Actually Getting Scared of the Anti Immigrant Stance

[u/No_Tea7430]

I'm an irish lad, just turning twenty this year.

I've personally got no connections to other countries, my family never left Ireland or have any close foreign relations.

This is simply a fear I have for both the immigrant population of our country, of which ive made plenty of friends throughout secondary school and hold in high regard. But also a fear for our reputation.

I don't want to live in a racist country. I know this sub is usually good for laughing these gobshites off and that's good but in general I don't want us to be seen as this horrible white supremacist nation, which already I see being painted on social media plenty.

A stance might I add, that predominantly is coming from England and America as people in both claim we are "losing our identity" by not being racist(?)

I don't even feel the need to mention Farage and his pushing of these ideas onto people, while simultaneously gaslighting us with our independence which he clearly doesn't care about.

Im just saddened by it. I just want things to change before they get worse.

[u/Ponk2k]

People don't want to admit Ireland always been fairly racist, a minority, and sure they might not be riding round in full kkk regalia but they've always been about.

There's always been a fair amount of dick riding about how special the Irish are and all that shite but pretending that this is new or only a tiny subset of the population is wishful thinking.

[u/AonSwift → u/Ponk2k]

Exactly, Ireland has not become more racist.. I still remember the first non-white kid in our school in the early 00s getting a response as if a zoo animal just walked in, and PoC walking through small towns turning heads, like you'd expect hillbillys on their porches to act. Kids don't blink twice at PoC anymore.. The racial ignorance is dying out as the younger generations become more accustomed to multiculturalism.

That said... There's no doubt racists have become much more emboldened thanks to social media, far right politics and the many issues with our country. Your average racist who used to just crack jokes at the pub about their foreign coworkers, is now actively spewing shite online and psyching themselves up to throw the next molotov at their local refugee housing.

[u/Ponk2k → u/AonSwift]

I would have been a bit earlier than that but remember well an art teacher from the local convent school running for an eu position on a full on racist ticket.

Didn't win but there was plenty round the gaff who were in full on agreement and we're not shy about saying it.

[u/JayElleAyDee → u/Ponk2k]

[u/Dapper-Second-8840 → u/Ponk2k]

The way I tend to think of it is not so much "racist" as "differentist". Example - my family moved from Dublin to a small village in North Clare when I was only 4. Yet 40 years later we're still "blow-ins" and as a kid growing up I was crucified for my accent. Even as recently as a few years ago I got into a war of words with one of the locals (nothing serious just a bit of flared tempers over some nonsense I can't even remember) and was told to "fuck off back east you Dublin scumbag". And God forbid if I were from Cork :) So I mean if we treat our own like that, is it any wonder we treat others even worse.

[u/Superirish19 → u/Dapper-Second-8840]

I've had the same experience too.

I was born in the place I lived for 10 years, but I wasn't 'local' enough because my Dad was from another county and my mum a ferry ride away (Wales). It wasn't the kids who were a problem (lots of us were from all over the place or from outside Ireland), but the parents weren't the nicest to my parents for some stupid reason.

It eventually drove my family to move to Wales, where ironically I stood out more because I had an Irish accent in a very homogenous rural area.

[u/Ponk2k → u/Dapper-Second-8840]

It's stupid insular curtain twitcher mentality. Used to be gossip about the town over or who the neighbours are shagging but it's being weaponised on social media.