all legal immigration, except for those claiming refugee status, ended with the Immigration Act 1971; however, free movement for citizens of the European Union was later established by the Immigration Act 1988. Legislation in 1993, 1996 and 1999 gradually decreased the rights and benefits given to those claiming refugee status ("asylum seekers"). 582,000 people came to live in the UK from elsewhere in the world in 2004 according to the office of National Statistics.

Some commentators believe that an amount of racism, from within all communities, has been undocumented within the UK, adducing the many British cities whose populations have a clear racial divide. While these commentators believe that race relations have improved immensely over the last thirty years, they still believe that racial segregation remains an important but largely unaddressed problem, although research has shown that ethnic segregation has reduced within England and Wales between the 1991 Census and 2001 Census.

The United Kingdom has been accused of "sleepwalking toward apartheid" by Trevor Phillips, chair of that country's Commission for Racial Equality. Philips has said that Britain is fragmenting into isolated racial communities: "literal black holes into which no one goes without fear and trepidation and nobody escapes undamaged". Philips believes that racial segregation in Britain is approaching that of the United States. "You can get to the point as they have in the U.S. where things are so divided that there is no turning back."

The BBC has reported that the latest crime statistics appear to support Phillips' concerns. They show that race-hate crimes increased by almost 600 per cent in London in the month after the July 7 bomb attacks, with 269 more offences allegedly "motivated by religious hatred" reported to the Metropolitan Police, compared to the same period last year.

In 2007 racist remarks made by contestants on the Celebrity Big Brother TV series against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty caused widespread outrage, not least in the UK with the British public phoning in to make Shetty the series winner and the other ethnic minority contestant Jermaine Jackson the runner up. Demonstrators in Bangalore burned effigies of the TV Channel's directors.

Jaysus, the deeper you dig on this, the nastier it gets. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to calculate how much racial violence per annum we could expect if we were like the UK.

Amhran Nua

londonbus wrote: »

We're breeding with them! And its acceptable!

Oh hell yeah, my wife is asian.

PeterIanStaker

No more than anywhere else I would think.

darragh16

Ah sure its only a bit of a laugh... your not supposed to take it seriously!

dilbert2

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves. I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

In general no, I think we are as a nation reasonably modern, tolerant, liberal and enlightened in our views toward other people coming here. Sure you get the occasional right wing, foaming-at-the-mouth idiots complaining about how the place is been "stolen" from us, but in fairness you get those in every country.

Eve_Dublin

The Irish must be one of the most open nationalities in Europe to the idea of marrying someone from another country. My own family is like the United Nations. Why do I keep meeting people who are half Irish and half some other obscure/not-so-obscure nationality if were that closed minded? The Irish definitely couldn't be accused of "sticking with our own kind" that's for sure.

If you want xenophobia, come down here to Spain! They've even got a derogatory for Northern Europeans. I think most of the classes I've taught have commented on the "smelly, violent, filthy Chinese taking over the city". The immigrants are confined to one area of Madrid and most Spaniards I met warned me not to go there when I got here first and these were the supposedly hip, lefty crowd. I live in that area now and I couldn't be happier. They don't see a point in travelling when they "live in the best country in the world" and I've noticed recently swastikas spray painted on walls all over the city.

I'm not saying xenophobia doesn't exist in Ireland but your very wrong if you think were up there with the worst.

UsernameInUse

dilbert2 wrote: »

In general no, I think we are as a nation reasonably modern, tolerant, liberal and enlightened in our views toward other people coming here. Sure you get the occasional right wing, foaming-at-the-mouth idiots complaining about how the place is been "stolen" from us, but in fairness you get those in every country.

I'm right wing and I support free movement. I'm not sure if you understand the term, free movement.

It is the ability of all people to walk in an out of the country, literally.

walshb

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves. I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

The problem is when folks label others xenophobic just for voicing concerns about immigration levels; or for being angered by those who are here to sponge.

No problem with anyone wanting to make a better life for themselves, but if I am out working, and they are sitting on their holes getting hand outs, then **** off back to your own country.

You want a better life, earn it and I will applaud this.

tallaghtmick

NeedaNewName wrote: »

Don't know about us but switch from English to polish on this site...

http://www.umlub.pl/index2.html

:eek:

i must be thick as i cant see the racism

CreepingDeath

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

If they just came over here, no problem.
But they're looking for social welfare, rent allowance, putting their names on the housing list, taking up school places ahead of the locals etc.

