The Fine Line between Racism and Frustration

Someone left a comment on my BBC: Museum drops race row scientist blog entry. This person who calls himself lee said "It seems that Dr. Watson has won the argument by default". I wasn't really sure how to react to that, so I went to his blog called Lost in Doncaster and found out some things about him.

1. He's unemployed and middle-aged.
2. He's an Anglo-Saxon Brit.

Then I really wasn't sure exactly how to react.

On the one hand, he's been unemployed since the early 1980s, probably since before I was born. His government is so scared of being called racist or xenophobic (or losing elections) that they're bending over backwards to make the minorities feel comfortable. In doing so, they're marginalising their own people and, although possibly not quite "letting" them remain unemployed, aren't doing things that will encourage their employment.

How would someone in this situation lash out? After over 20 years of unemployment, I'm quite sure that he would feel some animosity towards the "damned immigrants" who enter the country and take their jobs. From personal experience, there is also probably a correlation between the rising number of immigrant workers and crime. Muslims are acting to stake out their rights, while Englishfolk aren't allowed to voice out their arguments against it because it would be "intolerant" or "racist".

On the other hand, does the situation justify the claim that "the others" (read not Anglo-Saxon) are wrong for entering his country and taking his jobs? Is it really their fault? Most immigrants, also from personal experience, come from countries where they're so poor that they scavenge garbage dumps. They don't have access to clean water. People around them are hungry. The reason they migrate to find work is because staying put would be akin to killing themselves, or damning themselves to a life of misery.

As for those of other religions who demonstrate to establish their own rights in European countries; well some of them have been there for generations. They're not necessarily outsiders, but born within the country's borders itself, just as their kids will be. Do they have a right to stand up for their rights? I believe that people have a right to stand up for the most basic right: respect.

What about lee's situation? Is it really the immigrants' fault? Why is he blaming the other races and religions when its the governments' duty to protect its people? Probably because his government is marginalising him to benefit others. And consistently, at that. In this day and age, it just simply isn't accepted to do anything that can be misconstrued as racist or xenophobic because it might incite riots (or lose elections). But how is a government supposed to react to a situation where they're in the position to provide unemployment benefits to their own people and allow them to live relatively comfortable lives, and at the same time, provide a new life for others who otherwise would have been condemned to a life of misery and hunger?

Is the goverment guilty of ignoring those in lee's situation? Yes, probably.

Is lee's anger justified? Yes, but I think its misdirected. Just like many others who've faced this kind of difficult situation and been let down by the government. I'm not saying that this is true all the time. I freely admit that Muslims can be bastards sometimes, but that's also true for all other religions. While there are unfortunate causes for large scale immigration, this situation unfortunately also results in a sharp rise in crime, both petty and dangerous. In situations like this, anger is definitely justified.

How do I react? Do I point out to the Anglo-Saxons that they've (to my recollection) never been on the receiving end of racism, sexism or otherwise? That they don't know how it feels to be assumed to be stupid or unable to do something simply because of the color of your skin, or your gender, or your religion? I, myself, being on the wrong end of the spectrum for all three, know the feeling. That it's probably just as frustrating as being unemployed for two decades. Perhaps I should remind him that the Anglo-Saxons have been persecuting other races for centuries, and it's about time that they become the minority.

I should probably just remind myself that to form a better understanding, I need to keep an open mind and an eye on his blog.