You know John I was going to respond to the post regarding the kids. My Filipino kids will be just as British as my first daughter and I can say that with hand on heart. They will indeed be a part of the varied fabric of our British society, how can they not, they're British. Less British becaise they are mixed blood, I think not. When asawa and I applied for her visa I wrote a letter about our relationship. The letter included for me a very formative statement. I made of a point to the ECO reading the letter that should me and my wife be lucky enough to have children I will make sure that they not only adopt our culture but it is very important that they also understand their mothers culture. I told him that I want my kids also be able to communicate in either Filipino or Bisaya. This thread reaffirms my statements within that letter. A child immersed in muliple cultures will hopefully ensure that they are tolerant members of BRITISH society from where they come from.
All we can do here on the forum is air our viewpoints, we are not always going to agree, in fact it would be stupid to even think that we are going to agree especially over topics we are discussing on this particular thread. So you are calling Tory voters "right wing loonies" now are we, it is only those loonies you talk about who have any chance at all of stopping these terrorist atrocities, Governments on the left just want to sit down and drink tea with the terrorist and say what naughty boys you have been. As for the Filipinas in question who complained about you, its not a very Filipina trait to confront someone directly as you should know by now.
I agree with that. I hope that you do not feel that I posted in order to 'stir trouble'. I tend to keep silent in these debates purely because when someone disagrees, we end up with an argument but sometimes, something is said that I just feel compelled to respond to.
I have no problem with airing views. However, I feel that is best done respectfully, politely and with thought to the feelings of the reader. I believe these are also British traits.
I hope you take your own advise John Boy and don't upset any more Filipinas on the site. You can see from the way I post that I post very differently when I am addressing Filipina posts, posting up against the chaps is a completely different ball game as I hope we are man enough to take any flak, especially on political threads and threads like this one where emotions run high. Personally I'm not a "I'll take my bat and ball home " kind of chap.
Like you I felt compelled to post though inavariably I am silent in these type of posts. Although I try to remain impartial some of the comments just don't sit right and another view has to be aired in order to put the forum, as a collective, in the right light. I acknowledge different views but some just get tiresome, an unwillingness to at least even acknowledge an alternative to an ingrained view. Also some mentalities/views are surprising considering the forum is called british-filipino. Makes me question what we are about and my role here. Again, if I have offended anyone it's not my intention.
Wahabi and Salafist adherents - which include IS and al Qaida members - interpret Muslim scripture somewhat differently to mainstream Sunnis and Shias. The former group believe that "non-believers" should be tortured and killed whilst Sunni and Shia Muslims are mostly peace-loving as individual communities - Shia/Sunni conflicts not withstanding. Is it just "the far right" that is concerned about the security of our country and the safety of its citizens? Aren't you at all concerned or do you just believe that it's nothing to do with you and bury your head in the sand? Is David Blunkett a "far right" politician? What about Lord Carlisle? Me too, as it happens.
I am completely neutral: I'm certainly not against same sex marriage but equally I wouldn't encourage it. As far as I am concerned, it's a matter of personal choice and as long as people don't inflict their lifestyle on others or cause hurt, then carry on.
Staggered that a website with the self evident aim of encouraging unity and cooperation between people from different cultures and backgrounds has attracted such a rag bag of reactionary, xenophobic and, frankly, nakedly-racist opinion. I sometimes feel I've stumbled into a KKK or Ayrian Nation messageboard. I know a little bit of the history of this forum and am aware it grew out of another - which had permitted openly racist comments. While I take my hat of to you and the other admins in trying to facilitate freedom of speech I just wonder what some pious law abiding Moslem member - who practices their faith without causing offence or negatively impacting on anyone else - might think if they saw some of the nasty, offensive, racist, filth that regularly appears in the politics section? If I was such a person (which as a strong atheist I'm obviously not) I would not not feel welcome here and would quickly move on.
I agree with you completely. My daughter, technically my step-daughter, is just as British as you or I and I'm half-Polish! That's great and it's nice to hear that you did that. But some Muslims, Salafists and Wahabi-ists - adherents of the two must extreme forms of Islam - do not accept our way of life or our values, do not agree with equality of the sexes, believe that pop music is depraved. Is it any coincidence that in Paris and Manchester, the terrorists targeted pop concerts? That's why I believe Blair and his ilk were wrong to actively discourage integration when we Brits do so in others' countries.
Ever read the Christian Old Testament? Exhortations to mass murder, raping virgins, taking slaves. I could go on.. Not exactly a good rulebook for life. Read Dawkins, Hitchins, Harris, Dennet etc on how all religions are wicked. By all means criticise organised religion -but not law abiding individual adherents.
Does it really surprise you that in view of what happened in Manchester opens up muslims to scrutiny and will continue to do so? It is abhorrent what has happened and you can only expect people to react accordingly.
There were a reported 1.3 million violent crimes in 2014/2015 all of those crimes had victims. 602 murders in 2015 shouldn't we be outraged by statistics like these? The events of the last week were criminal, every bit as criminal as any other murder every bit as horrific, every bit as painful and damaging to the families that have lost people they love. Dunblane 1996, Cumbria 2010, tell me how these are any different to what happened this week, individuals with a grudge who behaved in an inhuman fashion, same as this guy. No amount of revenge or violence towards specific sections of the community in the UK or elsewhere will ever solve this. The draconian solutions that have been proposed on this thread essentially amount to war, maybe even civil war, so basically more death and destruction. Violence begets violence, someone has to be the first to break the cycle.
So what will this site allow next? A cartoon of a Jew with a big nose counting money? Becoming a racist free for all now. Not good.
Well if nothing else, we get to see what is truly in their heart, readers can draw their own conclusions, the sad thing is that far too many will agree with him. Graham what do you actually want, do you really want war, a civil war, a global all out war.
