Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Mixed emotions about British Values?

So the peculiar thing about my relationship with my home country is this; Its a love-hate thing with not much middle ground. Briefly saw a friend Laura Killeen at Village Underground in Shoreditch. Loved it. Used the 41 Bus to get to Archway, had to run to a stop that seemed too far from the previous one, seats small. Hated It. Used the London Overground for the first time which now links Crystal Palace in the South to East London and loops round to Richmond. Loved it. Went to Oxford St. Hated it. Watched some morning TV programmes, Jeremy Kyle, The Wright Stuff, Aussie Undercover Boss.  Hated It. Every small shop, Tesco express etc packed with chocolates, candy and garbage nr checkouts. Hated It.  Met Kate Garner in a coffee shop that allowed dogs in Crouch End. Loved It.  

The Union Jack is flying in the short video  but I thought about the upcoming vote on Scottish Independence which I suppose would mean this flag and what it represents would have to be replaced?

This flag was flying outside a Servicemen and womens social centre on a street which has a thinly disguised Nazi 'shop' near to another store with signs in Arabic near to a large building [diamond business] run by Orthodox Jews and the breadth and uncontrolled growth of multi-culturalism made me wonder how this will play out. I'm 100% pro cultural diversity but I do wonder whether the masses that have emigrated here care in the same way?  There seems to be some evidence that a lot of new immigrants didn't come to integrate and assimilate but perhaps came as economic migrants with a determination to create a home away from home.  In Birmingham this has allegedly led to 'Islamization' of schools that are not supposed to be faith based.  Perhaps none of this would matter except that the so called 'sexual' revolution of the sixties and the social changes following the grim 70s/80s could be rolled back by immigrant mores and customs that have no correlation to the sometimes hard won concessions that society as it was only a short time ago demanded.   

What are British Values anyway? 

Do we actually know?  - the same tolerance and inclusiveness that we espouse might be used to repress the rights of ethnic children born here in insidious ways.   The average white Brit regardless of their politics would find segregation of a boys and girls at school regressive and 'Victorian' wouldn't they?   We abolished it for our own children decades ago but will we now fight for the rights of these newer Brits against their own traditions and religious customs?

Is Britain really a Christian country considering we have one of the lowest attendances among so called Christian countries in Europe?  Why was I made to sing the following:

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, 
With the cross of Jesus, going on before.. 

and so on.....   It seemed innocuous when I was seven and we sang it by rote but now?  Offensive to Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and others? Definitely.

Waiting for an answer?

No comments: