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posted by n1 on Sunday May 24 2015, @04:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the RTFA dept.

When we hear the word "multiculturalism," some imagine people of all races and creeds holding hands, others imagine a clash of disparate cultures that cannot co-exist. There are many more nuanced definitions in between.

In the world of mainstream politics, there is now widespread acknowledgment that the failure of immigrants to properly integrate into the culture of their host nations is causing a lot more harm that good. The backlash against multiculturalism has begun to manifest itself as a rise of nationalist parties such as England's UKIP and France's National Front gaining more support from disillusioned countrymen.

In 2010 German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that,

" This [multicultural] approach has failed, utterly failed," Merkel told the meeting in Potsdam, west of Berlin, yesterday. "

Merkel also suggested that the onus was on immigrants to do more to integrate into German society, and late last year the European Court of Justice ruled that EU citizens who move to another member state "solely in order to obtain social assistance" may be excluded from receiving that assistance, an acknowledgement that multiculturalism's side effects are causing more harm than good.

Those interested in this topic should read Foreign Affairs' excellent article The Failure of Multiculturalism.

As a political tool, multiculturalism has functioned as not merely a response to diversity but also a means of constraining it. And that insight reveals a paradox. Multicultural policies accept as a given that societies are diverse, yet they implicitly assume that such diversity ends at the edges of minority communities. They seek to institutionalize diversity by putting people into ethnic and cultural boxes—into a singular, homogeneous Muslim community, for example—and defining their needs and rights accordingly. Such policies, in other words, have helped create the very divisions they were meant to manage.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:17PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 24 2015, @06:17PM (#187240) Journal

    You get half points for that observation. As I've pointed out in many discussions, on many forums, I am the product of marriages between Native Americans and European settlers. My wife is also a product of the same thing, and she actually qualifies as a tribes woman, if she should ever choose to join the tribe. My stepsons are more than 3/4 Indian.

    You only get half points, because you forget all about those millions of us who have a heritage that predates the European invasion.

    So - I stand by my words. It is suicide for today's culture to submit to the whims of every culture that desires to send colonists here.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 1) by azrael on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:09PM

    by azrael (2855) on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:09PM (#187287)
    Submitting to the whims of other cultures as they move in isn't what multiculturalism is about. It is about accepting the differences in cultures in a live-and-let-live sense and growing together. Simply eliminating one culture to replace with another is surely the antithesis of multiculturalism?
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:16PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:16PM (#187291) Journal

      You seem to presume that those other cultures are as accepting as you think that you are.

      MEANWHILE - America's left-wingers are tolerant of anything and everything EXCEPT the already established culture in the US.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by azrael on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:33PM

        by azrael (2855) on Sunday May 24 2015, @07:33PM (#187303)

        There's also too much assuming going on that those other cultures aren't aren't as accepting. There's a great line in this article [policy-network.net]:

        a Gallup poll some years ago asked whether people thought Muslims in Britain were loyal to Britain. 58% of the non-Muslims who expressed a view thought they were not, but only 9% of Muslims thought this was the case

        There's a case that with a little wider discussion of the results of multiculturalism some of these inaccurate perceptions can be challenged and fears calmed. The cynical, however, might suggest that there are some who see an advantage in maintaining that ignorance.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @10:36PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @10:36PM (#187763)

          Is it possible to be muslim and still be loyal to another country? According to their book, no. Those who do not take islam first are not muslim

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:37AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 26 2015, @03:37AM (#187854)

            > Is it possible to be muslim and still be loyal to another country? According to their book, no. Those who do not take islam first are not muslim

            You are correct. We also need to be aware that those who do not take Christianity first are not Christian.

            "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other." Matthew 6:24

            Similarly, the Apostle Paul wrote:
            "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

            You just can't trust any of those religious fuckers, can you?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @08:56PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @08:56PM (#187338)

        > You seem to presume that those other cultures are as accepting as you think that you are.

        Never mind that is not what he thinks, I just had to laugh at your tautological rebuttal - "you think what you think!" Damn straight he does!

        > America's left-wingers are tolerant of anything and everything EXCEPT the already established culture in the US.

        I know, right?
        Being the majority is the hardest thing. Everybody is always beating you up. So mean!
        Those left-wingers are nothing more than a bunch of meanies!!!

    • (Score: 2) by K_benzoate on Monday May 25 2015, @03:04AM

      by K_benzoate (5036) on Monday May 25 2015, @03:04AM (#187485)

      a live-and-let-live sense and growing together

      That's exactly what I want our country to be. Do you accept that there are some cultures that have beliefs which make it impossible for them to act as such? How do you accommodate into your society a group which fundamentally hates some aspect of your culture and wants to change it to more resemble their view of the world? For example, what if some group didn't value freedom of speech when it came to their religion?

      What is the multicultural compromise between our current system of near absolute free expression, and their system of restriction on speech which they consider blasphemous? SOMEONE is going to be unhappy no matter what you decide. So who gets their way? How would you adjudicate this?

      I really do want an answer.

      --
      Climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @03:10AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @03:10AM (#187488)

        Do you accept that there are some cultures that have beliefs which make it impossible for them to act as such?

        No.
        I accept that there are some individuals that have beliefs which make it impossible for them to act as such.
        You are starting to look a hell of a lot like one of them advocating for this collective responsibility nonsense.

        What is the multicultural compromise between our current system of near absolute free expression, and their system of restriction on speech which they consider blasphemous?

        No compromise needed. Out of 1million+ muslims in the US, a handful have lost their shit. That's no different from any other group.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @08:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @08:42PM (#187334)

    Umm, hate to be so rude as to actually ask, but what tribes? Just saying "Indian" in the US, besides being colonialist, is itself multicultural.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @09:28PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 24 2015, @09:28PM (#187352)

      No it isn't. The 556 recognized tribes are not part of the US. They are sovereign nations that are protectorates of the US. They are by definition apart, reserved. Each one has their own government or coalition government. That is not multiculturalism but your statement is ignorant.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @08:23AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @08:23AM (#187548)

        That is not multiculturalism but your statement is ignorant.

        Evidentally your reading comprehension is in need of some improvement. This is exactly what the FA is complaining about! All these various cultures that refuse to be assimilated! Of course, anyone who is actual a Native American has probably had more than enough experience with attempt to genocide (assimilate) their people. But this is why this particular AC asks the rather palefaced Runaway exactly what tribe he is descended from. Lots of USAians claim native blood, but without specifics, that is meaningless. And certainly no evidence that you are not a racist! So, particulars? Which tribe? What band? Who are your people? And please, don't say "Cherokee" unless you can be much more specific.