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Newsnight

Is the 大象传媒 to blame for attacks on Poles?

  • Newsnight
  • 4 Jun 08, 12:58 PM

The 大象传媒 is to blame for an increase in attacks on Poles, according to a Conservative MP.

Daniel Kawczynski told 大象传媒 Radio 4's Today programme this morning: "The liberal elite of the 大象传媒 are using the Poles as a cat's paw in a politically correct world to talk about immigration because you won't do stories about more controversial immigrants. You always focus on Poles.

"And as a result of that, Mr Humphrys, there are increased attacks on Poles in this country."

Listen to the interview .

Is the 大象传媒 really to blame? Leave your comments below.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Mr Kawczynski is right - the 大象传媒 do run scared of upsetting liberal interests. Why is it left to Channel 4 to court the serious controversy by entering the truly difficult arenas of debate e.g. documentaries about British born Muslim extremists etc.

  • Comment number 2.

    Of course not. Hmmm...Mr Kawczynski's name sounds as it might be Polish. Or perhaps he's just got a large number of Polish people in his constituency.

  • Comment number 3.

    BLIMEY O'REILLEY?

    Oh come on 大象传媒. The temptation is unfair.
    The irony is so delicious. I mean he's . . .
    And you gave him a platform to . . .
    And after all they ARE . . .
    Get thee to a moderator.

  • Comment number 4.

    Is this a joke. What are we paying members of parliament for? O that's right, to make us laugh..(as they take us to illegal wars, destroy healthcare, pander to the rich, take large sums in expenses, increase tax's)... hiliarious, the man should do standup with the rest of the MP's.

  • Comment number 5.

    Would he say the same to the Dail Mail for their wider campaign against immigrants, I wonder? Or is it just the 大象传媒 that he objects to?

  • Comment number 6.

    Until this story was raised I had not realised that the 大象传媒 was focussing on the Poles as examples of migration into Britain. It seems to be true!

    I know that in my town many younger Poles are not staying as long as first thought. They are working and saving money and either moving on or moving back to Poland with pounds in their pockets.

    Stories about some other Eastern European migrants might balance the reported views.

    One aspect that does not receive much coverage is people emigrating to other countries, which goes some way to balancing the flow of migration.

    If the British Government encouraged migration, say, by uprating all state pensions paid overseas, instead of just half of them, this might encourage people to migrate overseas and take their demands on our health system, our housing stock and our social services with them.

  • Comment number 7.

    It does always seem to be Poles that are mentioned in these reports - even other European immigrants seem to be largely ignored (apart from the anti Romanian/Bulgarian Hysteria of a while ago).

    However the only people to blame for the attacks are the idiotic individuals carrying them out. Or the judicial system for failing to punish crime properly.

  • Comment number 8.

    Does Mr Kawczynski really believe that the people responsible for attacking Poles would take notice of any media report, let alone listen to a serious programme such as the Today programme on Radio 4?

  • Comment number 9.

    In short yes, the 大象传媒 is to blame and Mr Kawczynski is quite correct in his assertions. Some of the programming which the 大象传媒 has been producing on this subject [immigration] has been so protracted from reality that it can only be classed as propaganda. Its resulted in a collapse of credibility in the 大象传媒 in the minds of most of the ordinary people I know.

  • Comment number 10.

    I listened to the interview and thought Mr Kawczynski had a very good point. I certainly remember a number of occasions on Radio 4 and on TV when the discussions about 'floods' of poles and other eastern europeans 'swamping' the Uk raged unchecked by concerns that would have stopped similar discussions about Indian or Pakinstani immigration in their tracks. As an London Irishman I'm all too aware that the only racism the 大象传媒 is ever concenrned about is the very obvious white-on-black kind, while casual anti-Irish or Polish denigration passes unoticed. After all we can't be vulnerable immigrants can we if we're white, can we?

  • Comment number 11.

    Although the situation is obviously a lot more complex than Mr Kawczynski describes, I can see why he made the comments. With financial pressures due to the credit crunch, uncertainty over the quality of public services, people clearly have reasons to be fearful, and this is once again manifesting itself into a fear of migrants. There does tend to be a tendency, across all channels, to talk about Polish migrants when discussing these issues, and perhaps this does not accurately reflect the percentage of (typically hardworking) Polish workers coming to the UK.

