Talkin' 'bout my generation

I don't think there'd be too much argument that this country is going downhill pretty fast. The news is full of stories about violence, gun crime, drug use, anti-social behaviour, benefit fraud and all the rest of it. All of these things are on the up and they're all big problems.

Then there's the insane things that government is trying to get enshrined in law... The incitement to religious hatred laws, detention without trial, siezure of property without warrants... It's a bit Orwellian to say the least.

There's one group of people that seems to catch an awful lot of flak for all these things... immigrants. There's a word that will strike fear into the hearts of all Daily Mail readers. If we were to believe the papers, then all immigrants are committing benefit fraud, raising vast amounts of unruly children, planning suicide bombing attacks as well as brutalising the NHS and pushing house prices up. The bastards. They're pouring into the country by land, sea and air and there's nothing anyone can do about it. It's their fault that the country is going down the tubes and we're all screwed.

Now, sure, some of them could do to learn the language a bit better, and it would certainly help if the few that are committing crimes didn't, but the same is true of native whites, so it's not quite the crisis that some of us might believe.

Anyway. The part of all this that concerns me, is that as I realised the other day, I am only a second generation immigrant. Sure, I've known all my life that my mum is Finnish and came to this country 30-something years ago, but I'd never thought of it in such precise language. Second generation! I'm the child of an immigrant. I fall into the same group as countless people that are under fire for coming into this country from outside. I'm putting a strain on the NHS, pushing up house prices, costing someone else tax money and all the rest of it. I guess I'd best get back on the boat right now.

The trouble is, most people wouldn't ask for me to leave. I can speak English very well, I contribute to society, I pay my taxes, I'm responsible and useful. Hell, my mum is all of those things and more and she's the original immigrant in this whole picture. The question then is, what is the actual problem? Are people cross with immigrants per se, or with people who cheat the system, laze around, claim all kinds of benefits and do no work, raise bad children and all the rest of it? If so, I think there's plenty of white Brits we should be chucking out long before we get close to the immigrants.

It's double standards at the end of the day. Either people hate immigrants, in which case they should be kicking me out, or they hate freeloaders and they should be kicking Britain's own particular brand of cheats out.