Merkel says multiculturalism is a failure

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I think the point is that many immigrants who come to Germany don't assimilate and become a huge burden on the rest of society. By refusing to learn the language, they cannot find employment. It is a big issue and cannot be dealt with in a few sentences.

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Inviting masses in?
Is that similar to the migrant workers from Mexico?

Abe: it is EXACTLY the same thing. When we give them jobs, welfare, public housing, medical care, free schooling to their kids, and talk of amnesty, we are indeed inviting them in. Indirectly, but an invitation nonetheless. What else would you call it?

When I lived in Germany many years ago, they had "gastarbeiters" (perhaps spelled wrong). They were single men from other countries who were invited to work in Germany, earn their money and go back home after a specific time period. They did the dirty jobs no German wanted to do. They were rather pitiful and could be seen hanging around train stations and in cesspool parts of the bigger cities looking for "company" or a beer; no families.

The initial migrant workers to the U.S. were invited as families because everyone picks, from children through the elderly, to make a decent family income. It's back breaking work that U.S. citizens did not want to do as agriculture moved from family farms to the industrial monstrosity it is today. Huge signs were posted in poor Mexican and Guatamalan villages and busses were sent to pick them up and bring them across the border to the fields. Since they came with families, they immediately needed some service for their children and vaccinations to make sure the diseases they brought were not spread to you and me. .

Times have changed in both Germany and the U.S. Now that the economies have tanked, we need goats to blame. Let's look for the people who don't look like us, surely they are to blame.

I lived on the economy in S. Korea. I spoke the language fluently. You can be certain that I would never assimilate - I was obviously NOT Korean. Color, religion, economics, language, etc. are all factors regarding assimilation.

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There are lots of problems with this issue in the u.k. I mean plenty. The world has changed so much. People from Europe and even outside it, have come here to work. Not all go on welfare though. Some are not even here legally, but others that are, do find work and do not need to go on benefits. You can't make real money on welfare. Many decide to stay, but I think just as many don't intend to settle here and later return home. Not sure about the u.s, but it is quite an issue over here. A lot of people do not like immigrants coming in and taking jobs. And we must remember, the u.k is only an island. There will soon be a population problem. The reason is mainly because of the free movement of European workers coming here. Some come here to work from outside Europe too.

Go to most places and you will hear some people speaking a foreign language. Might be the norm in the u.s, but used to be very unusual here. Yes there has always been ethnic minorities living here, but no where near as many as it is today. If it can't seem to work here, why would it work in Germany. But the people don't have a say, funny how the government does this though. It is funny. This sort of thing would not happen in India, Singapore or any other country in Asia would it. Could it be, people here are too lazy to work and immigrants will do jobs that we don't want to do. I don't think so, because there are lots of people that want jobs. But then, there are lots of people that go and stay on welfare.

Dkchristi, you lived in South Korea and spoke the language fluently. That's impressive. How many languages do you speak? You do get around. Did you manage to also visit North Korea? I did not know until recent that North Korea are communists and tough on their people. Why can't North and South just get along?

LC, I am not talking about 50 years ago. Signs were posted in Mexico and Guatamala in the last ten years - by U.S. companies seeking migrant workers to pick the truck crops that U.S. citizens will not pick.

I spoke fluent German and Korean and a smathering of Spanish and French. Today, I am barely fluent in English.

By the way, I fit in very well in Germany. Funny thing, I looked the part and spoke the part and lived the part. In Korea, I spoke the part but did not look it or share their cultural history.

Dear DK.
I am proud to know you. You speak truth.

Love,
Betty

10/21/2010


Who cares about LC's opinion ? She's brain dead !!!!!!!



Joe

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I don’t believe there is a blanket blame or solution. Cultures vary and so do actions.
I’ll offer just one example:
People of Turkish descent live in Germany refusing to become citizens since they would have to give up their Turkish citizenship. It is not a German requirement, but a Turkish requirement. To give up their Turkish citizenship means they would not be permitted to inherit. Families are large in Turkey and inheritance is a big deal. So you wind up with people who live in acountry, take benefits, and return to their country when it is economically beneficial. Benefits/money is the driving force in most situations and that won’t change.