  • Comment number 12.

    Mr Kawczynski may well have a point .. the 大象传媒 has a responsibility not only be be impartial .. but also appear impartial so all can recognise it.

    There have been a number of programmes recently where the underlying theme may well have been that Polish (and other) people who have moved to the UK were doing jobs that those born in the UK would not do (ie more critical of the Brits than the Poles) BUT the kind of people who physically attack others may not have the intellect to see this and jump on the "taking our jobs" bandwagon.

    I look forward to the 大象传媒's (painfully diplomatic) response.

  • Comment number 13.

    It seems highly unlikely that the idiots and criminals who attack Polish people are the same lot who have just finished their kedgeree while listening to Humphrys, Naughtie, Montague et al.

    The 大象传媒 liberal elite may have its faults but stirring up racial hatred or nationalism is not one of them.

    Try towards the mob in your search for the gulity faction, Mr K.

  • Comment number 14.

    Never mind the 大象传媒, has anyone read the Daily Mail over the past 3 years? I have noticed that the 大象传媒 seem to lump all Eastern European immigrants into the one Polish category, but the Mail's coverage seems to blame 90% of the UK's problems on immigrants, specifically the Poles. While the 大象传媒's coverage may appear biased, the Mail's is downright racist. We never hear about the benefits they bring to the country, only the fact they're a drain on resources. And nowhere do we hear about the thousands of Brits (some guesstimates say 100,000) who flood i.e. Spain every year, creating little enclaves of Englishness.

  • Comment number 15.

    Bless.

    An admirable piece of navel-gazing prompted by the notion that in being seen to try and address one issue, a liberal elite stands accused of opting to use one minority rather than other, perhaps more 'sacred' ones.

    Do I hear the creak of a can of worms opening?

    At least for the few days before it all blows over and the next issue gets cranked out.

    Too much to cross fingers that the 'evidence' from either 'side' might make it into any if discussion (guessing a Newsnight 'twofer 'are/aren't' team are prepping as we speak) so the viewing public become any the wiser.

    Or maybe such information would join the growing collection best left for the 大象传媒 and its Trust to know, and the rest of us to guess at.

  • Comment number 16.

    ps: To the question of 'two wrongs' justification of current news reporting (and funding), the last time I opted to pay for the Daily Mail it was to get a music CD that had a paper with it I could afford to ignore.

  • Comment number 17.

    I've never heard of anything so ridiculous!

    Having had first-hand experience of living in an area where there were scores of houses with up to 12 or so Polish migrant workers in each, I can say categorically the disrespect shown by those individuals was the cause of any unrest in the area...not a report on the 大象传媒!

    The illegally over-populated houses weren't a result of a lack of availabilty of properties either. At the same time as there were 12 in a house - often rotating between different properties - there were countless other 'To Let' houses almost on every street corner.

    There were numerous issues of disrespect, crime and major anti-social behaviour. The impact it had on me was a decision to lose money on a house sale and leave the area - and this was a brand new estate, not a run down inner-city area.

    Clearly, with anything like this you cannot lump everyone into the same bracket.There are obviously some very hard working and respectful migrant workers.

    In my experience though, the Polish people who lived in the immediate area to me caused a lot of trouble which they brought on themselves.

    It also meant the local authority had to allocate funds from the already too large Council Tax to neighbourhood wardens and extra housing officers to deal with the problems of HMOs (Houses of Multiple Occupancy).

    Perhaps Mr Kawczynski would have a different view had he lived in an area such as I have described?

  • Comment number 18.

    Daniel's big point was that the vast majority of immigrants to the UK are not of european origin and that the 大象传媒 disguises this by so often prefacing immigrant with Polish.

    I agree with him the 大象传媒, just like Brown's government, is not honest about immigration into this country.

  • Comment number 19.

    It's not the 大象传媒s fault at all. The decision to attack someone is made in the attackers mind, where they have chosen their influences and interpretations.