There's absolutely no problem with people coming over here if they can support themselves and aren't displacing Irish people excessively.

But as I've said before, Ireland belongs to the Irish.
We have a right to be at least a little "territorial" and defend the resources our parents and us have built up and paid for.

I believe EVERY country has a right to put their own population ahead of immigrants. That includes America getting tough on illegal Irish etc.

UsernameInUse wrote: »

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves.

Did they Irish get social welfare when they emigrated to America ?
Can't say I know for sure, but imagine not nearly as generous as the Irish system is now.

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

The "racist" remark overused far too much.
If a black guy is attacked in Ireland it's considered racist, but if a white guy is attacked by a black guy then people question why they mentioned race.

Link from today


I'm sick of these liberals that think Ireland is a soup kitchen for the worlds population. As a country we're broke, and can't accept all these people who expect us to build them a house, pay them social welfare, pay for their kids education etc, all for nothing.

ilovelamp2000

So to clarify - is everyone that's against completely unfettered freedom of movement a racist then ?

haydar

i work with a lot of immigrants(Polish, Lithuanian, Pakistani) and iv asked them all have they experienced racism. They all answered yes but said it wasnt too bad!

Judging by people i know its only the people who havent traveled or dont know any foreigners who are racist

Overheal

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves. I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

thats inaccurate:

Article 13

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

People don't have the right to freely enter and exit other countries, beside their own.

twinQuins

walshb wrote: »

The problem is when folks label others xenophobic just for voicing concerns about immigration levels; or for being angered by those who are here to sponge.

That's the problem? As opposed to those who feel any immigration is too much and that all immigrants are spongers.

Son Of A Vidic

Xenophobic? certainly not. We are great at looking after the stranger and treating our own like sh1t.

NeedaNewName

tallaghtmick wrote: »

i must be thick as i cant see the racism

In the banner at the top right. Note the coloured bloke is now white when you go from English to Polish.

Not racism par se but like....

Amhran Nua

ilovelamp2000 wrote: »

So to clarify - is everyone that's against completely unfettered freedom of movement a racist then ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5D_tvtT2Ig

Couldn't find the "so I hear you're a racist now father" clip. By some of the random and arbitrary definitions out there a lot of people might be labelled racist by some, I think! Not that they are, of course.

Seanchai

UsernameInUse wrote: »

I see nothing wrong with the free movement of people in and out of the country - why are some people willing to bite the head off you for saying that? Surely, it's a basic Human Right?

It's particularly hypocritical when we are the people, who have been discriminated against in earlier times for doing just that - perhaps we could show some compassion for those that just want to make a better life for themselves. I think it's highly racist that some of as are very anti-multicultural.

Em, surely every single nation state is based upon opposition to foreigners, an opposition which turns to "xenophobia" when necessary. What would be the point in having a nation state unless you're going to define it, in large part anyway, as being against "outsiders"?

dilbert2

Seanchai wrote: »

Em, surely every single nation state is based upon opposition to foreigners, an opposition which turns to "xenophobia" when necessary. What would be the point in having a nation state unless you're going to define it, in large part anyway, as being against "outsiders"?

The concept of the nation-state is mostly rubbish, modern humans DNA can be traced back 100,000 years to Northeast Africa or thereabouts - long, long before the nationalist movements in the 19th century. It's all rubbish to be honest, humans have the same DNA and genetic makeup across all supposed borders. When NASA take photos of the earth, does it look anything like your political wall map?

CreepingDeath

dilbert2 wrote: »

The concept of the nation-state is mostly rubbish, modern humans DNA can be traced back 100,000 years to Northeast Africa or thereabouts - long, long before the nationalist movements in the 19th century. It's all rubbish to be honest, humans have the same DNA and genetic makeup across all supposed borders. When NASA take photos of the earth, does it look anything like your political wall map?

Completely and utterly wrong.

From an evolutionary point of view, we evolved from monkeys who had a social group of around 150 tops. That was our world.

Our brains aren't built to accept 4 million, or 4 billion people.
We have to break down people into manageable cliques and groups.
Even in Dublin, we have Northsiders and Southsiders.... in work we might have different departments, sales, qa, development, finance etc.

We have to fit people into hierarchies and groups.
As humans, we define ourselves within groups, and against groups.

