Great speech by David Lammy.

lots of discussions - people are pissed at the treatment of our old folks.
To think that Britain begged them to come after they lost so many of their own working class in WW2 and of course to clear the land for the US bauxite companies.
Man to man is so unjust.

London Transport, The NHS, The Post Office .............we wouldn't have managed without the Windrush generation.

We know - anyway our leaders are in town for the Commonwealth Heads of Government and apparently there will be a meeting with your PM - much good since their treatment is related to her policies.

Hope they chew her up and spit her out.

Can't believe she didn't go to Parliament first

and remember none of the then British colonies was independent so everyone was British.

Unfortunately my American History Teacher didn't cover much after the "War of Northern Agression" and the World History teacher didn't cover much outside the US after the American Revolution (and not a lot before that). So I am very ignorant of most of world history, though I try to educate myself. That's why I looked this up.

It surprises me that the UK is being so aggressive about their treatment of the Windrush generation - as you say they were citizens of British colonies so they should be considered legitimate residents and citizens now. I would think that all they have to prove is that they lived there before 1971 when the immigration laws were changed.

I guess this is the same attitude that wants to exclude people of color from full participation in this country no matter where they were born or when and how they arrived.

And it's worse because they begged our folks to come after they killed off their own young men in war.
It's interesting that many of the anti-colonials in our islands and Guyana came from those who joined the British Army in WW1 and WW2.
I'd listen to them talking about the racism in the army. It was no different than the US.

behind this kind of thing wherever it happens. We would do better to think not in national terms but in terms of what the different types of people found in all nations do with power when they get control of governments.

Last edited Mon Apr 16, 2018, 08:32 PM - Edit history (1)

An expert who's studied the rise of dangerous, authoritarian governments for 40 years advised that concerned citizens should watch for mean people. Mean people, and mean spirits, through dirty tricks and lies have gained a degree of ascendancy in both nations since 1980 or so, and many others.

This has been the zeitgeist of a frightening world that my grandchildren are growing up in. I worry that they will not be able to enter the world with the same brave, confident spirits and idealism of their parents. And yet, most people are not mean; many who have been voting Republican don't actually wish evil on others even though they voted for it. Mindless partisanship has them in thrall.

Thanks for the history lesson.
And fuck Theresa May.

There was a huge Windrush revival back in 1998 for the 50th anniversary. Not everyone ever wanted our people there even though they were as British as those in England. Just think Puerto Rico or even Montserrat after their massive volcano eruption back in 1995.

https://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/arrival-ss-empire-windrush

Racism is so ugly.

Dammit, PREACH it Lammy, PREACH IT!

Now if one of our Dems could tell the their Republican counterparts the same damn thing.

It's taken an unbelievably long time for what's been happening to register (a lot of the credit must go to dogged reporting on the issue from the Guardian's Amelia Gentleman - https://twitter.com/ameliagentleman ) - but the dam has broken and even the Tories are finally embarrassed enough to at least act outraged.

Here's an explanation of the situation from an immigration and asylum barrister (sorry to Twitterphobes):

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

are too much to bear - Caribbean leaders are under pressure to force May and her fellow racists to sort out this mess. These are now old people in lock ups, being deprived of health care and even being deported when many of them have no family in these islands.

One fortunate lever at the moment is that the government is desperate to try to line up some trade deals - well, any trade deals at all - with the Commonwealth countries to make up for the loss of trade once Brexit fully bites. May at first stonewalled and said the issue wouldn't be on the agenda for the HoG meeting, but she's since backtracked (as if she had any real choice).

It's just one poll, but if it's any consolation, for once this seems to be an immigration issue that's stirred the British public in a humane direction:

Link to tweet

Jim Waterson
?@jimwaterson

YouGov has done the first polling on Windrush generation issue and pretty much everyone in Britain aside from a handful of UKIP voters wants this sorted. (Support for their right to reside is slightly higher among older voters than younger voters.)
https://yougov.co.uk/opi/surveys/results#/survey/59c510c1-4156-11e8-8feb-f36816a7f072/question/81af9294-4156-11e8-8feb-f36816a7f072/age

Very important

Let's heap some more on May (this really is her shitshow, has been for many years - and Lammy's speech absolutely nailed it):

I knew that the government's position was unpopular but hadn't seen any numbers until now.

It's plain legality - these people don't need amnesty, they're citizens, end of story. Now sort out the bureaucracy and stop victimizing people with no evidence. I can't imagine it's not going to lead to compensation cases, and I hope the damages are punitive. The longer it goes on, the more it'll cost. And the more our country's reputation gets dragged through the mud.

Like I said, it's just one poll so far, but it's interesting that older people are more supportive, whereas with immigration issues, it's usually the younger generations. I doubt there are many other issues where we'd see anywhere near 78% agreement, though!

Not surprised, and angry!

sunk like a rock..
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210500281

I was thinking of posting about it myself, but the print media were slow to catch up, and anyway, I had a feeling any GD thread of mine might plummet, too!

and the British Army was there trying to get recruits and promising UK citizenship in return...

Hannity and Cohen took over

They are sick

Racism on steroids

A Tory is a Tory! Vote for Lib Dems, Vote for Labour, vote tactically, keep the Tories OUT!

and her own son was involved in an attempted coup elsewhere in Africa. They don't want you in their country and they want to steal yours. When racism is one of the driving forces of your foreign policy, expect institutional racism, you are going to promote institutional racism at home.

Cameron was just another racist.