    If you can be held responsible for some idiot misinterpreting your words then free speech is dead.

  • Comment number 20.

    Daniel Kawczynski is certainly right to point out that the 大象传媒 never mentions other immigrants who are less welcome than Poles and have far less in common with us. There is no doubt that repeated reports about animosity towards Poles help make the attacks seem widespread and commonplace. In the same vein certainly believe the 大象传媒 have gone a long way towards desensitising people towards paedophilia and violence towards women. The thing is 大象传媒 have already entered into a pact with the self appointed guardians of some groups whereby anything that reflects badly on them is censored. There is no justifcation for censorship for some groups and not others.

  • Comment number 21.

    Hopefully someone on the Newsnight research staff is going through the archives and counting mentions of Polish immigrants, as opposed to all others, and they will enlighten us with these results this evening.

  • Comment number 22.

    When I asked my MP last year about the jibe that the Poles are taking English jobs, his response was to ask the people in London who were paying 拢100's for a plumber what they thought when a Pole would do the job for less than half.

    This is just another media story hype on a variation of attacking other ethnic groups. We Lancastrians have been attacking Yorkshire people for years and vice versa.

    There is nothing new in this when the economy gets into difficulty to blame some group or other as the Jews in Germany found to their cost. I am supporting Poland for the Euro Cup. They supported us in the War.
    Oh dear I am straying into Basil's "you started it, yes you did-- you invaded Poland".

    As with all human nature I am prepared to "live and let live" until, of course, it effects me.

  • Comment number 23.

    Free speach can be abused even by the great 大象传媒, all in the name of viewing numbers/ratings. Imaging you are a Pole being kicked in the head by a bunch of mineless cowards who contribut nothing to their country and believe if they wave their countries flag all is forgiven.

  • Comment number 24.

    I do feel that Mr Kaczynski has a point to some degree. The vast majority of Poles who came here after the 1st of May 2004 came to work hard and better their lives. That is their avowed aim. Ofcourse there are some who do not fit this description and who are less than acceptable but you do get that with any group of people.

    Migration is a fact of life in the modern world and renowned thinkers like Peter Drucker some time ago identified that this would become a very important issue for all Western societies.

    The UK was not ready for the volume of migrants from the new Europe and badly underestimated their social and economic effects on UK society. This is not the fault of the migrants themselves. In terms of the UK labour market, they have performed many jobs that the indigenous population did not want to do; so where would the UK be without that contribution?

    Certain newspapers like the Daily Mail are campaigning against immigration and in some cases are deomonising the migrants themselves which is unfair and unjust. There are boundaries between a serious discussion on immigration which is welcome and articles which blame migrants for all the ills of UK society. There are plenty of indigenous people who have never worked in their lives and live on benefits. If other people are prepared to work for a living then good luck to them.

    We need to look at ourselves first before we blame everyone else for our problems.

  • Comment number 25.

    The MP had that somewhat suppressed hysteria, in his absurd accusation, that makes one wonder how David Cameron expects to project the Tories into the 21st century. The idea that the 大象传媒 can, by highlighting the positive effects of having enough plumbers, encourage housewives to assault their exposed rear ends with rolling pins, is taking humour to a new level. Indeed, the MP's voice sounded a bit like Michael Palin; maybe he was advertising his Eastern European romp on TV.

  • Comment number 26.

    It's come to something when a news organization in Britain should run scared of this attempted censorship by an MP. For surely that's what his arguement amounts to - is this what we can expect from a possible future Tory government?

    Obviously the people carrying out these attacks, senseless and xenophobic as they are, cannot hide behind the defense of blaming the 大象传媒! However, the entire tone of the 'immigration debate' is generally hysterical and unhelpful, especially in the right-wing press which, no doubt, Tory Mps are nopt criticizing.

    Finally we need to look at ourselves as a society. Are we too tolerant of intolerance, and are we totally incapable of handling difference - I think this may well lie at the root of both the idiotic xenophobia and the search for someone to blame.

  • Comment number 27.

    Yes. It is. It is also to blame for the increase in attacks on white British people, and takes some of the blame for the increase in attacks on black British people.