So it's completely naive to think that a photo from space is going to make everyone hug each other.

Faith

Some are, some aren't.

/Thread

The point has been well made about immigrants being welcome if they earn their place in society, so I won't reiterate it. So you think there was a sign-up booth for social welfare on Ellis Island? If you emigrated to America back in the day, your only option was to work to support yourself. There were no handouts.

The other thing is, other cultures behave differently to us, which can cause problems. I've noticed from working in retail that many Africans don't use "please" and "thank you". Whereas an Irish person might say "Can I have X please? Thanks", an African customer will often say "Give me X". They're not being purposefully rude, they're just not used to using "please" and "thank you" like we do. Differences in cultures is a significant contributor to xenophobia because of lack of understand IMO.

dilbert2

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Completely and utterly wrong.

From an evolutionary point of view, we evolved from monkeys who had a social group of around 150 tops. That was our world.

Our brains aren't built to accept 4 million, or 4 billion people.
We have to break down people into manageable cliques and groups.
Even in Dublin, we have Northsiders and Southsiders.... in work we might have different departments, sales, qa, development, finance etc.

We have to fit people into hierarchies and groups.
As humans, we define ourselves within groups, and against groups.

So it's completely naive to think that a photo from space is going to make everyone hug each other.

This sounds more like evolutionary psychology pseudoscience and mumbo-jumbo to be honest as opposed to hard science, whether physical or biological. Humans are no doubt competitive, but the concept of nationality and race is purely nonsensical and an artificial construct.

As far as my brain is concerned – and I’m sure this is the case with most people – I would have no problem with the concept of a trillion humans, with whom I share physical similarities with and tolerate them on every other level. And this is the same brain whose neurological makeup has probably changed little since our hunter gathering days, despite our clearly superior level of knowledge to our early ancestors in all areas.

And no NASA photos don’t make us all hug each other, but they at least show us that the earth has no barriers. That’s only in the minds of certain people, not in the reality of the physical world

twinQuins

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Completely and utterly wrong.

From an evolutionary point of view, we evolved from monkeys who had a social group of around 150 tops. That was our world.

Our brains aren't built to accept 4 million, or 4 billion people.

It's funny how you discuss evolution in your previous sentence before coming out with this gem.
Don't you think that, oh I don't know, our brains might have evolved to cope with larger groups? After all, human societies have only been getting larger throughout history.

We have to break down people into manageable cliques and groups.
Even in Dublin, we have Northsiders and Southsiders.... in work we might have different departments, sales, qa, development, finance etc.

That's more to do with the fact that we like to compartmentalise everything - it comes from being a species of language users. Being able to define everything in our world is generally helpful and the more descriptive information we can attach to everything the better.

We have to fit people into hierarchies and groups.
As humans, we define ourselves within groups, and against groups.

So it's completely naive to think that a photo from space is going to make everyone hug each other.

So... on the one hand, man is gregarious and on the other... he's not? Your post seems rather paradoxical.
Humans like to belong, more than anything. We like to feel that we're a part of something larger than ourselves - down through history we've sought out larger and larger structures of order.

Funny how you talk of evolution and then dismiss the possibility of evolving beyond our tribal origins.

Monife

I think it is the under-educated that are a bit xenophobic.

My partner is black, and has experienced some racism. In fact, he was in town (Dublin) today waiting for me to pick him up and what I could only describe as some "young wan" came over to him, got up in his face and shouted "you fcuking blacks, I hate you". He was just standing there minding his own business, that is what annoys me.

Riamfada

Monife wrote: »

I think it is the under-educated that are a bit xenophobic.

My partner is black, and has experienced some racism. In fact, he was in town (Dublin) today waiting for me to pick him up and what I could only describe as some "young wan" came over to him, got up in his face and shouted "you fcuking blacks, I hate you". He was just standing there minding his own business, that is what annoys me.

Undereducated express their fear in that way, little skangers have been acting like this to Irish people for years. Rather than le'skanger approaching your boyfriend and saying "im afraid for the future of the Irish ethnicity with the greater influx of foreign cultures into my city and for the future ethnicity of my children" he states "I ****ing hate you blacks".

dsmythy

Monife wrote: »

I think it is the under-educated that are a bit xenophobic.

Funny how un-"diverse" the well educated are considering this statement.

gcgirl

I'm not racist BUT ..........................