The Next Europe (1 Viewer)

[jsanders]

How is Europe going to reconcile its differences with its new citizens?

For a look at the type of issues multicultural Americans have been working out for years, take a listen to these reports on NPR


Honor Killings in Iraq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5043032

Honor Killings in Germany
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4565134

 

[jsanders]

What's the mater guys?
You don't have an answer to this do you?

It’s easy to say the American's need to straiten up their act, but it's a whole other story when it's in your back yard.

Here’s one for the slang thread.

When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember that the goal was to drain the swamp.

I have no idea how that relates, but it sounded good.

 

[jsanders]

What's the mater Brits, the cat got your tongues?

 

[Rich]

What are you asking us for, it's Europes problem, not ours

 

[jsanders]

What are you asking us for, it's Europes problem, not ours

It will be.

 

[Rich]

It will be.

No it won't, none of the countries that want to join are armed up to the teeth with guns hidden under the pillow, that's an American trait

 

[jsanders]

No it won't, none of the countries that want to join are armed up to the teeth with guns hidden under the pillow, that's an American trait

I see; did you listen to the report?

 

[RV]

What are you asking us for, it's Europes problem, not ours

Whether you like it or not, the UK is a member of the EU.
In fact, since 1973 when you joined the EEC

Seems to be some some of sport in Brittania to make distinction between the UK and the mainland.
Is that caused what you'd call "islanders mentality" or do you, against all odds, try to keep on hanging to the good old days when Brittania ruled the waves?
Or would you rather choose to line up with your American pals?

Sooner later you'll have to choose sides otherwise you're out
Doesn't seem like a difficult decision to me

RV

 

[Rich]

Whether you like it or not, the UK is a member of the EU.
In fact, since 1973 when you joined the EEC

Seems to be some some of sport in Brittania to make distinction between the UK and the mainland.
Is that caused what you'd call "islanders mentality" or do you, against all odds, try to keep on hanging to the good old days when Brittania ruled the waves?
Or would you rather choose to line up with your American pals?

Sooner later you'll have to choose sides otherwise you're out
Doesn't seem like a difficult decision to me

RV

We're just waiting for the rest to come round to our way of thinking, by the way, remind us which countries rejected the last attempt at unification, it wasn't us

 

[Brianwarnock]

As was shown in a recent case so called honour killings are treated as murder in the UK, I think the family members involved got life.
Does that answer Joey's question or is he expecting some other magic solution?

Brian

 

[The Stoat]

J.

The UK apart from it's 4 home nation cultures has been the subject of invasion up to 1066 AD. In which time we've had Romans, Saxons the Norse cultures and the Breton French as well as the Celts, Added to that we currently have a population of nearly 5 million non-white immigrants. Added to that are all the the EU and others making a ~10% population of immigrants in an island with a multicultural make-up. For example we have over a million people of Asian Indian decent who have lived here for generations. Not bad for a "homogenous" culture as i seemed to remember you putting it. We've had immigrant populations coming to the UK for hundreds of years. The Jewish peoples arrived in the middle ages for example and their are numerous strongly Jewish areas of the UK from London to Newcastle-upon-tyne. The EU has hundreds of cultures that have travelled back and forth for millenia. The mongol hordes of Genghis Khan reached the centre of Europe in the 12C and left a legacy that can still be seen in Eastern Europe. The Muslim Moors ruled visigoth Spain - which itself has 4 distinct languages and many dialects and is a collection of states - for 7 centuries. Italy wasn't even a country till Garibaldi unified it in 1861. And most continental European borders have only been fixed in the last 60 years. As i've pointed out before, the EU has 20 official languages. Europe has 42 and there are roughly 220 "unoffical" or minority languages. We don't lump everyone together just because they are white. Stratch the surface and you'll see that Europe, whilst having distinct countries and national identities, has a multitude of cultures within both it's national and continental borders and that few nations or people could trace their ancestory through a line of a single race.
No matter which way you cut the cake we are as multicultural as you and have been for a hell of a lot longer.

And another question which i'm sure you'll just ignore. How exactly has the US dealt with it's mulitcultural heritage? The projects, reservations for the Native cultures, secure communities hidden behind iron fences with security guards, segregation of the Blacks. My God! It's only in the last 50 years that a Black man could eat in the same restaurant or use the same toilet as a white man. Please don't preach to us about ethnic diversity or managing your cultural differences.


TS

 

[Friday]

The projects, reservations for the Native cultures, secure communities hidden behind iron fences with security guards, segregation of the Blacks. My God! It's only in the last 50 years that a Black man could eat in the same restaurant or use the same toilet as a white man. Please don't preach to us about ethnic diversity or managing your cultural differences.