    If you don't know why I say this (I mean if you cannot think of the argument behind those statements, I don't mean "if you don't agree with me") then how on Earth do you feel you are qualified for the job?

    There are arguments against my position, but the arguments for my position should be obvious by anyone with the awareness and insight to work in any editorial capacity in current affairs.

  • Comment number 28.

    MoJo-chan wrote:
    "It's not the 大象传媒s fault at all. The decision to attack someone is made in the attackers mind, where they have chosen their influences and interpretations.

    If you can be held responsible for some idiot misinterpreting your words then free speech is dead."

    Ignoring the fact that you have no right to free speech in the UK (but are covered by laws inciting racial hatred) your argument effectively says that Kristalnicht wasn't the fault of the nazis for encouraging Germans to attack Jewish businesses but totally the fault of those who "chose their influences".

    In effect Goebels was innocent of all crimes against the Jews because HE did nothing personally.

    By totally ignoring none-white immigrants the 大象传媒 is effectively saying that all the problems caused by immigration is due to the Poles. For an organisation that claims to be the most honest broadcaster in the world this is shameful. Its meant to be the 大象传媒 not the BNP.

  • Comment number 29.

    If they don't like freedom of speach they can always return to Poland.

  • Comment number 30.

    if the bbc stopped using poles as an excuse to all thats wrong in the UK today maybe we could all just get on with living our lives

  • Comment number 31.

    No. The 大象传媒 is not to blame for attacks on Poles and indeed other migrant communities.

    General ignorance, bigotry and racism fuelled with enthusiasm by the likes of the Daily Mail and other right wing "popular" newspapers has a great deal more to do with it.

    I suggest Mr. Kawczynski takes up his complaint with some of these newspapers and with some of their columnists who encourage xenophobic views amongst many of our already bigoted, ill -educated population.

  • Comment number 32.

    What a lot of Newsnight viewers read the Daily Mail. And they don't even seem to like it.

  • Comment number 33.

    I think to blame the 大象传媒 for such attacks is stretching it a little. The only people who are ever to blame are the people who perpetrate them.

    However, the 大象传媒, and others, do seem to be rather more critical about eastern European immigration than that from, say, the Indian sub continent (whether that immigration is recent or otherwise).

  • Comment number 34.

    It's a pity some Poles don't endear themselves to us natives through their selfish and thoughtless behaviour. Having waited 20 minutes for a bus, at the front of the queue, a Polish girl came up, stopped on the wrong side of the bus stop and went to get on ahead of me. When I pointed out the long queue and tried to board first, she actually pushed me out of the way. (I'm a pensioner). On remonstrating her response was " There are many buses for all". Well, no there aren't, dear, and most of us feel that immigrants should respect local customs, rather than imposing their mannerless ways. Perhaps they could get lessons from their Embassy.

  • Comment number 35.


    It sounds like many posters here did not listen to what the MP said. He is absolutely right.

    The vast majority of immigrants have been from Non EU countries according to the Office of National Statistics. Much of the discord in communities has been related to immigrants from these non EU countries in terms of allocation of resources welfare over crowding changing culture segregation security etc. The 大象传媒 however often avoids mentioning non EU immigrants and lumps most immigration issues under the Poles.

    Brown has been as bad claiming that most immigrants come from EU countries to justify him doing nothing about it. This is a lie each time Brown says it. It has also been propagated by the 大象传媒 amongst others. As mentioned above most immigrants have come from non EU countries and practically all illegal immigrants and asylum seekers are from non EU countries

    Immigration and its consequences has been a number one issue in the publics eyes so the 大象传媒 has to address it in some form and generally they divert the publics concern onto the Poles rather than those from the Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan) and Africa eg Somalia. These groups through Islamic bodies are highly likely to 'take offense 鈥渁nd threaten and bully the 大象传媒 and other media outlets and the 大象传媒 responds by accommodating the bullies and mention soft targets such as Christian Poles who generally integrate well, contribute to Britain and have a type of Western culture that fits in well with ours

  • Comment number 36.

