Xenophobia?

[Something completely different]

The Flood?: Western Europe Fearful of Eastern Immigration

By Stefan Simons and Carsten Volkery

<snip>

source:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/euro...84760.html

[Tiberius]

Could you outline what you think is xenophobia? I thought it was the hatred / fear of foreign people because they were foreign. This article seems to deal with the worries that allowing more foreigners access to immigration systems might mean more immigration to "wealthy" countries where those people can take advantage of welfare systems. That, to me, seems like an entirely justifiable reason to worry about these people.

[PyroManiac]

Good question.

[Something completely different]

I dont know about the British welfaresystem but the German one has a thing called workrequirement. If unemployed yet demanding services from the state provided welfaresystem one has to accept a job offer provided by the jobagency within 3 years. If one doesnt, one drops out of the welfaresystem.

+ whilest travel within the EU is no longer bound to visa, working, studying and residency is.
Dont know about other countries but one can only spend 2 months in Germany without visa, after that one is deported.

In the article it is mentioned that Cameron proposes to cut welfare for non EU citizens, I really dont know how this is meant to have any effect. Since I guess most illegals will be deported like everywhere else. And healthcare? as far as I know the bill for healthcare costs is sent to the insurance company or social healthcare system of the persons origin. I know this cause my brother got hospitalised in Spain and the bill was sent to the embessey.



I think this has mainly become an issue in politics because of upcoming elections and because populism.

Kind of like how antisemitism rises everytime theres a crisis.

[The Grand Nudger]

Could you outline what you think is xenophobia? I thought it was the hatred / fear of foreign people because they were foreign. This article seems to deal with the worries that allowing more foreigners access to immigration systems might mean more immigration to "wealthy" countries where those people can take advantage of welfare systems. That, to me, seems like an entirely justifiable reason to worry about these people.

Could you specify why you feel that immigrants taking advantage of a welfare system is a justifiable reason to worry about these people?

[Vera]

Yeah, brace yourselves. We are all, every single miserable, dirty, job-stealing Easterner, coming en masse to take your jobs. And that's just for starters. Once we've done that, we'll take your homes, we'll rape, torture and murder. You better start building boats, 'cause there will be rivers of blood.

Never mind that this isn't what happened after we joined the EU. We've spent the time since then plotting and scheming and biding our time.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go sharpen my hatchet and practice my lassoing skills.

[The Grand Nudger]

I thought you folks were just clinging to the resources we've been importing, like rats on a plague ship.

[Something completely different]

10 years ago, people complained about the polish borders opening and how they would flood everything with cheap labor and imigrants.

Now, poland is one of the fastest growing economies, overtaking Britain and France with it`s wealth growing and growing and growing.
And it is polish newspapers and populist politicians today, who complain about "criminal ukrainians".

[Vera]

10 years ago, people complained about the polish borders opening and how they would flood everything with cheap labor and imigrants.

Now, poland is one of the fastest growing economies, overtaking Britain and France with it`s wealth growing and growing and growing.
And it is polish newspapers and populist politicians today, who complain about "criminal ukrainians".

The question is what we're gonna do when we finally run out of "others" to fear and hate... Of course, we'll always have the ultimate dichotomy of male and female. So as long as we insist on clinging to the good ol' tribal, "us or them" mentality, we'll never run out of people to fear and mistrust. Hurray!

[Something completely different]

The question is what we're gonna do when we finally run out of "others" to fear and hate... Of course, we'll always have the ultimate dichotomy of male and female. So as long as we insist on clinging to the good ol' tribal, "us or them" mentality, we'll never run out of people to fear and mistrust. Hurray!

They will run out of it, it is something soooo outdated and out of touch with reality that in the end it will disapear.
The role of "the others" will simply change with time and be fixed to someone else.




I am a multicultural kid with a multicultural background, and I live in a world so connected that people from all over the world can expirience the "others" themselves. So I am confident that xenophobia will simply fade away.

Did you know that right wingers in Swizerland campain with slogans warning about:

"Criminal French and German migrant workers"

It is simply the last resort of those who have nothing else left to argue with.