Hey, don't forget the concentration camps we kept the Japanese-Americans in during WWII.

 

[Rich]

Hey, don't forget the concentration camps we kept the Japanese-Americans in during WWII.

We can't hold that against you, we used the Isle Of White for much the same purpose, damn

 

[Friday]

We can't hold that against you, we used the Isle Of White for much the same purpose, damn

Just tryin' to help...

 

[jsanders]

J.

The UK apart from it's 4 home nation cultures has been the subject of invasion up to 1066 AD. In which time we've had Romans, Saxons the Norse cultures and the Breton French as well as the Celts, Added to that we currently have a population of nearly 5 million non-white immigrants. Added to that are all the the EU and others making a ~10% population of immigrants in an island with a multicultural make-up. For example we have over a million people of Asian Indian decent who have lived here for generations. Not bad for a "homogenous" culture as i seemed to remember you putting it. We've had immigrant populations coming to the UK for hundreds of years. The Jewish peoples arrived in the middle ages for example and their are numerous strongly Jewish areas of the UK from London to Newcastle-upon-tyne. The EU has hundreds of cultures that have travelled back and forth for millenia. The mongol hordes of Genghis Khan reached the centre of Europe in the 12C and left a legacy that can still be seen in Eastern Europe. The Muslim Moors ruled visigoth Spain - which itself has 4 distinct languages and many dialects and is a collection of states - for 7 centuries. Italy wasn't even a country till Garibaldi unified it in 1861. And most continental European borders have only been fixed in the last 60 years. As i've pointed out before, the EU has 20 official languages. Europe has 42 and there are roughly 220 "unoffical" or minority languages. We don't lump everyone together just because they are white. Stratch the surface and you'll see that Europe, whilst having distinct countries and national identities, has a multitude of cultures within both it's national and continental borders and that few nations or people could trace their ancestory through a line of a single race.
No matter which way you cut the cake we are as multicultural as you and have been for a hell of a lot longer.

And another question which i'm sure you'll just ignore. How exactly has the US dealt with it's mulitcultural heritage? The projects, reservations for the Native cultures, secure communities hidden behind iron fences with security guards, segregation of the Blacks. My God! It's only in the last 50 years that a Black man could eat in the same restaurant or use the same toilet as a white man. Please don't preach to us about ethnic diversity or managing your cultural differences.


TS

It took 3000 years of war to get it all sorted out. 60 years ago, you got your borders straight. Wasn't that after a global conflict that started in Europe?

You’re facing a new challenge; the dynamics of the world population are changing. Read up on it.

Find out for yourself what’s coming.

It’s not pretty.

 

[KenHigg]

All this unification and diversity stuff is a bunch of bunk. Why doesn't everyone just stay where they are?

(Oh wait, that'd make me an islander as well...)

Maybe we can get grandfathered in...

 

[The Stoat]

It took 3000 years of war to get it all sorted out. 60 years ago, you got your borders straight. Wasn't that after a global conflict that started in Europe?

You’re facing a new challenge; the dynamics of the world population are changing. Read up on it.

Find out for yourself what’s coming.

It’s not pretty.

You make my point for me. 3000 years of change. We are used to having to deal with changes in our societies. We are used to having influxes of invaders, immigrants and refuges. Europe is a dynamic place that has faced more change than the US has ever had to cope with. Change is built in. It's not even fixed now. In the last 15 years numerous countries have emerged from the Soviet hegemony and decided amicably or otherwise to become new countries. Which proves that borders really are no more than lines in the sand. Today's Czechoslovakia is tomorrow's Czech and Slovak republics,and the world continues on regardless. I don't subscribe to your apocalyptic views. The world isn't static it changes all the time and all we can do is look to make the best of it. Countries come and go, empires rise and fall, religions ebb and flow.
We see change coming and do not fear it. Change is what makes us strong. This is the reality. You cannot hide behind guns or planes or nuclear weapons or technology. Change starts with ideas and their is no defence against them. We've learned the lesson that you are going to have to accept, nothing is forever.

TS

 

[Brianwarnock]

It took 3000 years of war to get it all sorted out. 60 years ago, you got your borders straight. Wasn't that after a global conflict that started in Europe?

What makes you think its sorted.?

Brian

 

[RV]

You’re facing a new challenge; the dynamics of the world population are changing

We've been facing your challenges centuries before the Vikings discovered what's nowadays called the USA, why reading up on the known
I reckon we (us Europeans, citizens of the Old Word) are coping quite OK with multicultural societies quite well.

RV