    The man is absolutely correct,I have heard what he claims time and time again.The poor Poles have been blamed for the immigration fiasco in this country.I dont ever remember Pakistan or any other Asian country mentioned by the 大象传媒 in the same context.Time for an in depth look at Asian immigration and its undesireable effect on some areas in North England to balance the books.

  • Comment number 37.

    I think the Tory MP with a Polish background had a avery good point and John Humphreys ' reply on behalf of the editorial staff was flippant and inept. It's about time the 大象传媒 addressed the influx of the asian community head on.






  • Comment number 38.

    When the statistics on immigration and contribution to the economy are broken down by country it is clear that immigrants from several Non EU countries are very high on unemployment, welfare use, social housing and having a large number of dependents supported by non earning households.

    This is never mentioned by the 大象传媒 even though it is very evident to large sections of the British population who resent it and is a significant contributor (along with segregation culture crime and security issues) to the high rating of immigration as a concern amongst the British population.

    This high usage of welfare etc by Non EU immigrants contrasts with the extremely low rate of unemployment, benefit usage etc of Poles and other immigrants from EU countries. Therefore diverting attention generally onto the Poles when immigration concerns are raised is crass avoidance and intellectually sloppy. (All the statistics are now in the public arena and therefore there is no excuse). This reduces the intellectual credibility of the 大象传媒 as well as its impartiality

  • Comment number 39.

    A criticism of the item was that it really did not stress that the problems revolved around the numbers that arrived. If they had known and planned for that number (assuming debate showed people wanted that level of immigration) in terms of social services and housing etc. They could also have run an education campaign.

    The government, if I recall correctly, talked the opposition around by saying that there would only be between 10 and 20000. They were wrong. Its their fault.

    Nobody seems to have identified how, if they were so confident, they could get it so wrong.

    But government figures are always a worry - how many legal and illegal immigrants do we have? Do failed asylum seekers get repatriated now or is it still a token few.

    In fairness to the Daily Mail (a one off), again this is what I recall, the government were claiming that there WERE only 16000 or so Poles when any individual with common sense could see the figure was astronomically larger. Personally my finger in the air feeling is about 1.5 million counting families etc. When credibility could be stretched no more they revised their figures.

  • Comment number 40.

    Polish Immigration/discrimination.

    As 3rd generation Irish immigrant whose family worked as hard as Poles do now, i know how Poles feel in UK.
    However, our Gov must stop ASYLUM seekers. Asylum seekers distort what existing UK/EU citizens can accept.

    UK is being exploited by so-called Asylum seekers which puts pressure on infrastructure, causes extreme tension and forces indigenous population to feel impotent to complain for fear of being accused of racism.

    Immigration between EU states for work is NOT the same as being an open door for use EVERYONE from the whole planet seeking freedom and free health care under the guise of asylum?

    If i were asylum seeker, i would prefer to live in warmth of spain or france, but would move on, be moved on to UK.

    So, why do ASYLUM seekers come to UK? Someone please explain, because all i know now is that i want educated, trained and moderate people who want to integrate and NOT create their own little worlds and believe they are better than the UK system.

  • Comment number 41.


    VAT - why do we have it on our petrol, diesel, gas and electricity bills?

    WHY do we tolerate VAT and where does all that tax go?????

  • Comment number 42.

    GOV MEDIA CLAMP-DOWN ON EUROPEAN COMPLAINTS ABOUT VAT ON FUEL?

    大象传媒 FLOODING BROADCASTS ABOUT US ELECTIONS, ETC., ETC. ANY NEWS, BUT FUEL NEWS!!!

  • Comment number 43.

    29. At 5:03 pm on 04 Jun 2008, galeforced wrote:

    If they don't like freedom of speach they can always return to Poland.

    That works both ways. I doubt if you'd be happy if the Poles kept mouthing off on TV about how terrible England is, how the English are the bane of the world and how something needs to be done about the English.

    In any case its not the freedom of speech the Poles object to... its being kicked sensless in the street by Brits 'inspired' by what people are freely speaking that the problem.

  • Comment number 44.

    '15. At 2:00 pm on 04 Jun 2008, JunkkMale wrote: Too much to cross fingers that the 'evidence' from either 'side' might make it into any if discussion.'

