Outdoing the BNP

One thing that always amazes me is the fuss that the so-called white working-class make about the imagined threat posed by immigrants. Every now and again, especially when the economy takes a downturn or undergoes some other kind of shift, this group angrily emerges from its self-created ghetto to complain about how they are being displaced by newcomers, a code for people of colour. They direct their anger not only at the immigrant worker, but also at the political class who, they claim, ignores their predicament.

What I don’t get is how it is possible for newcomers to waltz in, take jobs, secure housing and access other social amenities which the WWC think belong to them by right. Yet, if you talk to the newcomers the overwhelming response is that they are the ones who suffer the scourge of discrimination, and that if they take anything at all, it is almost always the scraps that they are grudgingly handed out: The worst jobs, regardless of qualifications – frequently of high value -- and at minimum wage or worse; shoddy housing and grudging access to other social services. The jobs that they are forced to take are disdained by the WWC, whose sense of entitlement prevents them from condescending to dirtying their hands or bending their backs.

Meanwhile, the white middle class forge ahead and grab every opportunity that comes their way and, in consequence, are forever upwardly mobile. Many immigrants aspire to get a foot on this ladder and when they do, they too, leave a resentful white working class behind seething in their bitter laager. This anger is directed not only at the immigrant, but also at the political elite, many of whom were once part of that same working class but who had the grit to bootstrap themselves up and thereby get a juicier slice of the cake.

Enter the extreme right wing parties, whose only political philosophy is xenophobia. They swagger about in the hoods, (no, not those hoods; too sophisticated for that kind of dressing up) bearing messages of hate and intimidating law-abiding citizens, including many in the mainstream political parties. These latter, feeling out-maneuvered, are compelled to dip a toe into the murky waters of bigotry and in no time at all, the political climate changes and social cohesion is in jeopardy. The contest then becomes, in Britain, for example, who is going to outdo the BNP? The ruling Labour Party or Her Majesty’s loyal Conservative Party opposition?

Someone needs to tell the WWC to get off their duff and acquire the skills necessary for survival in a free trade world, relentlessly serving up new challenges-- and opportunities. This should be the job of the mainstream political parties, but somehow, I doubt that they have the guts to do it.

Tell Fren Tru