Dkchristi, you do get around and you spoke all those languages. Can you speak them now? Your english is barely good you say, you seem to be alright on here. But you live in Florida right? How can your english not be good??? hmm?

Did you work in those countries or move there with parents?
I think in future, there will be more multiculturalism in Asia. There is some of this already. People go where the money is. Most foreigners that are living in Asia have good jobs. I think most of it is the fault of the government. Why do you think foreigners could come to the u.k in the first place. The u.k colonised many countries, and allowed the people from those countries to move there. They now allow all the EU countries to work and live here.

I am no longer an avid reader and find my command of the English language is not growing but rather I am choosing less complex ways of expressing myself. Like many these days, I have become a "skimmer," reading for the info not the beauty of language. Therefore, my own choice of words is more limited. My spelling has also taken a turn, relying so much on spell check and other software for grammar and spelling.

I believe in a global world with people of many cultural backgrounds living and working together. It is only through relationships that we learn to appreciate our similarities and develop a desire for peace among nations. It is never an easy road and it bends and turns. However, I believe communication has become so global that boundaries are artificial and always have been.

As an example, we are in a quiet dispute with China over the China Sea. International waters and even the air space have boundary disputes. God must be laughing herself/himself silly. Without boundaries, there are enough resources in the world for everyone.

Anyone remember the "warm fuzzie" story? So long people believed there were enough warm fuzzies for everyone, they gave and received them freely. Once they were taught to hoard them, the supply dwindled and was replaced with cold pricklies.

Yes, DK - good post.

That concept of scarcity seems to be at the base of most of our fears, and fear and insecurity are at the base of most of our problems, if not all. That fear and insecurity lead us into believing there isn't enough to go around, and that leads to hoarding, and excessive hoarding is what has gotten us into the economic mess we are in. Our inability to appreciate differences leads us into setting up impenetrable boundaries, bot as individuals and as nations.

Ann

[quote]Our inability to appreciate differences leads us into setting up impenetrable boundaries, bot as individuals and as nations[quote]

Tribalism dominates most of the world -it's behind all ethnic and political squabbles. It has always been this way and always will. As dominant as this characteristic is, maybe there's a reason for it.

Tribalism is a trait of the undeveloped and third world countries. As economic prosperity arrives and a more uniform distribution of wealth across economic strata occurs, tribal customs give way to the modern excesses that money provides. Western European countries had their own tribes that dissipated as the economies grew.

In India, in the Chakra System, tribalism is a trait of the third chakra. The first, the root chakra is symbolically located along the alimentary canal, and has to do with basic survival and food. The second chakra is centered in the sex organs, and has to do with reproduction - also necessary for survival, of the species. The third is centered in the stomach, and it is here that power and the survival of the group becomes a dominant factor. The first three chakras are all concerned with survival. The fourth chakra is located near the heart. It is the first of the higher level of existence. Its trait is love - in Greek, agape, not eros. It is love for our fellow creatures that moves us into our higher selves. The fifth chakra is located near the throat. It is about having a voice and being heard, and having the courage to speak out, especially where other people's needs are concerned. It can also be thought of as the Logos, the Word, the Incarnation of God speaking through humankind. The sixth, the third eye, is the God Within, the Self, the soul. The seventh is at the crown of the head, and is the means of connecting to the God Without - the transcendent.

All of the chakras are present all of the time; all are necessary for our full development, so, in that sense, we are all tribal, just as we are all sexual, just as we must all eat living things in order to stay alive ourselves. But we are also all heart, voice, visionary spirit, and a part of the universal Whole. It all depends on where we choose to direct our attention at any given time.

I've recently been reading Joseph Campbell's, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion, since I referenced it in my MythBlog article, so, right now, that's where my head is.

Ann