    Rather odd, if not these days unusual, to watch a 大象传媒 presenter read out a statement from 'the 大象传媒' (whatever that description covers) 'defending itself'.

    At least we had a good natured discussion with the chaired twofer.

    However, despite having the MP in question to hand, I don't recall him being challenged to substantiate the key aspect of his claim (the comparative levels of negative coverage of one ethnic/national grouping vs. any others when it comes to issues resulting from immigration).

    And hence no attempt was required, and therefore provided to prove any defence to the contrary. Hence as a result of this news item I am none the wiser on the facts of the key point raised (first by the MP, and then here by the editorial).

    I know it's tricky, especially when dealing with the reporting of any grouping (especially in the negative, but of course undue positives can also raise eyebrows, too) if it ends up based on an objective (er... how would this be managed/measured/policed?) % of statistical demographic representation. However numbers are there, obviously. Hence I was surprised to learn that Poles are now the largest grouping, which may go to the relative levels of their nationality being mentioned in matters of immigration, though personally (and living in fruit-picking central, Hereford) I cannot say I have much experience of any real negatives in my county at all.

    And while I am sure the 大象传媒 does relish any opportunity to drag the Daily Mail into anything possible by way of comparison, I could care less what this newspaper does. The issue was how our national broadcaster is handling its coverage.

    Sadly, at this point I remain about as wise as I do when in answer to a challenge Mr. Paxman a senior politician says 'I don't accept that' and gets away without being nailed on a substantive inaccuracy.


  • Comment number 45.

    Possible transcript of a meeting in television house:-

    大象传媒 Exec 1:- The people have sussed us out about only reporting about the Poles where refering to immigrants, what can we do about it?

    大象传媒 Exec 2:- I have the answer Albanians we can pick on them for a bit we should be able to get a couple of months out of them.

    大象传媒 Exec 3:- Hey and after that there is still Bulgarians, Romanians, Czechs, Lithuanians and the rest of eastern Europe that we can savage before we even hint at none white immigrants.

    大象传媒 Exec 1:- Inspired idea, right then lunch on the expense account anybody? i mean after all its the tax payer who is paying.

  • Comment number 46.

    Thank God someone is finally speaking out about the way the Eastern Europeans are treated in the British media, especially by the 大象传媒.
    I live in Walthamstow where most of my neighbours are Asian. They don't want to have contact with the non-Asian population, several of them were connected with bombings around London, their wives can't speak English. These people accuse the Eastern Europeans of "taking away our benefits", and yet quite a few of them have not had a job in their life. Why don't they do the jobs the Polish workers taking? Because it's easier to live on the government handouts, complain and at the same time harbour hatred for the country which feeds your children.

    The 大象传媒 and other media are afraid of dealing with this - it is much easier to go for the quiet, hard-working, white Christians who are trying to create a better life for themselves. Yet going for the wrong target will not make the problems with terorism and religious extremism disappear.
    The media are guilty that the idea of Eastern European people, countries and their cultures in the mind of an average British person is really quite bad. It is extremely rare that the radio or TV bring programmes about the wonderful cultures, literature, arts and sciences which these countries have. Very few people in Walthamstow for instance listen to the 大象传媒 Radio 3 or watch 大象传媒4 TV which (very occasionally) have programmes about, for instance, Polish music.

    The rest of the British population sheepishly follows the media. I can see that the attitude of people around here is rapidly changing. The other day my newsagent said "There's now too many of "them Poles and Yugoslavians(!)". At the same time he is very happy his sales are going up. He put a big sign in his window to tell "them Poles" that he is now selling "Polskie produkty".

    The local authorities should by now have got their act together and plan for better education and health services - after all, the Eastern Europeans work, pay their taxes as well as Council tax!

  • Comment number 47.

    What an inspiration! A courteous well spoken gentleman, exposing the distorted and biased information fed to the pleb's by the British Bamboozle Corporation and the majority of the media. Most of these posts of course miss the real issues raised, that of the numbers of illegal immigants and so called refugees from outside europe who are the real cause of the majority of social problems in the lunatic isle. Having worked with polish miners and trades men since the 40s I have all ways had a high regard for their ability and work ethic, which is more than can be said for the majority of british workers these days. I hope that now the lid has at last been taken off the can of worms, a few more politians will not be afaid to say how things really are and allow an open unbiased discussion on uncontrolled immigration and its social consequence.

