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It's quite hard to write a convincing argument in 140 characters, so I've replicated my Saturday morning rant on Twitter below, but in proper sentences.
David Cameron has said that multiculturalism has failed and that minorities need to adapt Western values in order to live successfully in Britain; to live apart creates extremism. Whilst I agree that there shouldn't exist pockets of communities who don't mix with anyone who isn't like them (like, say, Oxfordshire), I don't think that, for example, the largely closed community of Chinatown is fostering an elite squad of would be bombers.
Multiculturalism doesn't just mean Muslims. London, and Britain, has people from all over the world, from all religions, or from no religion. 99.99% of them aren't going to become terrorists. The 7/7 bombers were well "assimilated" into British life. Methinks Cameron is trying to get people to associate multiculturalism with Muslims and then make a leap to multiculturalism equals terrorism, so multiculturalism becomes associated in people's minds with dusky men in large overcoats, like asylum seekers stopped meaning people who'd escaped oppressive regimes, but rather parasites on the British state. Multiculturalism thus becomes a negative, not a positive word. Cameron's literally trying to change language - didn't Mr Orwell have several things to say about this?
David Cameron has said that multiculturalism has failed and that minorities need to adapt Western values in order to live successfully in Britain; to live apart creates extremism. Whilst I agree that there shouldn't exist pockets of communities who don't mix with anyone who isn't like them (like, say, Oxfordshire), I don't think that, for example, the largely closed community of Chinatown is fostering an elite squad of would be bombers.
Multiculturalism doesn't just mean Muslims. London, and Britain, has people from all over the world, from all religions, or from no religion. 99.99% of them aren't going to become terrorists. The 7/7 bombers were well "assimilated" into British life. Methinks Cameron is trying to get people to associate multiculturalism with Muslims and then make a leap to multiculturalism equals terrorism, so multiculturalism becomes associated in people's minds with dusky men in large overcoats, like asylum seekers stopped meaning people who'd escaped oppressive regimes, but rather parasites on the British state. Multiculturalism thus becomes a negative, not a positive word. Cameron's literally trying to change language - didn't Mr Orwell have several things to say about this?
Anyway, Cameron is a hypocrite. The Tories' idea that anyone can set up a school and apply for funding is naturally going to attract faith groups, and there's nothing less multicultural than that.
