Blog Maintainance – Reverse Culture Shock
I have been receiving multiple complaints from various people saying that my blog was just a waste of space on The Internet. One has even gone so far as to say I’ve completely pass the theme of my blog which was suppose to be critic of British Culture and Malaysian Culture.
Therefore hopefully I’ll be making both parties happy with my latest post, ‘Reverse Culture Shock’. A short observation about how the huge influx of immigrants to the UK has affected the countries views on Racism and Ethnicity.
Now let’s firstly establish that there is no such thing as ‘Race’. Race is suppose to be the various physical differences from one ethic group to another. But even until now, there has been no scientific evidence that the black man is superior in sports, or the white man is the smartest of them all. Even genetics have failed to explain this phenomena, because the differences in genetics inside an ethic group is bigger than the differences across the spectrum (Stuart Hall)
But this does not mean that Racism is not real. Racism does exist and it is in countries like the United Kingdom that it is most visible. But before we conclude their people are nothing better than a bunch of ignorant people who know nothing about other cultures, we must first understand the situation.
The reason I call this article the ‘Reverse Culture Shock’ is simply because it is not the foreigners that are getting it but it’s the natives themselves. Back in the early years when the Brit’s were at the height of their power, they had everything. So for a foreigner especially Malaysians at that time, it must have been amazing to set foot into this fantastic, modern, almost futuristic city. They had a completely different culture, like having tea that you drink with milk and sugar (unlike the Chinese tea) and they had Fish and Chips etc. It was all new all wonderful.
But now it doesn’t seem that way. Sure the UK is still famous for its culture but it has changed. It is no longer what it was. If you ask a UK person what his/her favorite food was, it won’t be steak and kidney pie, it’ll be Curry. Yes, Indian Curry. The British culture as you can see is no longer British but an assimilation of other cultures from all over the globe. They use American terms to describe their crimes (Mugging). Their movies and tv shows have the Hollywood style of editing. Their national icons such as Rover or Aston Martin are own by foreign companies, and the Queen is hardly in any position of power.
Thus they are losing their hold on what they believe is British Culture. Not if that’s not bad enough, their currently in the midst of change and adapting someone’s else culture. As you can see, this is something bigger than just losing your favorite food to a foreign cuisine, but its losing the sense of British identity. Therefore it is only natural that they react negatively to foreigners.
Look at their supermarkets and government officers, their mostly foreigners. Sure a lot of them were born here and speak with the same accent and do the same things they do, but they aren’t British. If you enter Heathrow airport for the first time, you’ll probably wonder if you had set foot in Gambia instead because there are hardly any White people there. Foreigners have overtaken this white country and have made it theirs. They have their own communities, they use the National Health Care, they pay the local taxes, they are literary part of British life. They are the new Britain.
Now change doesn’t come easy, especially when the number of people over 40 is pretty high. These people remember the times when White people were in control, when they didn’t have to answer to a black man at the counter. Therefore it is only natural that the hate crimes in UK are on the rise. The British National Party’s (BNP) once said “Blacks, drug users and gays get Aids - so really, I've got no problem with it. I would call it a friendly disease”
At this point I feel I must say that I am not personally racist. But I am interested in looking at the effects of racism. Coming from Malaysia (which prides itself on its Multicultural Nationality), I feel I understand it better than some Brits do. Thus I believe that if this issue of racism is not stamped out, there will be dire consequences that will beat even the May 13th incident in Malaysia by thousands of people.
Please do not hesitate to question me should I have any mistakes in this article. It was written under the influence of alcohol and I’ve not had a good night sleep in days. But I would still like to hear your views.