  • Comment number 48.

    This is an important issue. The 大象传媒 has broadcast a lot about Polish immigration over recent years, and it should be pointed out that as a member state of the European Union, Poles are quite entitled to come to the UK to work, it is legal, and most Poles work really hard when they get here. Other aspects of immigration perhaps merit greater coverage. Perhaps Newsnight could have a go?

    c.

  • Comment number 49.

    No, of course the 大象传媒 would not sink so low as to seem to promote injustice. So, to who noticed, 鈥淲hat are we paying members of parliament for? O that's right, to make us laugh..(as they take us to illegal wars, 鈥 pander to the rich..鈥 ) etc. who should make some of the
    rich more available to some of we regulars ?

  • Comment number 50.

    This guy is on the right track. However trying to defelct attention onto other immigrant communities like Muslims (who have been given an absolutely terrible time in the media in the last few years, in case nobody has noticed) or onto the white working class who are demonised as hooligans and "chavs" does not do anything to solve the problem.

    I haven't noticed much incitement against Poles on the 大象传媒 - but there does seem to be a rather nasty trend towards racism towards Eastern European people in general in this country. And unfortunately the liberal media tend to encourage this, by printing lazy analyses and other such tripe which over-emphasises race as an issue rather than underlying problems in the system ...

  • Comment number 51.

    Though I was in disagreement with Daniel Kawczynski's call for a Polish Bank Holiday in the UK, I still felt that his concerns of discrimination towards the Polish were worthy of attention rather they were correct or not. Though I had not noticed a biased attitude from the 大象传媒, it seemed that it was worth listening to his argument against some of the media.

    The part where I lost all respect for the man and would be inclined to be dismissive of his argument is when he stated his inaccuracies concerning Americans in the UK.

    Not only is his view of immigration statistics concerning the UK completely wrong, I would love to know how and by what means all of the Americans are coming in to the UK.

    Due to an error at my local NHS hospital, I was left paralyzed for some time and required my American mothers assistance with my newborn son. Over time they bonded and my son now loves his Nana as much as he does his mummy. I still have problems, but with my mothers help I am able to work now and again and I pay taxes as does my partner. I didn't demand help from an already overburdened system or sue the NHS for their mistake as I was recommended to do so.

    Yet, it would seem that the Home Office feels that I should be doing so. They don't like the idea of a widowed English speaking American grandmother living under our roof, minding her own business and not actually taking from the system. The Home Office believes that if we are unhappy with the fact of my mother not being able to live with us then we should up and emmigrate. Never mind that my partner, son, and my partners elderly parents are all British born. Never mind the fact that my mothers grandparents were born here and that we are English by heritage. Never mind that we are National Trust members, volunteers, and all around supporters of all that is the heritage of Great Britain.

    I am curious Mr. Kawczynski , if so many Americans are coming in droves, please do tell me how as we have already been denied and our appeal at the end of this month has been deemed a losing battle?

    I by heritage am English, Irish, and Polish. Yet, as the UK would prefer my family to leave and Mr. Kawczynski obviously only represents European Polish (because according to him so many Americans are coming in) I guess I am meant to dismiss my ancestory altogether and stick with the Stars and Stripes as that is where I was born.

    Overall I think Home Office needs to wise up and stop telling its law abiding citizens that they should either take from the system or emigrate. And I also believe that Mr. Kawczynski needs to get his facts right.

  • Comment number 52.

    He is right, I have been thinking the same thing.However this mindset goes wider than the 大象传媒 and is not confined to Poles but includes Ukrainians and other Eastern European groups.
    It is rarely stated that most of the countries that these immigrants come from can be accessed with impunity by Brits. Furthermore most of these European immigrants will return to their native lands as their home economies invetably come up to parity with our own.

  • Comment number 53.

    Most brits are racist and immigration by white people is posing a great barrier to non white brits getting a job !

 

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