princealbertofb Wrote:Asians living in Europe ought to start adopting some more adaptive stances then, lest we call it an invasion...
Easily said by a native, although my feeling these days tends towards agreement. I recognise that my judgement may not be altogether sound. If I go to another country I have always expected to be aware of and abide by its laws and customs. If I find those laws and customs unpalatable I don't have to go there. If I really object I can let other people know what I observe and how I feel. Complaining from a distance has always been easy. That's my excuse for my interest in what's happening in Uganda, for example. I am in conflict with myself on this though. Spending a lot of time in France I see some attitudes are different from those to which I am accustomed and I know there is a little bit of the missionary in me. I do try to restrain myself. I daresay there are times when I don't realise I am trampling on cultural sensitivities, by my words and actions, but I try not to.
I suspect it may have been some form of residual guilt over England's colonialist history that, somehow, drew me to agree with multi-culturalist ideas that allowed, at first, the gradual growth of quasi-ghettos of immigrants I observed when I was teaching 30+ years ago. However, that well-meant welcome has probably contributed to a disaffection among many of the descendants of those settlers who thought to come to the UK for a better life. I saw my complicity with this philosophy as an opportunity to learn about other people at close quarters. For my pains I was often called racist by those whose traditions I tried to understand and respect. However, having seen that such respect may not have been reciprocated I have no choice but to see that some people have an eye towards invasion and assimilation by stealth, while others feel justified in promoting their demands through violence and terror. Anyone from these newer communities who fails to oppose the spread of radical conservative ideas is inevitably part of a problem that has created some difficulties for all of us.
I doubt that my partner and I would choose to relocate to an area where being gay was more of a problem. On the contrary I am sure we are both in agreement that it is right to offer sanctuary to those who suffer real hardship in societies that consider homophobia acceptable, whilst supporting them in their campaigns for peaceful change in their own lands of origin. My hope is that we will all learn to accept that it is okay to live and let live if we do as we would be done by. Maybe the Victorians inadvertently got one or two things right after all?
However, it is totally unacceptable that anyone living in the UK, whether in Bradford or anywhere else, should feel unable to be themselves. Being gay is okay. Being out should mean being able to live in peace and freedom.
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mile:
